Former NBA veteran and US Olympian, Dwight Jones has passed away on Monday night as reported by the University of Houston on ESPN. He was 64 years old.

He played for the Cougars from 1970-1973 and appeared in 54 games. He was a good scorer especially in the paint and averaged 17.6 points per game. This made him one of the most sought-after rookies at his time, and was eventually selected ninth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1973 NBA draft.

The 6'10” big played a total of 10 seasons for four different franchises, namely, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jones also represented the U.S. in the Olympics. He was part of the controversial gold-medal match versus the former Soviet Union during the 1972 summer games. He was the one of the teams' vital cogs as he led them in rebounding and was its co-leading scorer.

The Cougars' head coach, Kelvin Sampson spoke about the passing of one of their greats. Here's his statement:

“Dwight was a tremendous competitor, who represented the University of Houston and his nation well during his playing career. While his health declined in recent years, he faced those challenges with the same courage and spirit that made him one of our program's greats. Tonight, our hearts go out to Dwight's family and friends and all those who knew and loved him.”

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