There Will Never Be Another

Mike Lund is precious friend of mind. Mike Lund also happens to be an awesome assistant athletic director/sports information director/media relations and part time electrician, when the equipment fails at athletic events in his home base at Portland State University, in downtown, Portland, Oregon.

Lund on top of all of that has a great analytical mind and is an outstanding writer. You must go to www.goviks.com, to see his article about the great Freeman Williams. His breakdown of players, like Williams,  who played before the three-point line and what they might have scored playing with a three point line in place, is terrific and well thought out.

There will never be another player like Freeman Williams on the west coast in college basketball and quite possibly in the nation. I am into my sixth decade of life and the two best college basketball players I have seen in person when it comes to college basketball were Portland State's Freeman Williams and Rodney Stuckey of Eastern Washington and trust me, I have seen lots of college basketball.

Williams played four years for Portland State in the 70s. To this day, he is still the second leading scorer all time in the NCAA behind "Pistol" Pete Maravich. In 1978, he lead the nation in scoring with a 38.9 ppg average. He was so good that against Rocky Mountain College he scored 81 points on an eventful night. To this day that ranks third in NCAA history for single game scoring only behind, Frank Selvy who had a 100 point game playing for Fordham and Vanderbilt's Paul Arizin, who scored 85 points in a game.

In 1978 the Boston Celtics drafted Williams, but his six years of NBA play were highlighted with the San Diego Clippers. From 1980-82 each year he finished in the top 10 in three point shooting and in 1980 he was named the NBA player of the month in February. It took the Clippers 25 years before their next player of the month, Eldon Brand.

Like so many players in the 1980s in the NBA, in my opinion personal issues derailed Williams from having a long and prosperous NBA career, he for sure had the talent.

Some people scoff at players who are big time scorers, I have never been able to figure that out. I actually watched a game at Portland State on night when Williams shot 60 percent from the field for the game and the rest of his teammates shot a combined 18 percent and the Vikings won the game by three points. He carried his team on his shoulders many nights.

After getting his life in order, Freeman Williams is doing just fine these days coaching in the Los Angeles area and I am sure making young men better shooters of the basketball,  just being around him.

In these days of sometimes boring basketball and players who have lost the ability to shoot the basketball, the memories of the great Freeman Williams cause me to think there will never be another player who can score like he could in west coast college basketball, end of story.

Don't forget, go to www.goviks.com, to read more about Freeman Williams, you will be happy you did.

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