by lawdog on Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:02 pm
To me, 1967-68 was the year that might have been for Wofford basketball. The team had won over 20 games the year before and basically everyone was back - expectations were high. I was a green freshman walk-on. Willie was a senior, and I had my share of shot attempts swatted away by him in practice - could be a little intimidating. I saw Willie as a player who always played hard; a nice guy but all business in the paint.
Shortly before the first game, our leading scorer and most versatile and athletic go-to guy on offense Bobby Kendall (a senior I think) was one of four Wofford students killed in an auto accident in the mountains - a traumatic event for the school. (I'm sure Boulder recalls.) It was a blow to the team too. We still had some good players and nice wins, but missed Kendall and his spark.
I was lucky to have a chance to spend some time with Willie recently at the reunion, and got a better chance to appreciate his many fine qualities. He is retired in Florida from a career in business, and looks great. His grand nephew Matt looks a bit like him, and apparently plays hard like he did.