Willie Wise
From Hoopedia
Willie M. Wise (born March 3, 1947 in San Francisco, California) is an American former professional basketball player.
A 6'6" forward from Drake University, Wise earned a spot on the American Basketball Association's (ABA) Los Angeles (later Utah) Stars as a walk-on in 1969. He would prove to be one of the best all-around players in the league, as he was both a proficient scorer (19.2 points per game during his ABA career) and a highly-esteemed defender. Indeed, while playing for the Stars, who won the 1971 ABA Championship, Sports Illustrated described him as "the best two-way performer in pro basketball." Wise later played with the Virginia Squires.
"Wondrous Willie" also studied the Bible with the Jehovah's Witness for a period and refused to wear an American flag patch on his team uniform. (He became a born-again Christian in the late 1970s. Today, he is active in the Church in Bellevue, located in Bellevue, Washington.)
After the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, Wise played one full season, and part of another in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics.
