Former NBA Player is Now Homeless

Williams has needed help since he went from owning fine cars and comfortable homes — one for his mother in his hometown of Mount Vernon, N.Y., another for his family in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. — to seeking bankruptcy protection in 1994. No longer able to sustain his NBA lifestyle, he worked for a couple of years as a substitute teacher. He also delivered mail and tended bar, but he had trouble holding the jobs partly because he had spent his life training for little else but playing basketball.

“You have to adjust your identity and be a different person from who you were as a basketball star,’’ Glenn said. “When you become the low man on the totem pole, it can be a very difficult transition.’’

Fond Boston memories

Williams had never confronted serious professional failure. After struggling in high school, he led San Jacinto College in Texas to the junior college national tournament in 1974 and ’75. Then he was an all-conference guard at Minnesota, playing with McHale (a future NBA Hall of Famer), Mychal Thompson (the NBA’s top draft pick in 1978), and Flip Saunders (future NBA coach of the Timberwolves, Pistons, and Wizards).

In the 1976-77 season, Williams set the Big Ten record for assists in a season (118) and a University of Minnesota mark for assists per game (5.7). He averaged 18.9 points for the Gophers, and when the Knicks drafted him he was touted as the next Walt “Clyde’’ Frazier, a Hall of Famer.

But Frazier’s legacy was never in jeopardy. Though Williams enjoyed a long run in the league, he gained a reputation as a player sometimes more suited for street ball than structured NBA schemes. An explosive scorer, Williams also sparkled at times as a defender and playmaker. But he often lacked court discipline, which translated into turnovers (he led the league with 335 in the 1982-83 season), questionable shot selection, and headaches for his bosses.

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