Don't miss ESPN 30 for 30 "Benji" this Tuesday night!

[Albert Pujols]

This story will break your heart, but it needs to be told. I was a very young child, but already a huge Illini fan, and I remember the day I heard that he had been killed. The day before his high school senior season was supposed to start, he was shot on his lunch hour at Chicago Simeon after bumping into some thug. Illini bound and the #1 recruit in the nation, he would have been a part of the Flying Illini team with all of those superstars. With him added to that team, they could have been the best college team of all time. I did some research on him a few years ago, and many people are saying he would have been one of the best players of all time in the NBA. Isaiah Thomas and Magic Johnson with a sweet jump shot, and a great kid, too. I still think about the name Ben Wilson every once in awhile, and it's great to see that he's not forgotten. Looking forward to the highlights too, as I've never seen him play.

[Albert Pujols]

It's kind of like Boyz in the Hood, only real.

[TexansFan]

Wait, you're Illini at the RX?

[Brock Landers]

Got it on the DVR

And yes texasfan...he IS Illini from theRX

[MUHerd37]

Best college team my ass. Lots of people get compared to Jordan when they are young. OJ Mayo played right down the street from my house and they said the same shit about him.

[Chi_archie]

[TexansFan]

Got it on the DVR

And yes texasfan...he IS Illini from theRX

Thanks Brock, I never knew that.

[bettilimbroke999]

When you hangout with blacks bad shit happens

[pulledclear]

[Albert Pujols]

Best college team my ass. Lots of people get compared to Jordan when they are young. OJ Mayo played right down the street from my house and they said the same shit about him.

Oh, please. A kid's life was snuffed out in an instant. Not the time to say he was overrated, especially since you and nobody you know ever saw him play.

[MUHerd37]

Oh, please. A kid's life was snuffed out in an instant. Not the time to say he was overrated, especially since you and nobody you know ever saw him play.

Oh please. His life wasn't any more important than any other kid gunned down while young, so spare me your emotional bullshit. Lots of kids are predicted to be future greats and it rarely pans out.

[Albert Pujols]

Oh please. His life wasn't any more important than any other kid gunned down while young, so spare me your emotional bullshit. Lots of kids are predicted to be future greats and it rarely pans out.

Wow, you are an asshole, sir.

[iifold]

watched it on DVR...

I'd say he'd be a early second round pick nowadays...

Lesson you young bucks should learn from this; don't fall in love with dumb chicks at a young age...

If he wasn't with that chick he would be retired and rich right now...

[Brock Landers]

Albert, you ever post at THERX anymore?

why did you leave there?

it was getting lame back in 2008 when i left, SBR is superior in every single way possible

[Albert Pujols]

Albert, you ever post at THERX anymore?

why did you leave there?

it was getting lame back in 2008 when i left, SBR is superior in every single way possible

I post occasionally, but not much at either place really. There is nobody posting there on a regular basis, but there are some good people I know that I stay in contact with. CoachLT for one. Great guy.

[InTheDrink]

Oh, please. A kid's life was snuffed out in an instant. Not the time to say he was overrated, especially since you and nobody you know ever saw him play.

lol @ not the time

25+ years is too soon

[TexansFan]

He still posts there Brock, there's an identical thread like this there, that's why I asked if it was him.

[MUHerd37]

Wow, you are an asshole, sir.

Like I said, he was nobody special. Kids get gunned down all the time. We don't make movies about them because they aren't good at basketball. It doesn't make their lives any less important. The only reason u care about this kid is because he was a good player and was gonna go to your school.

[Albert Pujols]

lol @ not the time

25+ years is too soon

Exactly.

[Brock Landers]

watched it on DVR...

I'd say he'd be a early second round pick nowadays...

Lesson you young bucks should learn from this; don't fall in love with dumb chicks at a young age...

If he wasn't with that chick he would be retired and rich right now...

likely broke if you know the stats of former NBA players

[InTheDrink]

Exactly.

whoosh

[Albert Pujols]

Like I said, he was nobody special. Kids get gunned down all the time. We don't make movies about them because they aren't good at basketball. It doesn't make their lives any less important. The only reason u care about this kid is because he was a good player and was gonna go to your school.

Just another dead n.igger right?

[badguy]

Yes this has been on b4 if you have Verizon or Comcast you can go into your on demand free sports espn and watch this now. Very sad never knew of this story until I watched.

[MUHerd37]

Just another dead n.igger right?

U obviously are comprehending. The only reason u give a shit is because he played basketball. If he wasn't a good player and going to your school he would be just another dead n.igger TO YOU. Like I said, he was no more important than anyone other kid that has been gunned down. Their lives were just as important as this kid's.

[Albert Pujols]

U obviously are comprehending. The only reason u give a shit is because he played basketball. If he wasn't a good player and going to your school he would be just another dead n.igger TO YOU. Like I said, he was no more important than anyone other kid that has been gunned down. Their lives were just as important as this kid's.

So I guess the right attitude is to just move on, because well, shit happens. If you care about tragedies, then you are just overemotional.

[MUHerd37]

So I guess the right attitude is to just move on, because well, shit happens. If you care about tragedies, then you are just overemotional.

U clearly aren't comprehending what I'm saying.

[InTheDrink]

U clearly aren't comprehending what I'm saying.

to be fair if he was as great as op is saying he could have been (he wasn't) he could have had a far greater impact on the world than the rest of the others getting gunned down

[Albert Pujols]

U clearly aren't comprehending what I'm saying.

I comprehend just fine. You say that basketball doesn't mean anything, and then make the thread about his basketball skills being overrated.

[Fang-Banger]

hey pal! never heard of this guy

[Albert Pujols]

to be fair if he was as great as op is saying he could have been (he wasn't) he could have had a far greater impact on the world than the rest of the others getting gunned down

I was like 7 years old when he got killed. It was one of my first realizations in life that this world is a dark, evil place. The name Ben Wilson represents that to me. His basketball is irrelevant. I never saw him play. It wasn't until a few years ago when I read what Nick Anderson and others said about him that I realized he was the #1 recruit in the nation. Did you see him play?

[MUHerd37]

I comprehend just fine. You say that basketball doesn't mean anything, and then make the thread about his basketball skills being overrated.

No I think it's ridiculous to put athletes up on a pedestal. U seem to think that athletes are more important than just normal people. Lots of mothers have to bury their kids at a young age but nobody cares and nobody makes films about them because they aren't athletes. To people like u those kids aren't important. As for his abilities, I say he probably was overrated. Lots of kids are seen as future stars and it rarely pans out.

[Albert Pujols]

No I think it's ridiculous to put athletes up on a pedestal. U seem to think that athletes are more important than just normal people. Lots of mothers have to bury their kids at a young age but nobody cares and nobody makes films about them because they aren't athletes. To people like u those kids aren't important. As for his abilities, I say he probably was overrated. Lots of kids are seen as future stars and it rarely pans out.

You don't know me well enough to tell me what I care and don't care about. Period.

[InTheDrink]

I was like 7 years old when he got killed. It was one of my first realizations in life that this world is a dark, evil place. The name Ben Wilson represents that to me. His basketball is irrelevant. I never saw him play. It wasn't until a few years ago when I read what Nick Anderson and others said about him that I realized he was the #1 recruit in the nation. Did you see him play?

i'm apparently a few years older than you....i didnt see him play but i know enough about him to know that his legend grew in the years after his death...a lot of guys who were the best in their class in 11th grade didnt amount to shit....a few years later ronnie fields was projected to be the best player ever to come from chicago while he was in hs...howd he turn out?

[MUHerd37]

You don't me well enough to tell me what I care and don't care about. Period.

You don't comprehend well at all do you. U must of been educated at the University of Illinois. I know a lot of people from Illinois. Not a lot of brains.

[rumnblack]

Oh please. His life wasn't any more important than any other kid gunned down while young, so spare me your emotional bullshit. Lots of kids are predicted to be future greats and it rarely pans out.

Of course you're right, just that this wasn't the time or place, which makes you less authoritative that you'd like to think.