We are going way back for this one.

An All-American at Kentucky in 1935, Wildcats Head Coach, Adolph Rupp called Center Leroy Edwards the best player he ever coached.  Fine praise, indeed.  Edwards, who won the Helms College Player of the Year in 1935, was so dominant and physical in the paint, that it was alleged that he was the reason that basketball enacted the three-second rule, preventing players from spending longer than three seconds under the basket.

Edwards then played professionally for the Oshkosh All-Stars in the National Basketball League from 1937 to 1949, and for a time, he was the best player in the league.   Excellent on both sides of the ball, Edwards won three straight NBL MVPs (1938-40), all of which coincided with three consecutive scoring titles.  Edwards also was a six-time First Team All-NBL Selection and he led Oshkosh to two league titles (1941 & 1942).

The NBL was an all-white league, but Oshkosh faced the New York Rens, an all-black team.  Edwards and Oskosh were able to match up equally with New York, with Edwards respected unilaterally by the Rens. 

Edwards never made it to the NBA as his career ended before that league formed, but any player who was a three-time league MVP has a Hall of Fame case.