Willie Sojourner

Willard Leon Sojourner (September 10, 1948 – October 20, 2005) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player and international coach.

He played collegiately at Weber State University and went on to a professional career, winning a championship with the New York Nets and playing overseas.

The Italian arena PalaSojourner was named in his honor.

Sojourner is known for giving his friend and teammate Julius Erving his famous "Dr. J." nickname.

He is the older brother of NBA player Mike Sojourner.

Willard Leon Sojourner was born on September 10, 1948, to George and Dorothy Sojourner, one of their eleven children.

Sojourner attended Germantown High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he didn't play basketball until his senior year.

Until his senior year, Sojourner had concentrated on swimming and track.

Eventually, his father and the high school basketball coach both encouraged Willie to give up competitive swimming to concentrate on basketball because of his size.

He was a medalist in the backstroke and butterfly in swimming and a talented high jumper in track.

Because of his basketball inexperience, Sojourner wasn't highly recruited by colleges.

Recruited to Weber State University by Coach Dick Motta, Sojourner's basketball career at Weber State was record setting.

He set Big Sky Conference records in scoring and rebounding, leading the Wildcats to three consecutive Big Sky Conference titles and three straight NCAA Tournament invitations.

He arrived in Ogden, Utah for the 1967–68 season under Coach Motta.

Freshmen were not allowed to play NCAA varsity basketball at that time, so Sojourner played the 1967–1968 season with the Wildcat freshman team.

In 1968–1969, as a sophomore, Sojourner averaged 18.9 points and 13.1 rebounds as Weber State finished 27-3 under Coach Phil Johnson, as Dick Motta left Weber to become Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls.

The Wildcats captured the Big Sky Conference title and qualified for the 1969 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, where they defeated Seattle 75–73, behind Sojourner's 22 points and 12 rebounds.

They lost to Santa Clara 64–59 in overtime in the West Regional semi-final, as Sojourner had 12 points with 18 rebounds.

Weber State then defeated New Mexico State in the West Regional third-place game 58–56, as Sojourner had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

In 1969–1970, Sojourner led the Wildcats to the Big Sky Conference title, averaging 21.2 points.

Weber State lost in the first round to Long Beach State and Coach Jerry Tarkanian 92–73 in the 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, with Sojourner having 13 points and 9 rebounds.

In his senior season of 1970–1971, Weber State finished 21-6 and earned their third straight Big Sky Conference Championship, led by Sojourner's 17.8 points and 13.6 rebounds.

He placed third in the 1970 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with a high jump of 7'0". In doing so, he became Weber State's first NCAA All-American athlete.

Again, Weber State was matched up against Long Beach State and Coach Tarkanian, losing 77–66 in the first round of the 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament.

Sojourner had 9 points and 10 rebounds in his final college game.

Overall Sojourner had career totals of 1,563 points and 1,143 rebounds in 81 career games for averages of 19.3 points and 14.1 rebounds.

he shot 51.7% from the floor and 72.%1 from the line.

His point and rebound totals were Big Sky records at the time.

He still ranks second in total rebounds and first in career rebounding average at Weber State, with 14.1 per game.

A versatile athlete, Sojourner competed in track and field at Weber State.

Sojourner was selected in the second round of the 1971 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.

He was also selected the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association as their 1st Round pick (#8 overall) in the 1971 ABA Draft.

Sojourner signed with Virginia and played for the ABA Squires in (1971-1973) and New York Nets (1973-1975).

As a rookie, Sojourner averaged 6.8 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Squires, playing in all 84 games, alongside teammates Julius Erving and Charlie Scott.

Virginia finished 45-39 under Coach Al Bianchi.

In 1972–1973, Sojourner averaged 7.5 points and 5.7 rebounds for the 42-42 Squires.

He played alongside Squires rookie George Gervin.

In a blockbuster trade, with the Squires franchise struggling, on October 20, 1973, Sojourner was traded to the Nets with Julius Erving for George Carter and cash.

Sojourner and Erving were roommates on the road, the best man in each other's weddings and Sojourner dubbed Erving with the nickname "Dr. J".

With Erving starring, and Sojourner contributing 5.6 points and 4.7 rebounds, the Nets finished 55-29 and defeated the Squires (4-1) and Kentucky Colonels (4-0) in the playoffs.