Henry Williams (June 6, 1970 – March 13, 2018), nicknamed, "Hi-Fly", 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.

College career

Williams 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

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

, under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Jeff Mullins, from 1988 through 1992. From his four years with the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

, Williams remains the 49ers' all-time leading scorer, with 2,383 points. The school has also retired his number 34 jersey. He helped lead the 49ers to the 1992 NCAA Tournament, and to an 1989 NIT berth.

Professional career

Williams was drafted in the second round (44th overall), in the

1992 NBA Draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were considere ...

, by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, but he never played in 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 ...

for the team. He spent the majority of his professional career in Europe. During his 10-year overseas career, Williams played for Italian teams

Scaligera Verona Scaligera Basket Verona, known for sponsorship reasons as Tezenis Verona, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Verona, Italy. It competes in the LBA. History 1951–1982: Decades within the minor leagues Scaligera Basket was found ...

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

, and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, winning an

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

championship in 1997, coached by

Mike D'Antoni Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While head coach of the Ph ...

and posting a career scoring average in the Italian League, of 21.7 points per game. He was the Italian League MVP in 1996 and he won the

1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup The 1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup was the thirty-third edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition. It occurred between September 15, 1998, and April 13, 1999. The final was held at Zaragoza, Spain. Compe ...

, being chosen as

FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP The FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP was an annual award that was given by the European-wide second-tier level professional club basketball competition, the FIBA Saporta Cup. It was given to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of each season's FIBA Sapo ...

. During his long Italian stay, Williams was nicknamed "Hi-Fly" and "Sprite of Indianapolis" and became the favorite of Verona and Treviso supporters.

National team career

Williams was a member of the senior

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 ...

national basketball team. With Team USA, he won a bronze medal at the 1990 FIBA World Cup.

Post-playing career

During the

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, i ...

, Williams was the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

' additional on-air talent.Bobcats Announce Additional On-Air Talent For 2004-05 Season
He was the Pastor o
New Zion Missionary Church
in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. Williams died on March 13, 2018 of kidney disease.

References

External links

Euroleague.net Profile

Eurobasket.com Profile

Italian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Henry 1970 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basket Napoli players Basketball players from Indianapolis Charlotte 49ers men's basketball players Charlotte Bobcats announcers Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Pallacanestro Treviso players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players San Antonio Spurs draft picks Scaligera Basket Verona players Shooting guards Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Wichita Falls Texans players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games