William G. Schaeffer (born December 11, 1951) is a former American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA) for the

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and

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

. He also was a member of the

Allentown Jets The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later the Eastern Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association) from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most succ ...

in the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at St. John's University.

Early years

A native of

Bellerose, New York Bellerose is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,173 at the 2020 census. History The village was founded by Helen Marsh of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In 1907, pla ...

, Schaeffer attended Holy Cross High School in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

. As a junior, he led the team to a basketball championship in 1968 (first in school history). As a senior, he was named to the New York City All-Stars team.

College career

Schaeffer stayed in his home state to attend college, accepting a basketball scholarship from St. John's University. In three varsity seasons spanning between 1970–71 and 1972–73, Schaeffer established himself as one of the premier players in program history. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, he struggled with leg injuries, but still managed 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He helped the team qualify for the

1971 National Invitation Tournament The 1971 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. 1971 was unique because it was the only time that major rivals Duke and North Carolina had played each other after the ACC tournament ...

. As a

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, he missed the first few games with an illness, but still registered 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, to go along with a .636 shooting percentage (fifth in the nation). He contributed to the team reaching the

1972 National Invitation Tournament The 1972 National Invitation Tournament was the 1972 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 16 teams selected for the tournament.

semi-final, losing 67–69 against

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...

, when his last second shot didn't fall down. He was voted a third team All-American by the

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and

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, among other accolades. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1972–73, Schaeffer averaged a still-standing school record 24.7 points per game behind a then-school record .594 shooting percentage. He also led the team to the 1973 NCAA tournament. The Met Basketball Writers Association selected him as the

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the All-New York Metropolitan NCAA Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) ...

winner, which is given annually to the best male collegiate basketball player in the New York City metropolitan area. For his college career, Schaeffer accumulated 1,484 points and 622 rebounds.

Professional career

New York Nets

Schaeffer was selected by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the second round (23rd overall) of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

. Despite being drafted to the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, he chose instead to play in the

, which at the time was almost on par with the NBA in terms of popularity. In his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season in 1973–74, he played for the

who won the ABA championship. Schaeffer played a second full season with the Nets the following year as they failed to defend their title.

Allentown Jets

In the off season he joined the

in the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League. They finished second in the regular season standings but went on to win the EPBL championship, two games to one, over the Hazelton Bullets.

Virginia Squires

The 1975–76 season would be Schaeffer's last as a professional basketball player. He appeared in 20 regular season games for the

. On January 7, 1976, he was traded along with

Swen Nater Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA ...

to the

, in exchange for

Jim Eakins James Scott Eakins (born May 24, 1946) is a retired American professional basketball player and two-time American Basketball Association champion. A 6'11" center from Brigham Young University, Eakins was selected in the fifth round of the 1968 N ...

. While playing in 31 games for the Squires, he averaged a career high 6.6 points per game. The Nets, unfortunately for Schaeffer, would go on to win the 1976 ABA championship at the end of the season. In 137 ABA games played, he scored 802 points and grabbed 289 rebounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaeffer, Billy 1951 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Allentown Jets players American men's basketball players Holy Cross High School (Flushing) alumni Los Angeles Lakers draft picks New York Nets players People from Bellerose, New York Small forwards Basketball players from Nassau County, New York St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Virginia Squires players