Robert Aaron Williams (May 5, 1961 – March 10, 2014), 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 was selected by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in the first round (19th pick overall) of the 1982 NBA draft. A 6-foot-2 point guard from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, Williams played in two

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA) seasons for the Nuggets. When Williams reported to Denver's training camp as a rookie, he was badly out of shape, prompting Nuggets coach

Doug Moe Douglas Edwin Moe (born September 21, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. As a head coach with the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988. Ea ...

to describe Williams as "a fat little hog". Williams' collegiate career included a trip to the 1982 NCAA Final Four, where his Houston Cougars, better known as

Phi Slama Jama Phi Slama Jama was a name given to the men's college basketball teams of the Houston Cougars from 1982 to 1984. Coined by former ''Houston Post'' sportswriter Thomas Bonk, the nickname was quickly adopted by the players and even appeared on team w ...

, fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the National Semifinals. Houston vs

A former star at

Milby High School Charles H. Milby High School is a public secondary school at 1601 Broadway in the East End, Houston, Texas, United States.Map

in Houston, Williams was an electrifying player for the University of Houston, averaging 16 points per game as a freshman, 25 per game as a sophomore, and 21 points per game for the 1982 Final Four team. Williams was an All American and perennial All

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

performer. His collegiate teammates included Hakeem Olajuwon,

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

, Michael Young, Benny Anders and Larry Micheaux among others. In his NBA career, Williams played in 153 games and scored a total of 1,319 points. Following his brief NBA career, he played professionally in the

Continental 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 ...

, Italy, Australia, Spain, and the Philippines. In 1986, Williams strutted his wares as an import for Tanduay Rhum in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

's (PBA) Reinforced Conference that year, where teams were allowed to suit up two imports no taller than 6 ft 3 in. Along with partner Andre McKoy and local superstars Ramon Fernandez, Freddie Hubalde and Willie Generalao, among others, the flamboyant and sweet-shooting Williams led Tanduay to its first championship in franchise history. In a May 2005 ''Houston Chronicle'' story, Williams admitted using drugs while he played. He suffered a stroke in January 1998 that left him blind in his left eye and partially paralyzed along the left side of his body. On March 10, 2014, Rob Williams died of congestive heart failure at age 52. Since 2005, Williams and his wife had operated a care facility for mentally-challenged adults in

Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...

References

External links

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Basketballreference.com pageRob Williams' death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rob 1961 births 2014 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Basketball players from Houston Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Houston Cougars men's basketball players Lancaster Lightning players Louisville Catbirds players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philippine Basketball Association imports Point guards Tanduay Rhum Masters players