Jim McDaniels, a star center who led Western Kentucky University to the N.C.A.A. Final Four but whose professional career was marred by contract disputes at the start, died on Wednesday in Bowling Green, Ky. He was 69.
His wife, Carolyn McDaniels, said the cause was complications of diabetes.
A 6-foot-11 center and power forward with an unusually soft touch for a big man, McDaniels led the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to the most successful years in their program’s history.
In his senior year he averaged 29.3 points per game in helping Western Kentucky reach the Final Four of the 1971 N.