This All-Star is the biggest NBA player ever to come out of Rochester. Do you know him?
Walter Dukes was professional basketball player who 60 years later, still stands as the most productive NBA player ever to come out of Section V.
There's a pair of young challengers eager to unseat Dukes. But more on them later.
Walter Dukes stood 6-foot-5 as a sophomore at East High and 6-7 as a junior, leading the City Scholastic League in scoring both years. He caught the eye of Rochester Royals star and Seton Hall graduate Bobby Davies, who arranged for him to enroll at Seton Hall's prep school for his senior year.
By the time Dukes reached college he had grown to 7 feet tall. In three varsity seasons at Seton Hall, the Pirates were 80-12. He averaged 26.1 points and 22.2 rebounds his senior year in leading the school to the NIT championship when that tournament was more prestigious than the NCAA.
He still holds the NCAA single-season record for rebounds in a season (734 in 1952-53) and is Seton Hall's all-time rebounder and seventh all-time scorer. His jersey No. 5 has been retired.
Dukes was drafted by the New York Knicks, but spent two years touring with the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the NBA. He played one season with the Knicks and another with the Minneapolis Lakers before a trade sent him to Detroit. —
He had his best years with the Pistons, helping to lead the team to six straight playoff appearances. Dukes averaged 10.4 points and 11.3 rebounds, and was named to the NBA All-Star team in 1960 and 1961.
For a time, his post-basketball life was thriving. He graduated from New York Law School, practiced criminal law in Detroit, invested in real estate and owned a travel agency. But a serious auto accident in 1971 sent him into a downward spiral. Dukes said he spent five years in hospitals and another eight years recovering. He suffered legal and financial problems, and fell out of touch with friends and teammates. A reporter who tracked him down for an interview in 2000 found him alone in a house with no heat.
Dukes was found dead in his Detroit home by his sister a year later. He was 70.
With 5,765 career points, Dukes remains Rochester's greatest baller. But there are couple of challengers on the horizon. Thomas Byrant is closest with 2,411 points in nine season. But Isaiah Stewart could be Dukes biggest threat. Stewart stands at 2,027 career points after just four seasons with Detroit.
No one may catch Duke in height, who was 7-footer by time he reached college. So, for now at least, he's the biggest and tallest NBA player ever to come out of Rochester.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Walter Dukes is biggest NBA player ever to come out of Rochester NY
