At Portland State, Freeman Williams scored the second-most points in Division I college basketball history (behind only LSU’s Pete Maravich). Williams later played Duck Johnson in “White Men Can’t Jump.”
Between, Williams had a nice NBA career.
Williams, who had an eclectic and distinguished basketball experience, died at age 65.
Drafted No. 8 in 1978, Williams began his career with the San Diego Clippers. With his smooth shooting, he quickly became a proficient scorer. Williams averaged 16 points in 22 minutes per game over three-plus seasons with the Clippers. His points per minute during his first four seasons stands as the 10th-most in NBA history.
But his production dipped considerably with trades to the Atlanta Hawks (for Dominque Wilkins) then Utah Jazz. After a brief stint with the Washington Bullets, Williams was out of the NBA after just six seasons. He fell on hard times in retirement
In a strange coincidence, the other player Atlanta sent to Utah for Wilkins – John Drew – also died recently.