(Written: June 2012)
Nate DeLong dominated college basketball during his playing days at UW-River Falls. He was a four-time letter winner in both basketball and football and led the nation in scoring with 861 points on the basketball court in 1950. DeLong holds the UW-River Falls career scoring record for points. DeLong helped the Falcons to four straight conference basketball championships and three Wisconsin collegiate championships.
He also played in three NAIA championship tournaments and held the single game scoring record of 57 points for 27 years. During the 1947-48 season, he scored an astonishing 72 points in a game against Winona State (Minn.) and his name remains etched into the basketball records book for both UW-River Falls and the WIAC in scoring and rebounding. DeLong finished his playing career at UW-River Falls in 1950 with 2,592 points, a 25.4 average, making him college basketball’s all-time leading scorer at a time when there were no divisional groupings. In 2012, he was named to the NAIA 75th Anniversary All-Star Team.
DeLong was drafted in 1950 in the ninth round by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks of the National Basketball Association, but signed instead with the Sheboygan Redskins of the National Professional Basketball Leauge, playing 45 games and averaging 10.3 points.
He earned an undergraduate degree in secondary education. DeLong passed away in May 2010.