Willie Sojourner

Willie Sojourner
Personal information
Born (1948-09-10)September 10, 1948
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died October 20, 2005(2005-10-20) (aged 57)
Rieti, Italy
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school Germantown
(Germantown, Pennsylvania)
College Weber State (1968–1971)
NBA draft 1971 / Round: 2 / Pick: 20th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career 1971–1983
Position Center / Power forward
Number 35, 40
Career history
1971–1973 Virginia Squires
1973–1975 New York Nets
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Willard Leon "Willie" Sojourner (September 10, 1948 – October 20, 2005) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player and international coach. He was recruited to Weber State University by head coach Dick Motta and went on to a professional career, winning a championship with the New York Nets and playing overseas. The Italian arena PalaSojourner is named in his honor. Sojorner is known for giving his friend and teammate Julius Erving his famous "Dr. J." nickname. He is the older brother of NBA player Mike Sojourner.

College Career

Recruited from Philadelphis's Germantown High School where he only played one year of basketball, Sojourner's basketball career (1968–71) at Weber State was record setting. It included Big Sky Conference records in scoring and rebounding. He also led the Wildcats to three Big Sky Conference regular-season titles. His career stats include 1,563 points and 1,143 rebounds. Sojourner still ranks second in rebounding and first in career rebounding average at 14.1 per game. A versatile athlete, Sojourner also competed in track and field at Weber State and had been a competitive swimmer in high school. He placed 3rd in the 1970 NCAA Championships, with a high jump of 7'0", becoming Weber State's first NCAA All-American athlete.[1] Sojourner was an intermural swimming champion and a horseshoes champion at Weber State.[2][3]

Professional career

Sojourner was selected in the second round of the 1971 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and by the Virginia Squires as the 1st Round, #8 overall pick in the 1971 ABA Draft.

Sojourner went on to play in the American Basketball Association for the Virginia Squires in (1971-1973) and New York Nets (1973-1975).

Sojonour's NBA highlights include: 6 points in his debut on 10/15/1971 vs. Carolina. He had 25 points vs. the Kentucky Colonels on 10/27/1971; 26 points vs. the San Diego Conquistadors on 12/2/1972; 26 points vs. the Carolina Cougars on 1/27/1974; and 18 vs the Denver Nuggets on 2/26/1975. In his last ABA game, he scored 11 in a playoff loss to the Spirits of St. Louis on 4/15/1975. [4] In his ABA career he scored 1968 points (6.0 ppg) and 1488 rebounds (4.8 rpg) in 309 games.[5]

On October 20, 1976 he was traded to the Nets along with roommate and friend Julius Erving for George Carter and cash. He and Erving were the best man in each other's weddings and Sojourner dubbed Erving with the nickname "Dr. J". [6] With Erving starring, and Sojourner contributing, the Nets won the ABA Championship in 1973-74. Sojourner also played professionally in Italy and was CBA Playoff MVP playing for the Lancaster Red Roses in 1976 .[7][8]

Death

Sojourner was killed in a one car automobile accident near Rieti, Italy, where he had played professionally for six years. At the time of his death, on October 7, 2005, he was serving as head coach of a club team in Rieti.[9]

Honors

  • Sojouner became the first Weber State player to have his number retired. His jersey was retired in 2015.
  • 1990 inductee to the Weber State Athletic Hall of Fame.[10]
  • In 2013, named on Big Sky Conference "50 Greatest Male Athletes" in 50 years of the conference.[11]
  • 1976 CBA Playoffs Most Valuable Player. [12]

References

  1. ↑ http://ia.milesplit.com/meets/191438/results/344921/formatted#.Wq5ukihOlTs
  2. ↑ https://weberstatesports.com/news/2015/1/7/209837851.aspx
  3. ↑ http://bigskyconf.com/news/2013/10/24/MBB_1024133809.aspx
  4. ↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sojouwi01/gamelog/1972/aba/
  5. ↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sojouwi01.html
  6. ↑ https://nypost.com/2005/10/23/sojourner-dead-at-58/
  7. ↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sojouwi01.html
  8. ↑ "Steve Dimitry's CBA Web Page". www.geocities.ws. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  9. ↑ http://bigskyconf.com/news/2013/10/24/MBB_1024133809.aspx
  10. ↑ http://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8600&ATCLID=1373864
  11. ↑ https://weberstatesports.com/news/2013/10/24/209291112.aspx
  12. ↑ http://www.geocities.ws/Colosseum/Arena/6925/cba.html
  13. ↑ https://weberstatesports.com/news/2015/1/7/209837851.aspx


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