Greg Willard
{{short description|American basketball referee}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Greg Willard
| image =Greg Willard.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1958|11|5}}
| birth_place = Pasadena, California, US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|4|1|1958|11|5}}
| death_place = Huntington Beach, California, US
| education = Long Beach State, Orange Coast College
| spouse = {{marriage|Laurie |1990}}
| parents =
| children = 3
| website =
}}
Greg Willard (November 5, 1958{{spaced ndash}}April 1, 2013) was an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1988 and wore the uniform number 57. Willard officiated 1,515 regular season, 134 playoff, and three NBA Finals games.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbastuffer.com/referee_stats|work=NBA Stuffer|title=Referee Stats|accessdate=2012-10-17}}
Early career
While attending Long Beach State University, Willard officiated football as a member of the Orange County Football Officials Association and worked as a high school basketball official before advancing to the Continental Basketball Association where he spent four years. Willard also spent four years officiating basketball in college's PCAA (now Big West) and Pac-10 (now Pac-12) conferences. Willard earned his Associate of Arts degree from Orange Coast College.{{cite web| last =| first =| authorlink =| title =NBA Officials Media Guide 2011-12| publisher =National Basketball Association| date =| url =http://www.nba.com/.element/mp3/2.0/sect/podcastmp3/PDF/2011-2012_Officials%20Guide.pdf| format =| doi =| accessdate =2012-10-17| url-status=dead| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20120209033720/http://www.nba.com/.element/mp3/2.0/sect/podcastmp3/PDF/2011-2012_Officials%20Guide.pdf| archivedate =2012-02-09}}
NBA referee career
As the NBA moved from a referee alignment of utilizing two-person officiating crews to that of a three-person crew in 1988, the League recruited top college and CBA officials to fill the new vacancies created by the officiating department's expansion, including Willard. The League previously experimented with three person mechanics during the 1978–79 NBA season when officials went on strike in protest of the move.{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73612613.html?dids=73612613:73612613&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+11%2C+1988&author=David+Aldridge&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Expanding+NBA+Recruits+Officials%3BColleges+Losing+Some+of+Best&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131151621/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73612613.html?dids=73612613:73612613&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+11,+1988&author=David+Aldridge&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Expanding+NBA+Recruits+Officials;Colleges+Losing+Some+of+Best&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Expanding NBA Recruits Officials;Colleges Losing Some of Best|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=1988-06-11}} Willard officiated his 1,500th career regular season game during the 2011–12 NBA season.
Personal life
Since joining the NBA, Willard remained active with the Orange County Football Officials Associations as well as the Musical Youth Artist Repertory Theatre. He was a married father of three and was active in coaching local youth sports leagues. Willard resided in Huntington Beach, California.
=Cancer=
After working 10 games during the 2012 NBA Playoffs, Willard withdrew from his June 6, 2012 assignment, Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, after being diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20120606/SASOKC/gameinfo.html#nbaGIboxscore|work=NBA|title=Western Conference Finals Box Score, Game 7|date=2012-06-06}}{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8038231/longtime-referee-greg-willard-gets-cancer-diagnosis|work=ESPN|title=Referee Greg Willard has cancer|date=11 June 2012 }} It was his last assignment of the 2011–12 season. NBA officials working the 2012 NBA Finals wore a #57 patch on their jerseys to recognize Willard.{{cite web|url=http://www.naso.org/WhatWeDo/Newsroom/NASONewsWatch/TabId/113/PostId/68/NBA-Referees-Support-Willard.aspx|title=NBA Referees Support Willard|work=NASO|date=2012-06-15|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419012006/http://www.naso.org/WhatWeDo/Newsroom/NASONewsWatch/TabId/113/PostId/68/NBA-Referees-Support-Willard.aspx|archivedate=2014-04-19}}
Willard worked one game during the 2012–13 pre-season, a Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers contest at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Willard took a leave of absence during the 2012–13 season in order to continue receiving treatment.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.com/ci_21798060/elliott-teaford-nba-official-long-beach-state-alum?source=most_viewed|title=NBA official, Long Beach State alum Greg Willard taking leave to battle pancreatic cancer|work=Daily News|author=Elliott Teaford|date=2012-10-17}}
On October 20, 2012, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network ("PCAN") selected Willard as its Spirit of Hope Award recipient for displaying "tremendous courage and fortitude in coping with pancreatic cancer" and inspiring others to do the same. In honor of PCAN and Willard, NBA referees wore purple awareness bracelets during the 2012–13 NBA season.{{cite web|url=http://pancan.org/ewts2012/honoree.html|title=15th Annual An Evening with the Stars Gala: Honorees|work=Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PCAN)|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130415134851/http://pancan.org/ewts2012/honoree.html|archivedate=2013-04-15}} Additionally, Willard was named honoree of the March 24, 2013 event "Cheers to a Cure" with proceeds benefiting PCAN and cancer research endeavors.{{cite web|url=http://cheerstoacure.webs.com/|title=Cheers to a Cure}}
Willard died on April 1, 2013, from pancreatic cancer.{{cite web|url=http://www.closecallsports.com/2013/04/nba-referee-greg-willard-dies-at-54.html|title=NBA Referee Greg Willard Dead at 54|work=Close Call Sports}} NBA officials wore a #57 patch on their jerseys for the remainder of the 2012–13 season in his honor.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/2013/news/04/02/veteran-official-greg-willard-dies/index.html|title=Referees wear #57 patch to honor Willard|work=NBA|date=2013-04-02}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Greg}}
Category:California State University, Long Beach alumni
Category:College men's basketball referees in the United States
Category:Continental Basketball Association referees
Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California
Category:Orange Coast College alumni