- Bill Willoughby
William (Bill) Wesley Willoughby (born
May 20 1957 inEnglewood, New Jersey ) is an American former professionalbasketball player. After graduating fromDwight Morrow High School in Englewood, he was selected by theAtlanta Hawks in the1975 NBA Draft as the first pick in the second round (19th overall), bypassing college for a chance to play professionally.Broussard, Chris. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E4D71338F935A25752C1A9659C8B63 "Why Pros Spent 20 Years Shunning High Schoolers"] , "The New York Times ",November 16 ,2003 . AccessedNovember 19 ,2007 . "He had averaged nearly 40 points a game at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, N. J., and seemed to have all the physical tools to be a star.... Willoughby, 46, now lives in relative anonymity in a two-bedroom apartment in Hackensack, N.J."] He, along withDarryl Dawkins , were the first high school students to be drafted into theNBA .Playing career
While
Moses Malone (drafted into theABA out of high school in 1974) and Dawkins enjoyed more successful professional careers, Willoughby had a career that was undistinguished. He was a journeyman who played for six different NBA teams in eight years, before his career ended with theNew Jersey Nets in 1984, at the age of 26.Post 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.He has since become a vocal advocate in support of education.
Willoughby currently resides in
Hackensack, New Jersey .References
Bibliography
*http://basketball-reference.com/players/w/willobi01.html
*http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WILLOBI01
*http://www.cleveland.com/nba/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/116332455998560.xml&coll=2
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