William Price Knight (January 20, 1979 – July 8, 2018) 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 (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

. His last professional stops were in Japan with

Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Hyogo and Yamagata.

Early life

He attended high school at Westchester High in Los Angeles. As a sophomore, he was a reserve at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

when Knight's father decided that his son's chances for an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to college rested on his jump-shooting skills. Knight was already tall, so his father set up dummies in their backyard court that he would be forced to shoot over. As a senior, he had developed into one of the top jump shooters nationally and committed to play

for the

Professional career

Knight helped the

Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix The are a Japanese professional basketball team based in the eastern Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan, that competes in the B.League. The team was founded in 1965, as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a ...

to their first

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official ...

title in 2009–2010, when he was the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game. He and teammate Wendell White formed a duo dubbed the "White-Knight Show". In 2012–13, he helped lead the Hyogo Storks to their first

Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the J ...

(JBL2) championship.

Criminal allegations and death

On June 13, 2018, Knight was arrested on six counts of

molestation Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...

charges, including two counts of sexual conduct with a minor. He died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

through multiple blunt force injuries on July 8 after jumping from a building in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, shortly after posting a video to YouTube talking about his

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and encouraging others to seek help.

Career statistics

Professional

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" , Orléans , 9, , , , 29.3, , .450, , .447, , .722, , 5.3, , 2.0, , 1.3, , 0.0, , 17.7 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" , Akropol , 30, , , , 30.1, , .539, , .500, , .836, , 7.4, , 2.1, , 1.4, , 0.1, , 28.9 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" , Vichy , 12, , , , 30.4, , .401, , .275, , .773, , 5.6, , 1.5, , 1.9, , 0.3, , 15.7 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" , Portel , 31, , , , 26.6, , .499, , .369, , .764, , 3.0, , 1.7, , 2.3, , 0.1, , 16.0 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" , Boulazac , 19, , , , 26.8, , .534, , .439, , .775, , 4.3, , 1.8, , 1.2, , 0.0, , 14.9 , - , align="left" style="background-color:#afe6ba; border: 1px solid gray" , 2009–10† , align="left" , Hamamatsu , 47, , 29, , 26.2, , .413, , .395, , .795, , 5.4, , 2.0, , 1.3, , 0.3, , 19.6 , - , align="left" , 2010–11 , align="left" , Osaka , 50, , 37 , , 25.0, , .457, , .357, , .797, , 7.3, , 2.0, , 1.3, , 0.3, , 17.1 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Hyogo , 54, , 53, , 26.6, , .385, , .367, , .843, , 6.8, , 1.1, , 1.4, , 0.3, , 17.6 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" , Hyogo , 54, , , , 16.9, , .420, , .284, , .836, , 3.6, , 0.7, , 0.9, , 0.2, , 13.1 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" , Yamagata , 36, , 9, , 21.9, , .470, , .392, , .847, , 8.9, , 1.2, , 1.1, , 0.6, , 21.1 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;", Osaka , 4 , , , , 26.5, , .421 , , .000 , , .783 , , 8.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 16.5 , -

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 24 , , , , , , .444 , , .387 , , .727 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999-00 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , , , , , .453 , , .397 , , .656, , 2.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 18 , , , , .460 , , .421 , , .732, , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 29.0 , , .458 , , .397 , , .826, , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 14.1 , - , - class="sortbottom" ! style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career !117 , , 51 , , 29.0 , , .456 , , .403 , , .774 , , 2.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , -

References

External links

* *
UCLA Bruins bio

Stats in Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Billy 1979 births 2018 deaths 2018 suicides American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela Kobe Storks players Osaka Evessa players Yamagata Wyverns players San-en NeoPhoenix players Trotamundos de Carabobo players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players American men's basketball players Shooting guards People charged with sex crimes Suicides by jumping in the United States Suicides in Arizona