BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " EARL WILLIAMS " IS A FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASKET BALL PLAYER : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

  BLACK            SOCIAL          HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                  Earl Williams (basketball player)

Earl Williams

Center
Personal information
Born	March 24, 1951 (age 63) Levittown, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American / Israeli
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school	Woodrow Wilson (Levittown, Pennsylvania)
College	Winston-Salem State (1970–1974)
NBA draft	1974 / Round: 3 / Pick: 49th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Career history
1974–1975	Phoenix Suns
1975–1976	Detroit Pistons
1976	New York Nets
1977–1978	Alvik BK (Sweden)
1978–1979	Boston Celtics
1979–1983	Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
1983–1984	Fortitudo Bologna (Italy)
1984–1985	New Basket Brindisi (Italy)
1988–1989	Hapoel Holon (Israel)
1989–1990	Maccabi Ramat Gan (Israel)
1990–1991	Hapoel Holon (Israel)
1993–1994	Bnei Herzliya (Israel)

Earl "the Twirl" Williams (born March 24, 1951) is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player.^[1]

Early life and education

Williams played high school basketball while attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania. He playedcollege basketball at Winston-Salem State University, with the Winston-Salem State Rams.^[1]

Professional career

USA

In the 1974 NBA draft, Williams was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 3rd round, with the 13th pick (49th overall).^[1] He made his NBA debut on October 17, 1974, with Phoenix. During the next four years, he played for other NBA teams as well: the Detroit Pistons, the New York Nets, and the Boston Celtics.^[1] On September 30, 1975, he was traded by the Suns to the Detroit Pistons, for a 1976 2nd round draft pick (Earl Tatum).

Sweden

In the 1977-78 season, Williams played for the Swedish League team Alvik. Alvik came in 2nd in the league that year.^[2]

Israel

Williams later played professionally in the Israeli League. He starred for a portion of the time with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon,^[3][4] and he also played with Maccabi Ramat Gan.^{[citation needed]} In 1990, at age 39, he was the oldest player in the Israeli League.^[5]

Italy

Williams played two seasons for Italian teams as well: Fortitudo Bologna in 1984–1985, and New Basket Brindisi in 1988–1989.

Personal

In 1982, Williams converted to Judaism.^[6] Williams also became a naturalized Israeli citizen, becoming a dual US-Israeli citizen.^[7][8]

During the Gulf War, in the winter of 1991, when Scud attacks from Iraq rained down on Tel Aviv and Haifa, Williams remained in Israel, visiting and assuring children, while also sealing rooms to protect the elderly from a possible chemical attack. He said:

I thought, I'm not going to leave my people when I was needed. Israel is my country just as much as America. Before converting to Judaism I was a Methodist, and I grew up knowing how to serve the Lord in the right way.^[9]