William Allen Edwards (born August 28, 1971) is an American former professional

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 ...

player. He was a 2.03 m (6'8") tall

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 ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

. His nickname was "Dollar Bill Edwards".

College career

Edwards 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 ...

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

, where he became one of the school's legends. He was voted the Summit League Player of the Year in 1993.

Professional career

Edwards was never drafted by an

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 ...

franchise, and despite having played a few games with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

during the 1993–94 season, it was in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

that he had a significant 12-year career. He played in the EuroLeague with the Greek club PAOK, in the 1999–00 season, and in the

FIBA SuproLeague The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

, with the French club

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, ...

, in the 2000–01 season.

National team career

Edwards was a member of the bronze medal-winning senior men's

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

at the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

Personal

Edwards is the father of former Middletown High School standouts Bill Edwards Jr., who on May 6, 2009, signed a

Letter of Intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to play

for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

,Bill Edwards – Basketball Recruiting, http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=54840 and Vincent Edwards, an NBA player who played

for

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Career pro stats (national domestic leagues)

References

External links

FIBA Europe Profile

1971 births Living people AEK B.C. players African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players ASVEL Basket players CB Girona players EWE Baskets Oldenburg players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Köln 99ers players Liga ACB players Pallacanestro Varese players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players P.A.O.K. BC players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Scaligera Basket Verona players Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players Small forwards Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players Virtus Bologna players Wright State Raiders men's basketball players 1998 FIBA World Championship players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{1970s-US-basketball-bio-stub