Benjamin Wilson Jr. (March 18, 1967 – November 21, 1984) was an American high school basketball player from Chicago, Illinois.

Wilson practiced at Cole Park[9] in Chatham and participated in summer league games in Chicago.

[10] As his game developed, friends and family surrounding Wilson began to notice that his talent could make him one of the best players in the sport.

As he was entering high school, the nationwide crack epidemic was in full swing and some of the people closest to Wilson, including his older brother Curtis, became addicted.

[15] The camp allowed scouts and coaches to watch top high school students in a single location.

[17] On November 20, 1984, Wilson decided against lunching with teammates as he wanted to talk to his girlfriend, Jetun Rush, with whom he had been having significant issues.

After finding out the conflict had been resolved, Moore and his friend Omar Dixon decided to stay nearby.

Eventually the two followed Moore's friend Erica Murphy to a nearby luncheonette located on South Vincennes Avenue, just up the street from Simeon.

Rush was trying to break away from Wilson, who in his desperation to speak to her, failed to pay attention to where he was going and bumped into Moore.

Paramedics were slow in reaching the scene and at approximately 1:20 PM, Hambric decided to take it upon himself to get his star player to the hospital.

Despite doctors repeatedly telling her they could save her son, Mary Wilson's professional experience as a nurse told her that even if they were able to repair the damage, Ben would likely be in a persistent vegetative state afterward due to the massive blood he had already lost.

Soon after the shooting, Erica Murphy returned to her home to find Billy Moore sitting in her living room watching television.

Moore and Dixon's attorneys chose to present Wilson's celebrity as the primary reason for the charges against the two teenagers.

[21] The Wilson family's lawsuit against the hospital for inappropriate delay of medical care[22] was settled in 1992 for an undisclosed amount.

Brandon, who was 10 weeks old when his father died, went on to play basketball at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, wearing Wilson's number 25.

[30] Former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, who graduated from Simeon in 2007, wore number 25, and the team won the state championship in 2006 and 2007.

In the years since his murder in 1984, Deon Thomas, Bryant Notree, Calvin Brock, and Kendrick Nunn have all worn 25 during their basketball career at Illinois to honor Wilson.