Elnardo Julian Webster Sr. (March 6, 1948 – March 22, 2022) was an American 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 who played one season 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). 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

Saint Peter's Peacocks The Saint Peter's Peacocks are the sixteen intercollegiate athletic teams that representing Saint Peter's University, located in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Peacocks compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic ...

. Webster played in the ABA for the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and

Memphis Pros Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memphis ...

during the 1971–1972 season. He also played in the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy. At a height of , he played at the

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 ...

position.

Early life

Webster was born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Lincoln High School in his hometown, before studying at

Wharton County Junior College Wharton County Junior College (WCJC) is a public community college with its main campus in Wharton, Texas. The college also has campuses in Richmond, Sugar Land, and Bay City. WCJC is accredited by the Southern Association of College ...

from 1965 to 1967. He later transferred to Saint Peter's College.

College career

Despite only playing two years with the Peacocks, Webster finished with 1,338 points and 769 rebounds. His 24.8 points per game scoring average was second only to Keydren Clark (25.9) in school history, while his rebounding average is first. He was noted for leading the Peacocks' 1967–68 team – nicknamed the "Run Baby Run" team – to the semifinals of the

1968 National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament was originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938. Responsibility for its administration was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiat ...

. He scored 51 points in the first-round win against Marshall, before following that performance up with 29 points in a 100–71 upset over

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. In all 28 games that season, he recorded double digits in points scored, averaging 24.1 points and 14.6 rebounds. Webster was inducted into the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and N ...

(MAAC) Hall of Fame in 2012. Four years later, he was enshrined into Saint Peter's Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Webster was selected in the 4th round of the

1969 NBA draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...

by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. He ultimately did not make the team. He then played in the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

– Italy's top-tier level league – with UG Goriziana in the 1969–70 season. Webster was forced to take the 1970–71 season off, while recovering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. He subsequently played with the

and the

in the

(ABA) during the 1971–72 season. He made his ABA debut on January 2, 1972, scoring four points in ten minutes played against the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

. He was eventually released by the Nets after his final appearance for the franchise on January 18, before being signed as a free agent by the Pros at the end of February that same year. He played his final ABA game on March 29, 1972. In his single season in the ABA, Webster scored 122 points to go along with 16 assists and 44

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

. In the 1972-73 basketball season, he played for the Garden State Colonials in their inaugural season in the

Eastern Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

. Webster also had overseas stints playing professional basketball in Spain and Switzerland in a career that spanned seven years.

Post-basketball career

After retiring from basketball, Webster went into the field of education, focusing on helping children from inner cities. He was awarded a doctorate in educational leadership by

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

in 2000. After working as an administrator in the Newark public school system, he served as superintendent for the Roselle school system from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, he filled a vacant seat in the city council of West Orange, New Jersey. He was also a consultant for the Commissioner of the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

as a Highly Skilled Professional. Back at his alma mater, he directed a learning center for afterschool programs and extended learning at Saint Peter's. He also served on the university's board of trustees from 2008 to 2017 and again from 2021 till his death.

Personal life

Webster was married to Sandra until his death. Together, they had two children: Elnardo Jr. and Damarko. Webster died on March 22, 2022, in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. He was 74, and suffered from a heart issue prior to his death.

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Elnardo 1948 births 2022 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Lincoln High School (New Jersey) alumni Memphis Pros players New York Knicks draft picks New York Nets players Nuova Pallacanestro Gorizia players Saint Peter's Peacocks men's basketball players Small forwards Wilkes-Barre Barons players