Jump to content

Bill Willoughby: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Cydebot (talk | contribs)
6,812,251 edits
m Robot - Moving category American centers (basketball) to Category:Centers (basketball) per CFD at Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Log/2016_April_5.
m minor fixes, replaced: ," → ", , 1975 NBA Draft → 1975 NBA draft, Buffalo Braves → Buffalo Braves, ABA-NBA merger → ABA–NBA merger using AWB
Line 21: Line 21:
| team1 = [[Atlanta Hawks]]
| team1 = [[Atlanta Hawks]]
| years2 = {{NBA Year|1977|full=y}}
| years2 = {{NBA Year|1977|full=y}}
| team2 = [[Los Angeles Clippers|Buffalo Braves]]
| team2 = [[Buffalo Braves]]
| years3 = {{NBA Year|1979|full=y}}
| years3 = {{NBA Year|1979|full=y}}
| team3 = [[Cleveland Cavaliers]]
| team3 = [[Cleveland Cavaliers]]
Line 39: Line 39:
| bbr = willobi01
| bbr = willobi01
}}
}}
'''William Wesley Willoughby''' (born May 20, 1957) is a retired American professional [[basketball]] player born in [[Englewood, New Jersey]]. After graduating from [[Dwight Morrow High School]] in Englewood, he was selected by the [[Atlanta Hawks]] in the [[1975 NBA Draft]] as the first pick in the second round (19th overall), bypassing [[college basketball|college]] for a chance to play professionally.<ref name=NYT2003>{{cite news|last=Broussard|first=Chris|url= http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/sports/why-pros-spent-20-years-shunning-high-schoolers.html|title=Why Pros Spent 20 Years Shunning High Schoolers|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 16, 2003|accessdate=November 19, 2007|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20140116155951/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/sports/why-pros-spent-20-years-shunning-high-schoolers.html|archivedate=2014-01-16}}</ref> In the [[1975–76 NBA season]], he became [[List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players#Youngest players|the second youngest player ever to play an NBA game]].
'''William Wesley Willoughby''' (born May 20, 1957) is a retired American professional [[basketball]] player born in [[Englewood, New Jersey]]. After graduating from [[Dwight Morrow High School]] in Englewood, he was selected by the [[Atlanta Hawks]] in the [[1975 NBA draft]] as the first pick in the second round (19th overall), bypassing [[college basketball|college]] for a chance to play professionally.<ref name=NYT2003>{{cite news|last=Broussard|first=Chris|url= http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/sports/why-pros-spent-20-years-shunning-high-schoolers.html|title=Why Pros Spent 20 Years Shunning High Schoolers|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 16, 2003|accessdate=November 19, 2007|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20140116155951/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/sports/why-pros-spent-20-years-shunning-high-schoolers.html|archivedate=2014-01-16}}</ref> In the [[1975–76 NBA season]], he became [[List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players#Youngest players|the second youngest player ever to play an NBA game]].


==Playing career==
==Playing career==
While [[Moses Malone]] (drafted into the [[American Basketball Association]] out of high school in 1974, prior to the 1976 [[ABA-NBA merger]]) and [[Darryl Dawkins]] enjoyed more successful professional careers, Willoughby had a career that was undistinguished. Nicknamed "Poodle," he was a journeyman who played for six different NBA teams in eight years, before his career ended with the [[New Jersey Nets]] in 1984, at the age of 26. Willoughby was tremendously athletic, having a 47&nbsp;inch vertical leap. He had played center throughout his high school career, and was forced to play forward in the pros. Willoughby gained some brief fame in the 1981 NBA postseason while with the [[Houston Rockets]] by becoming one of the few players ever to block [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]]'s "skyhook" at its apex.<ref name="ESPN">{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show61transcript.html|title=Outside the Lines: Making The Leap|date=May 27, 2001|accessdate=2009-09-21|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20121025204232/http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show61transcript.html|archivedate=2012-10-25}}</ref>
While [[Moses Malone]] (drafted into the [[American Basketball Association]] out of high school in 1974, prior to the 1976 [[ABA–NBA merger]]) and [[Darryl Dawkins]] enjoyed more successful professional careers, Willoughby had a career that was undistinguished. Nicknamed "Poodle", he was a journeyman who played for six different NBA teams in eight years, before his career ended with the [[New Jersey Nets]] in 1984, at the age of 26. Willoughby was tremendously athletic, having a 47&nbsp;inch vertical leap. He had played center throughout his high school career, and was forced to play forward in the pros. Willoughby gained some brief fame in the 1981 NBA postseason while with the [[Houston Rockets]] by becoming one of the few players ever to block [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]]'s "skyhook" at its apex.<ref name="ESPN">{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show61transcript.html|title=Outside the Lines: Making The Leap|date=May 27, 2001|accessdate=2009-09-21|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20121025204232/http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show61transcript.html|archivedate=2012-10-25}}</ref>


==Post playing career==
==Post playing career==

Revision as of 12:44, 6 September 2016

Bill Willoughby
Personal information
Born (1957-05-20) May 20, 1957 (age 67)
Englewood, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolDwight Morrow
(Englewood, New Jersey)
NBA draft1975: 2nd round, 19th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career1975–1984
PositionCenter / Power forward
Number32, 33, 34
Career history
1975–1977Atlanta Hawks
1977–1978Buffalo Braves
1979–1980Cleveland Cavaliers
1980–1982Houston Rockets
1982–1983San Antonio Spurs
1983–1984New Jersey Nets
Career statistics
Points2,930 (6.0 ppg)
Rebounds1,891 (3.9 rpg)
Assists413 (0.8 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

William Wesley Willoughby (born May 20, 1957) is a retired American professional basketball player born in Englewood, New Jersey. After graduating from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1975 NBA draft as the first pick in the second round (19th overall), bypassing college for a chance to play professionally.[1] In the 1975–76 NBA season, he became the second youngest player ever to play an NBA game.

Playing career

While Moses Malone (drafted into the American Basketball Association out of high school in 1974, prior to the 1976 ABA–NBA merger) and Darryl Dawkins enjoyed more successful professional careers, Willoughby had a career that was undistinguished. Nicknamed "Poodle", he was a journeyman who played for six different NBA teams in eight years, before his career ended with the New Jersey Nets in 1984, at the age of 26. Willoughby was tremendously athletic, having a 47 inch vertical leap. He had played center throughout his high school career, and was forced to play forward in the pros. Willoughby gained some brief fame in the 1981 NBA postseason while with the Houston Rockets by becoming one of the few players ever to block Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's "skyhook" at its apex.[2]

Post playing career

Though he later regretted skipping college, Willoughby eventually received his degree in communications from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2001, at the age of 44. The NBA fully paid all of his college expenses, and, in return, Willoughby is a special advisor to the NBA who counsels high school players considering forsaking college basketball for the NBA.[2]

Willoughby currently resides in Hackensack, New Jersey.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Broussard, Chris (November 16, 2003). "Why Pros Spent 20 Years Shunning High Schoolers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Outside the Lines: Making The Leap". May 27, 2001. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Bill_Willoughby&oldid=738019205"