Billy Knight (basketball, born 1979)
American basketball player (1979–2018)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Price Knight (January 20, 1979 – July 8, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. His last professional stops were in Japan with Hamamatsu, Osaka, Hyogo and Yamagata.[1]
| |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 20, 1979 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 2018 (aged 39) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 209 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Westchester (Los Angeles, California) |
| College | UCLA (1997–2002） |
| NBA draft | 2002: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2002–2016 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Career history | |
| 2002–2003 | Akropol BBK |
| 2003–2004 | Entente Orléanaise 45 |
| 2004–2005 | Apollon Limassol |
| 2005 | JA Vichy |
| 2005 | Trotamundos B.B.C. |
| 2005–2006 | Al Rayyan |
| 2006 | Hollywood Fame |
| 2006–2007 | Santa Barbara Breakers |
| 2007–2008 | ESSM Le Portel |
| ? | Los Angeles Lightning |
| 2008–2009 | Boulazac Basket Dordogne |
| 2009–2010 | Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix |
| 2010–2011 | Osaka Evessa |
| 2011–2015 | Hyogo Storks |
| 2015–2016 | Yamagata Wyverns |
| Career highlights | |
Early life
He attended high school at Westchester High in Los Angeles. As a sophomore, he was a reserve at center when Knight's father decided that his son's chances for an athletic scholarship 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.[2] As a senior, he had developed into one of the top jump shooters nationally and committed to play college basketball for the UCLA Bruins.[3]
Professional career
Knight helped the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix to their first bj league 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".[4] In 2012–13, he helped lead the Hyogo Storks to their first Japan Basketball League (JBL2) championship.[5]
Criminal allegations and death
On June 13, 2018, Knight was arrested on six counts of molestation charges, including two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.[6][7] He died by suicide through multiple blunt force injuries on July 8 after jumping from a building in Phoenix, Arizona,[8][9] shortly after posting a video to YouTube talking about his mental illness and encouraging others to seek help.[9][10]
Career statistics
Professional
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Knight won a league championship |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Orléans | 9 | 29.3 | .450 | .447 | .722 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 17.7 | |
| 2003–04 | Akropol | 30 | 30.1 | .539 | .500 | .836 | 7.4 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 28.9 | |
| 2005–06 | Vichy | 12 | 30.4 | .401 | .275 | .773 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 15.7 | |
| 2007–08 | Portel | 31 | 26.6 | .499 | .369 | .764 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 16.0 | |
| 2008–09 | Boulazac | 19 | 26.8 | .534 | .439 | .775 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 14.9 | |
| 2009–10† | Hamamatsu | 47 | 29 | 26.2 | .413 | .395 | .795 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 19.6 |
| 2010–11 | Osaka | 50 | 37 | 25.0 | .457 | .357 | .797 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 17.1 |
| 2013–14 | Hyogo | 54 | 53 | 26.6 | .385 | .367 | .843 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| 2014–15 | Hyogo | 54 | 16.9 | .420 | .284 | .836 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 13.1 | |
| 2015–16 | Yamagata | 36 | 9 | 21.9 | .470 | .392 | .847 | 8.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 21.1 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Osaka | 4 | 26.5 | .421 | .000 | .783 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 16.5 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | UCLA | 24 | 1 | 6.0 | .444 | .387 | .727 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| 1998–99 | UCLA | Redshirt | ||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | UCLA | 28 | 9 | 11.2 | .453 | .397 | .656 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5.4 |
| 2000–01 | UCLA | 32 | 18 | 17.6 | .460 | .421 | .732 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 7.9 |
| 2001–02 | UCLA | 33 | 33 | 29.0 | .458 | .397 | .826 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 14.1 |
| Career | 117 | 61 | 16.9 | .456 | .403 | .774 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 8.0 | |
Source:[11]
