John Willis (basketball)
{{short description|American-Israeli basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = John Willis
ג'ון וויליס
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| position = Forward/Center
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 8
| weight_lb = 225
| league = Israeli Basketball Premier League
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|9|23}}
| birth_place = Newark, New Jersey
| nationality = American-Israeli
| high_school = Manville High School
| college = *Bloomsburg University
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John Willis ({{Langx|he|ג'ון וויליס}}; born September 23, 1952) is an American-Israeli former basketball player.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/team/p/sid/2260/tid/306/tid2//_/1985_European_Championship_for_Men/index.html|title=Israel 1985 European Championship for Men|website=fiba.basketball}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} He played the Forward/Center position.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/29/archives/ecac-basketball-alleast-teams.html|title=E.C.A.C. Basketball ALL-EAST TEAMS DIVISION I|date=March 29, 1973|work=The New York Times}} He played for ten seasons in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, and also played for the Israeli national basketball team.
Biography
Willis attended Bloomsburg University ('74), and played for the Bloomsburg Huskies from 1971 to 1974.{{Cite web|url=https://buhuskies.com/honors/hall-of-fame/john-willis/34|title=John Willis (1990) – Hall of Fame|website=Bloomsburg University Athletics}}{{Cite book|url=https://issuu.com/buhuskies/docs/2010-11mbbmediaguide|title=2010–11 Bloomsburg Men's Basketball Media Guide|date=14 November 2010 }} He holds school records for points in a game (48), rebounds in a season (389; 1973–74) and career field goal percentage (54.4).[https://bloomsburg_ftp.sidearmsports.com/custompages/MBB/MBB1718/15-MBB%20Game%20Notes%20vs%20East%20Stroudsburg.pdf "2017–18 BLOOMSBURG MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES"], January 13, 2018. He also ranks fourth in school history in career rebounds (839), and sixth on the Huskies' all-time scoring list with 1,467 points.
He was named to the 1972 and 1973 Eastern College Athletic Conference Basketball All-East Division Second Team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/8479038/psac-mens-basketball-annual-player-coach-of-pennsylvania-|title=PSAC Men's Basketball Annual Player & Coach of the Year Awards – Pennsylvania|website=yumpu.com}} He was 1973–74 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division First Team. He had his jersey retired, and was inducted into the Bloomsburg University Men's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
He played for ten seasons in the Israeli Basketball Premier League for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Haifa, Hapoel Holon, and Macabee Rishon LeZion.{{Cite web|url=https://basket.co.il/all-time-players.asp?PlayerId=10080&lang=en|title=ISRAEL BASKETBALL SUPER LEAGUE | History | All-Time Player Points | Johan Willis|website=basket.co.il}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3334953,00.html|title=Hapoel no more|date=December 1, 2006|newspaper=Ynetnews |last1=Bogen |first1=Amir }}{{Cite web|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1983.06.17.001/12|date=June 17, 1983|title= Hapoel Games Well Received|website=The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives}}
He also played for the Israel men's national basketball team, competing in the 1981 FIBA European Championship for Men, 1983 FIBA European Championship for Men, 1984 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men, and 1985 FIBA European Championship for Men.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/p/rpp//q//pid/6139/_//players.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505220623/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/p/rpp//q//pid/6139/_//players.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 5, 2019|title= Johan Josef WILLIS (ISR) |website=fiba.com}}
References
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Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players
Category:Hapoel Haifa B.C. players
Category:Israeli men's basketball players
Category:Hapoel Holon B.C. players
Category:Bloomsburg Huskies men's basketball players