West Virginia State University Hall of Fame basketball great Robert "Bob" Wilson passed away recently of natural causes at age 88.
   The Clarksburg native was co-captain of the school's undefeated 1947-48 team and went on to play professionally in the NBA and for the Harlem Globetrotters.
   Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 220 pounds during his playing days Wilson was the state's most honored player during the era of segregation in West Virginia high schools and colleges.
   He was one of the first six African-American players in the NBA. He was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Writers' Hall of Fame in 2000.
   After his playing career ended due to a knee injury Wilson became the first black executive of a metropolitan YMCA when he took the position at the "Y" in Newark, New Jersey, and worked 38 years for the organization.
  Wilson was a member of the Newark City Planning Board and had received the National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award as well as the YMCA Men's Club Award.
   He is survived by his wife Josephine and four children.
   The funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, August 29 in Newark.