Williams was born in Sorrento, Louisiana, a small town near Baton Rouge. He got the nickname "Hot Rod" as a baby due to his habit of making engine-like noises as he scooted backwards across the floor.
College basketballEdit
A 6'11" power forward/center, he played collegiately at Tulane University, leaving as that school's second all-time leading scorer. His career at Tulane was somewhat checkered, however. According to a Tulane booster club president, Williams was nearly kicked off the team in his sophomore year "for missing practices and for being unreliable". Additionally, he was a marginal student at best. He barely maintained a C average in high school, and had barely passed the SAT. At Tulane, his grade point average hovered in the C-D range despite a schedule laden with "decidedly non-academic" courses such as driver's education and weight training.[1]
ArrestEdit
On March 27, 1985, Williams was arrested for suspicion of point shaving. According to the indictment, Williams had taken at least $8,550 from Gary Kranz for influencing point spreads in games against Southern Miss, Memphis State and Virginia Tech. Williams was charged with sports bribery and conspiracy;[2] his first trial ended with a mistrial, but during his second trial a jury found him not guilty of all five counts.[3] Due in part to the scandal, Tulane shuttered its men's basketball program from 1985 to 1989.
NBA careerEdit
Williams was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1985 NBA draft with the 21st pick of the second round (45th overall). However, due to the trial, Williams spent the 1985–86 season playing for the United States Basketball League. Able to play for the Cavaliers the next year, Williams was named to the NBA all-rookie team for the 1986-87 season, along with teammates Ron Harper and Brad Daugherty. Perhaps Williams' finest season occurred in 1989, when he averaged 16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.04 blocked shots per game while mostly serving as the team's sixth man. Following the 1989-90 season, he re-signed with the Cavaliers to a 7-year, $26.5 million contract, making him one of the five highest paid players in the NBA in the early 1990s. At the time, this was an unprecedented salary for a sixth man like Williams.[4] Prior to March 22, 2009, he ranked as the Cavaliers' all-time leader in blocked shots (1,200) (surpassed by Žydrūnas Ilgauskas).[5] Williams spent nine seasons with the Cavaliers before being traded to the Phoenix Suns for Dan Majerle during the 1995 offseason. He finished out his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Personal life and deathEdit
Williams had five children; John Williams Jr., John Francis Williams, Johnna Williams, John Paul Williams, and Sydney Gibbs.[citation needed] His nephew, Toe Nash, played professional baseball.[6]
^Gammons, Peter (January 11, 2001). "Devil Rays find The Natural in the cane fields". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
^Windhorst, Brian (December 11, 2015). "John 'Hot Rod' Williams dies at 53". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
^Pluto, Terry (December 11, 2015). "Former Cleveland Cavalier John 'Hot Rod' Williams dies at 53". Cleveland.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
^Lewis, Ted (December 19, 2015). "John 'Hot Rod' Williams, former Tulane, NBA player, dies of cancer at age 53". The Advocate. Baton Rouge. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
External linksEdit
basketball-reference career statistics
ESPN.com description of Tulane scandal
August 28, 2023
john, williams, august, 1962, december, 2015, american, professional, basketball, player, national, basketball, association, from, 1986, 1999, john, williamspersonal, informationborn, 1962, august, 1962sorrento, louisiana, dieddecember, 2015, 2015, aged, baton. John Hot Rod Williams August 9 1962 December 11 2015 was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association NBA from 1986 to 1999 John WilliamsPersonal informationBorn 1962 08 09 August 9 1962Sorrento Louisiana U S DiedDecember 11 2015 2015 12 11 aged 53 Baton Rouge Louisiana U S Listed height6 ft 11 in 2 11 m Listed weight245 lb 111 kg Career informationHigh schoolSt Amant St Amant Louisiana CollegeTulane 1981 1985 NBA draft1985 2nd round 45th overall pickSelected by the Cleveland CavaliersPlaying career1985 1999PositionPower forward centerNumber18Career history1985Rhode Island Gulls1986Staten Island Stallions1986 1995Cleveland Cavaliers1995 1998Phoenix Suns1999Dallas MavericksCareer highlights and awardsNBA All Rookie First Team 1987 USBL Player of the Year 1985 Metro Conference Player of the Year 1984 3x First team All Metro Conference 1982 1984 1985 Career NBA statisticsPoints9 784 11 0 ppg Rebounds5 998 6 8 rpg Blocks1 456 1 6 bpg Stats at NBA comStats at Basketball Reference com Contents 1 Early life 2 College basketball 2 1 Arrest 3 NBA career 4 Personal life and death 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditWilliams was born in Sorrento Louisiana a small town near Baton Rouge He got the nickname Hot Rod as a baby due to his habit of making engine like noises as he scooted backwards across the floor College basketball EditA 6 11 power forward center he played collegiately at Tulane University leaving as that school s second all time leading scorer His career at Tulane was somewhat checkered however According to a Tulane booster club president Williams was nearly kicked off the team in his sophomore year for missing practices and for being unreliable Additionally he was a marginal student at best He barely maintained a C average in high school and had barely passed the SAT At Tulane his grade point average hovered in the C D range despite a schedule laden with decidedly non academic courses such as driver s education and weight training 1 Arrest Edit On March 27 1985 Williams was arrested for suspicion of point shaving According to the indictment Williams had taken at least 8 550 from Gary Kranz for influencing point spreads in games against Southern Miss Memphis State and Virginia Tech Williams was charged with sports bribery and conspiracy 2 his first trial ended with a mistrial but during his second trial a jury found him not guilty of all five counts 3 Due in part to the scandal Tulane shuttered its men s basketball program from 1985 to 1989 NBA career EditWilliams was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1985 NBA draft with the 21st pick of the second round 45th overall However due to the trial Williams spent the 1985 86 season playing for the United States Basketball League Able to play for the Cavaliers the next year Williams was named to the NBA all rookie team for the 1986 87 season along with teammates Ron Harper and Brad Daugherty Perhaps Williams finest season occurred in 1989 when he averaged 16 8 points 8 1 rebounds and 2 04 blocked shots per game while mostly serving as the team s sixth man Following the 1989 90 season he re signed with the Cavaliers to a 7 year 26 5 million contract making him one of the five highest paid players in the NBA in the early 1990s At the time this was an unprecedented salary for a sixth man like Williams 4 Prior to March 22 2009 he ranked as the Cavaliers all time leader in blocked shots 1 200 surpassed by Zydrunas Ilgauskas 5 Williams spent nine seasons with the Cavaliers before being traded to the Phoenix Suns for Dan Majerle during the 1995 offseason He finished out his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks Personal life and death EditWilliams had five children John Williams Jr John Francis Williams Johnna Williams John Paul Williams and Sydney Gibbs citation needed His nephew Toe Nash played professional baseball 6 Williams was diagnosed with colon cancer in April 2014 and died on December 11 2015 at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge Louisiana at age 53 7 8 9 See also Edit Biography portal United States portal Sports portalList of National Basketball Association career blocks leadersReferences Edit Looney Douglas S 1985 04 22 All I Want Is to Be Happy Recent scandals BC Tulane and Northwestern SPORTS PEOPLE No Second Thoughts The New York Times June 18 1986 Accessed January 14 2009 McCallum Jack 17 September 1990 Pass Me The Bread Sports Illustrated Retrieved 27 August 2016 Nets Can t Stop Cavaliers Winning Streak Gammons Peter January 11 2001 Devil Rays find The Natural in the cane fields ESPN com Retrieved May 16 2012 Windhorst Brian December 11 2015 John Hot Rod Williams dies at 53 ESPN com ESPN Retrieved December 11 2015 Pluto Terry December 11 2015 Former Cleveland Cavalier John Hot Rod Williams dies at 53 Cleveland com Advance Publications Retrieved December 11 2015 Lewis Ted December 19 2015 John Hot Rod Williams former Tulane NBA player dies of cancer at age 53 The Advocate Baton Rouge Retrieved August 25 2018 External links Editbasketball reference career statistics NBA com biography ESPN com description of Tulane scandal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John 22Hot Rod 22 Williams amp oldid 1157908046, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
