Derek Willis (born June 21, 1995) is an 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 ...

player for

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

and the EuroLeague. 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 ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

Early life

Willis is one of a relatively small number of Native Americans who have played in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

basketball. His mother is a member of three tribes— Southern Arapaho,

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

, and

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsLouisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, he lived with his family for several years during his childhood on the

Wind River Indian Reservation The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, is shared by two Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone ( shh, Gweechoon Deka, ''meaning: "buffalo eaters"'') and the Northern Arapaho ( arp, h ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. According to

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

writer Reid Forgrave, "His favorite childhood memories are from that reservation." The family eventually returned to the Louisville area, settling in the city of

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

High school career

As a , senior at

Bullitt East High School Bullitt East High School is a high school located at 11450 Highway 44 East in the city of Mount Washington, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Bullitt County Public Schools district. Sports teams include: archery, swimming, football, socce ...

, Willis averaged 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. While at Bullitt East, he regularly traveled around the U.S. for both AAU basketball and ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

'' tournaments; according to his father, "Derek was the only kid in the nation who was nationally ranked in basketball and in Yu-Gi-Oh!"

College career

Willis was the first player to commit to Kentucky's 2013–14 recruiting class, choosing UK over

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and

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 ...

. He appeared in 103 games over his four-year career with the Wildcats, turning in averages of 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest, while making 108 of his 271 shots taken from three-point territory in his college career. Willis won the

SEC tournament The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions. Members The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...

with the Wildcats in 2015, 2016 and 2017, advancing to the NCAA Final Four in 2015. He proposed to his girlfriend on senior night, prior to Kentucky's home game against Vanderbilt. In April 2017, he attended the

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States and the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft ( ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

Professional career

Grand Rapids Drive (2017–2018)

After going undrafted, Willis was signed by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

of 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 ...

as a part of their training camp roster, before being reassigned to the Pistons'

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

. In his professional debut on November 3, 2017, he provided the game-winning tip-in in Grand Rapids' 86–85 victory over the Erie BayHawks. Making 43 G League appearances (38 starts) as a first-year player, Willis averaged 11.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.

BG Göttingen (2018–2019)

In late July 2018, Willis inked a deal with

BG Göttingen Basketballgemeinschaft Göttingen ( eng, Basketball Association Göttingen) is a German basketball club based in Göttingen, Germany. In 2010, the club won the EuroChallenge against Krasnye Krylya Samara from Russia. The team had played in Germa ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

. He saw action in 34 Bundesliga games, averaging 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest for the Violets.

Ratiopharm Ulm (2019–2020)

On July 22, 2019, he signed a two-year deal with German Bundesliga outfit

Ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

, known as the Sparrows. Willis averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game during the 2019–20 season.

Happy Casa Brindisi (2020–2021)

On July 17, 2020, he has signed with Happy Casa Brindisi of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

(LBA).

Club Joventut Badalona (2021–2022)

On July 14, 2021, Willis signed with Club Joventut Badalona of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

Reyer Venezia (2022–2023)

On July 13, 2022, Willis signed with

Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball in ...

of the Lega Basket Serie A. He averaged 12.9 points and 5 rebounds in the EuroCup, along with 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in the domestic league.

Anadolu Efes (2023–present)

On June 25, 2023, Willis signed a two-year (1+1) contract with Turkish powerhouse

International career

Willis was a member of the US team that competed at the 2012

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST) is an international basketball competition that is played between national basketball teams of the Under-18 men age category. It takes place every two years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between t ...

. In February 2018, he was named to the USA squad for the 2019 World Cup qualifiers.

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bio

Profile at eurobasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Derek 1995 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky BG Göttingen players Forwards (basketball) Grand Rapids Drive players Joventut Badalona players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Native American basketball players New Basket Brindisi players Power forwards (basketball) Ratiopharm Ulm players Reyer Venezia players United States men's national basketball team players