Charles Oakley, Virginia Union

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Arrived at Virginia Union in 1981. 6'8 known as The Oak.
Played under former Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins (Robbins won 713 games in 30 years at VUU and coached 3 Division II NCAA championship teams). Oakley accumulated 2,273 points and grabbed 1,664 rebounds in four brilliant All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) seasons. 

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Oakley in his senior season averaged 24.3 PPG & 17.3 RPG. As a Virginia Union senior in 1984-1985, Oakley led the NCAA Division II in rebounding and was named National Player of the Year while helping VUU to a 30-1 record in which The Panthers were ranked #1 in Division II throughout the regular season.

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He is also a member of the VUU and CIAA Hall of Fame and also was inducted in to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. His induction was the fifth VUU person to be inducted in to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

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From Virginia Union Oakley became a National Basketball Association (NBA) first round draft choice (9th overall) by the Cleveland Cavaliers who immediately traded him to the Chicago Bulls, he then became an impact player for the New York Knicks for 10 seasons.  He finished his NBA career after 19 seasons with the Houston Rockets in 2004.