|
John Willis was sharp-shooter for CHS, SWB
From the days of the "kiss shot" under Coach A.L. Trout to the 3-point marksmen of today, Centralia High School has had many great shooters.
And John Willis was one of the best.
As a senior at CHS in 1982, he had one of the finest seasons compiled by a Orphan player and then went on to a sterling career at Southwest Missouri Baptist University.
"When I was younger and playing at Lincoln School, I always shot one-handed when we were playing around," said Willis. "I think that helped me develop and every weekend we were playing at the Community Center and that helped, too."
Although he didn’t make the basketball team in junior high, Willis played at the freshman and sophomore levels at CHS before making the starting lineup as a 6-foot-2 junior guard in 1980-81 and averaged right at nine points a game while receiving the team’s Defensive Award and finishing second in assists.
As a senior, he blossomed as the Orphans won the 1,500th game in school history that season to certify their standing as America’s Winningest High School team. Willis scored 520 points in averaging 20.8 per game while shooting 59 percent from the floor (222 of 371) and 90 percent from the line (76 of 84). He was a unanimous selection to the All-South 7 Conference team and was named the league MVP playing for coach Jim Roberts.
A long distance shooter within range from anywhere inside 25 feet who went 12 for 12 from the field one night versus Benton, he did it all without the benefit of the 3-point line in high school.
"I wish we did have it then, but I did get to play with it in college," he said.
Much as his prep career took off his senior season, the same happened at SBU.
"It just all came together there," he said. "At first I came off the bench and ended up starting my junior year."
As a junior in the 1986-87 season, he was NAIA All-American honorable mention and an All-Mid-American Athletics Association first team selection after averaging 20.7 points and 4.6 rebounds with 42 three-pointer, 68 assists and 37 steals.
As a senior, he scored 20 or more points in 18 games and 30 or more in six games in scoring 622 points while averaging a school-record 23.9 points per game and ended as the SBU record holder with 1,752 career points, 674 field goals made, 1,374 field goals attempted, and was fifth with 296 free throws made and 336 free throw attempts. He also earned MIAA First team honors for a second straight year.
"I’d gotten bigger and stronger, and I had a teammate who pushed me to become a better player and made me work harder," Willis said of his days in college. "Someone told me not too long ago that Marty Blake came to watch me one time."
Blake, the longtime NBA Director of Scouting, was known for his visits to smaller schools in search of talent.
Now living in Chicago where he has worked a carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for the past 28 years, Willis said his visits to Centralia bring back a lot of unforgettable moments.
There was the overseas trip in the summer of 1981 when Willis was a member of the "Club Centralia" team made up primarily of Orphan players that won the Stockholm Cup at an international tournament in Sweden.
"I’ll always remember that," he said. "There’s a lot of memories there (in Centralia), like playing in front of a full house at the Holiday Tournament in one of the great gyms of basketball.
"There was so much interest in it. Just wearing the uniform was a thrill."
|