Charles Oakley attended Virginia Union University in Richmond, where he was named NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 1985, averaging 24.3 points and 17.3 rebounds per game. During his career at VUU, Oakley scored 2,273 points and grabbed 1,664 rebounds, and was named All-CIAA all four seasons on campus. In 1985, Oakley was drafted ninth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 18 NBA seasons, mostly with the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, Oakley had 12,417 points, 12,225 rebounds and 3,217 assists. A rebound machine, Oakley placed in the top ten in rebounds per game five times between 1987 and 1994. During his NBA career, Oakley was named to the All-Rookie First Team (1986), an NBA All-Star and All-Defensive First Team (1994), and All-Defensive Second Team (1998). In 2005, Oakley was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame, and in 2008 he gained induction into the VUU Athletics Hall of Fame.
