Cornelius Cash Jr. made his place in Bowling Green basketball history around the rim: 1,068 career rebounds, three first-team All-MAC selections and a single-season blocks record. The former Falcon forward and Detroit Piston died on August 31, 2026, according to the House of Wheat Funeral Home. He was 74.

Across three varsity seasons from 1972 to 1975, Cash gave the Falcons both scoring and interior force. Bowling Green State University Athletics recorded averages of 15.8 points and 13.5 rebounds over 79 games, with career totals of 1,245 points and 1,068 rebounds. He led the team in rebounding in every varsity season and made the All-MAC first team each year.

Cash's route to Bowling Green ran through Dunbar High School in Dayton. The 1970-71 Wolverines went 24-2 and reached Ohio's Class AAA state final, a team whose five starters all received college scholarships and whose lineup sent three players into the NBA draft, the Dayton Daily News reported. Looking back in 2020, Cash credited Dunbar coach Ben Waterman for the foundation: “It started with Coach Waterman. He was like Mick training Rocky Balboa in the movies. He was no nonsense. He was old school.”

At Bowling Green, Cash first played on the last freshman team in school history, averaging 17.5 points and 14.2 rebounds as that squad finished 10-4. As a sophomore in 1972-73, he raised his varsity averages to 18.0 points and 15.2 rebounds. He was the country's leading rebounder among forwards, won team MVP honors and received honorable-mention All-American recognition. Two games brought 23 rebounds, and a meeting with Loyola of Chicago brought 32 points.

The work around the basket continued. Cash led Bowling Green in scoring and rebounding again as a junior, while his 59 blocked shots set the program's single-season record. As a senior, he averaged 15.3 points and a MAC-leading 13.0 rebounds, including a 22-point, 22-rebound performance against San Diego State. In February 1975 he became only the third MAC player to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, joining Bowling Green great Nate Thurmond and Miami's Wayne Embry.

Milwaukee selected Cash with the 24th overall pick in the 1975 NBA draft. His NBA.com record shows six appearances for Detroit in 1976-77, with averages of 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds. That short NBA chapter did not end his professional travels. He also played in Belgium, Yugoslavia and Brazil.

Away from basketball, Cash spent 13 years with Howard Paper Company and, by 2009, was working for Houser Asphalt & Concrete in the Dayton area. His path from Dunbar to college stardom, international basketball and a working life back home remained rooted in the same Ohio community where it began.

Bowling Green inducted Cash into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, then chose him for the 13-member All-Anderson Team in 2010 as the university celebrated the final season of its longtime arena. The Falcons' record book continues to carry the measure of his career: 1,068 rebounds, 59 blocks in one season, three first-team All-MAC selections and a place in the conference's select 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound company.