William Gates (born December 28, 1971) is an American former Chicago-area high school and

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 ...

player. Gates was the subject of the 1994

Kartemquin Films Kartemquin Films is a four-time Oscar-nominated 501(c)3 non-profit production company located in Chicago, Illinois, that produces a wide range of documentary films. It is the documentary filmmaking home of acclaimed producers such as Gordon Quinn ...

documentary film ''

Hoop Dreams ''Hoop Dreams'' is a 1994 American documentary film directed by Steve James, and produced by Frederick Marx, James, and Peter Gilbert, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students, William Gates an ...

'' along with another Chicago-area high school basketball player,

Arthur Agee Arthur "Man" Agee Jr. (; born October 22, 1972) is a former high school basketball player from Chicago. Agee was one of two Chicago-area basketball players whose lives were chronicled in the 1994 documentary ''Hoop Dreams''. Early life Agee is ...

Biography

Gates was a young man from the Cabrini–Green housing projects. He and

, from

West Garfield Park West Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. It is directly west of Garfield Park. Neighborhood boundaries The boundaries of West Garfield Park are NORTH: W. Kinzie St. ...

, hoped to have their

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

talent turned into professional careers with the NBA. The documentary ''Hoop Dreams'' followed them through their recruitment by St. Joseph High School. During high school, he worked hard to improve his basketball skills and his academics to the best of his ability, though he initially struggled with a low reading level. He struggled to get the required score of an 18 on the

ACT exam The ACT (; originally an abbreviation of American College Testing) Name changed in 1996. is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It is currently administered by ACT, a nonprofit organization of the same name ...

needed to earn a scholarship at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

and eventually managed a 17.5 aggregate score, which was rounded up to 18. At St. Joseph, Gates suffered a knee injury which limited his playing and recruitment offers. He played three seasons for Marquette from 1991 to 1995. He appeared in 80 games, making 29 starts and scoring 399 points. He graduated from Marquette with a communications degree. In 2001, Gates worked out with NBA star Michael Jordan in preparation for Jordan's comeback and was offered a tryout with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

but injured his foot. His brother, Curtis Gates, also seen in the film, was murdered on September 10, 2001, after being caught in a love triangle.

Later life

After the end of his basketball career, Gates got a Bible degree at

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...

in Chicago and became pastor at Living Faith Community Center in Cabrini–Green, a position he held until July 2012, when he relocated his family to the San Antonio, Texas, area. Gates' eldest son (William Gates Jr.) followed in his father's basketball footsteps, averaging 23.5 points a game his senior season at

Samuel Clemens High School Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District (SCUC ISD) is a public school district based in Schertz, Texas, United States. In addition to Schertz, the district serves the city of Cibolo and parts of Universal City and a small po ...

Schertz, Texas Schertz ( ) is a city in Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The population was 42,002 at the 2020 census, up from 31,465 at the 2010 census. Schertz was settled by Alsatian emigrants ...

, and receiving a full scholarship to Furman University in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. In 2021 Gates connected with his Hoop Dreams co-star

and Producer, Matt Hoffar, to launch Hoop Dreams The Podcast in partnership with th
Unlearning Network
a Vancouver, B.C. based media company.

References

External links

* 1971 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players {{US-Christian-clergy-stub