Bill Sweek
![]() Sweek with the Bruins during 1968–69 season | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles County,California | January 9, 1947
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Career information | |
High school | Pasadena(Pasadena, California) |
College | UCLA(1966–1969) |
NBA draft | 1969:7th round, 86th overall pick |
Selected by thePhoenix Suns | |
Playing career | 1969–1975 |
Position | Guard |
Coaching career | 1971–1991 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1969–1970 | Hamden Bics |
1971–1972 | CSC |
1972–1975 | Stade Français |
As coach: | |
1971–1972 | EO Goulette Kram |
1971–1972 | Tunisia |
1972–1975 | Stade Français |
1976–1977 | Clermont UC |
1977–1979 | Le Mans |
1983–1984 | Hungary |
1985–1990 | AS Monaco |
1990–1991 | Limoges CSP |
Career highlights and awards | |
William Thomas Sweek[1](born January 9, 1947)[2]is an American formerbasketballplayer and coach. He playedcollege basketballfor theUCLA Bruinsunder CoachJohn Wooden,winning three straight national championships from 1967 through 1969. Theguardplayed professionally in France, and also became a coach in Europe and Africa. Sweek coachedClermont UCandLe Mans Sarthe Basketto national championships in France, and also led theTunisia national basketball team.He was later asports agent,and in time also worked as a high school coach and teacher.
Early life
[edit]Sweek played basketball atPasadena High SchoolinPasadena, California.[3]In his senior year in 1964, he was the school's co-Player of the Year with teammateJim Marsh,and was also named to the San Gabriel Valley All-Star Team by thePasadena Independent and Star News.[4]
College career
[edit]Sweek was a ruggedguardwho was a keyreserveat UCLA.[2][5][6]BruinscoachJohn Woodencalled him "one of the best players we've ever had at going into a game and stirring things up."[7]Led by the dominant play of Lew Alcindor (known later asKareem Abdul-Jabbar),[6]the Bruins went 88–2 in Sweek's three seasons on the varsity squad.[8]Sweek is one of 14 players who won threeNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titlesat UCLA under Wooden.[9]
Sweek played on the UCLA freshman team in 1964–65,[10]andredshirtedthe following season.[11]In1966–67,he was joined on the varsity team by incoming sophomores Alcindor,Lucius Allen,Lynn ShackelfordandKenny Heitz,who were recruited in 1965.[6][12]Sweek was thesixth manfor the Bruins, who went 30–0 and won the national title.[13]Wooden typically utilized him late in games whenever the opponents were rallying.[14]AgainstUSCin February 1967, Sweek helped stave off an upset in overtime after scoring two baskets, making twosteals,and forcing another turnover in a 40–35 victory overtheir intercity rivals.[7][14][15]For the season, he and Shackelford shared honors as the team's most improved player.[16]By the start of his junior year in1967–68,Sweek was supplanted byMike Lynnas UCLA's top reserve.[17]In the season opener, Sweek hit a game-winning, outside shot with two seconds remaining in a 73–71 win againstPurdue.[7][18]However, he generally received little playing time that season.[19]
As a senior in1968–69,Sweek was again voted the Bruins' most improved player.[20]The team had lost starting guards Allen andMike Warrenfrom the year before, but they were effectively replaced by Sweek, Heitz, and junior college transferJohn Vallely,who each played about equally.[21]In the semifinals of the1969 NCAA tournamentagainstDrake,the Bruins started poorly. Towards the middle of the first half, Sweek missed a defensive assignment, prompting Wooden to pull him from the game.[22][23]Already unhappy with his playing time having shrunk in the prior weeks, Sweek remained on the bench for most of the game.[22][24]When Vallely fouled out with four minutes left in the game, Sweek was directed by Wooden to re-enter the game. However, he was casual in checking in, prompting the coach to ask him to sit if he did not want to play. Instead, Sweek walked off the court and headed to the locker room.[23][24]After the game, won 85–82 by UCLA, Wooden was furious with Sweek, who felt certain he would be kicked off the team.[22][23]However, the coach eventually forgave him, and played him in the title game two nights later against Purdue.[23][24]Sweek shot a perfect three of three in the game, which the Bruins won by 20 points for their record-setting third consecutive NCAA title.[24][25]As years passed, Sweek's appreciation for Wooden's gesture grew.[23]"Somehow, he was gracious enough to forgive me when I was totally wrong," said Sweek.[26]
Professional career
[edit]ThePhoenix Sunsof theNational Basketball Association( NBA ) selected the6-foot-2+1⁄2-inch (1.89 m) Sweek in the seventh round of the1969 NBA draftwith the 86th overall pick.[27][28]He played professionally forStade Françaisin Paris.[29]Sweek served in thePeace Corps,and also became a coach in Europe and Africa.[2]One of the top coaches in France,[30]he ledLe Mans Sarthe Basketto consecutive national titles in 1978 and 1979 after having guidedClermont UCto a women's national championship in 1977.[31][32][33]He also coached theTunisia national basketball team.[3]
Sweek was later a sales representative withAdidas,[34][35]and became the vice president of team sports withVirginia-based sports marketing firmProServ,where he was also asports agent.[36][37]He represented European NBA players, as well as Americans interested in playing in Europe.[37]Some of his clients included the 7-foot-7-inch (2.31 m)Gheorghe Mureșan,the tallest player in NBA history,[38]Martin Müürsepp,[37]John Amaechi,[39]Terry Davis,[40]andDamon Bailey.[41]Sweek was also a French interpreter for the Romanian Mureșan.[36][42]While still at ProServ in 1996, he began coaching basketball atGeorge Mason High SchoolinFalls Church, Virginia.[43]By 2010, he had become a teacher inSonoma, California,where he taught history, science and physical education.[2][23]
Sweek played in a minor role in the 1971 movieDrive, He Said,which was directed byJack Nicholson.Michael Warren,Sweek's former UCLA teammate who became an actor, was also in the film.[44]
References
[edit]- ^"William Thomas Sweek was born on January 9, 1947 in Los Angeles County, California".californiabirthindex.org.California Birth Index.RetrievedMay 23,2020.
- ^abcdMyers, Laura (June 13, 2010)."Picking up more than splinters".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on October 24, 2015.
- ^abGohlke, Rich (April 5, 1972)."212 Victories in 10 Years".The Argus.Fremont, California. p. 14.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Jensen, George (March 23, 1964)."Marsh Named Valley's Top Prep Cager".Pasadena Independent.p. 15.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Witz, Billy (February 4, 2003)."BLAST FROM THE PAST AS SEASON CRUMBLES, UCLA'S ALUMS CRINGE".Daily News.Los Angeles. Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2015.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaHighbeam Research.
- ^abcKing, Jason (May 29, 2009)."Class of classes".Yahoo! Sports.Archivedfrom the original on March 5, 2016.
- ^abcSchrader, Loel (March 8, 1968)."If UCLA Needs a Pickup Saturday, Sweek Will Be Ready".Independent.Long Beach, California. p. C-1.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Mayer, Bill (May 1, 2009)."KU roster could be best ever".KUSports.Archivedfrom the original on June 19, 2022.
- ^Crowe, Jerry (April 3, 2009)."Kobe Bryant vs. Ron Artest is worth hearing".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on May 29, 2015.
- ^"Brubabes Trample PCC, 89–72".Pasadena Independent.December 19, 1964. p. 13.RetrievedAugust 2,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Ives, Hank (March 13, 1966)."Heartbreaking Opportunity".Independent Star-News.p. A-2.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Davis, Seth (2014).Wooden: A Coach's Life.Macmillan. pp. 251, 263.ISBN9780805092806.RetrievedAugust 3,2015.
- ^Meier, Ted (March 27, 1967)."UCLA—Place Where The Rich Get Richer".The Morning Herald.Associated Press. p. 16.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^abHollingworth, Hank (March 29, 1967)."Warren's Scoring Sacrifice Key To UCLA".Independent.Long Beach, California. p. C-2.RetrievedAugust 2,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"Weekly Cage Award Goes To Bill Sweek".The Independent.Pasadena, California. February 7, 1967. p. 15.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"Alcindor Votes MVP By The Bruins".El Paso Herald-Post.UPI. April 5, 1967. p. C-6.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Esper, Dwain (December 9, 1967)."UCLA Most Devastating".Independent Star-News.p. 8.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"Bruins Win Cage Opener Over Purdue".The Daily Plainsman.AP. December 3, 1967. p. 10.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"Lew And UCLA Eyeing Another Great Season".The Mexia Daily News.AP. December 5, 1968. p. 4.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"Alcindor Selected Most Valuable Bruin".Independent.Long Beach, California. May 8, 1969. p. C-3.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"'Different' Bruins Eye Record ".Piqua Daily Call.AP. March 18, 1969. p. 9.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^abcDavis, Seth (January 13, 2014)."The Wizard And the Giant".Sports Illustrated.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2015.
- ^abcdefPadecky, Bob (June 9, 2010)."When Wooden lost his cool".The Press Democrat.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2015.
- ^abcdWilliams, Pat; Wimbish, David (2006).How to Be Like Coach Wooden.Health Communications, Inc. p. 161.ISBN9780757303913.RetrievedJuly 31,2015.
- ^McMane, Fred (March 24, 1969)."Lew Came To Play in Finals".El Paso Herald-Post.UPI. p. C-1.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^Witz, Billy (June 6, 2010)."Wooden's Legacy Extends Beyond Titles".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on May 27, 2024.
- ^"Bucks Draft Alcindor's Teammate".Panama City News.AP. May 8, 1969. p. 16.RetrievedJuly 31,2015– viaNewspapers.
- ^"1969 NBA Draft".Basketball-Reference.RetrievedAugust 4,2015.
- ^Jones, Allen; Naison, Mark (2009).The Rat that Got Away.Fordham Univ Press. p. 170.ISBN9780823231027.RetrievedJuly 31,2015.
- ^"The world of pro basketball".Manila Standard.AP. November 2, 1989. p. 23.RetrievedJuly 31,2015.
- ^"Le Mans team profile".euroleague.net.July 27, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on September 25, 2015.
- ^Krasnoff, Lindsay Sarah (May 3, 2015)."French Basketball, from Cain to Batum".The New Yorker.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2015.
- ^HISTOIRE DU MSB / SCM(in French). September 22, 2008.Archivedfrom the original on August 4, 2015.
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ignored (help) - ^Jordan, Michael (January 13, 1999)."For the Love of the Game".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2015.
- ^Weiss, Dick (2013).True Blue: A Tribute to Mike Krzyzewski's Career at Duke.Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.ISBN9781613214176.RetrievedJuly 31,2015.
- ^abWilbon, Michael (September 17, 1993)."A BIG CHANCE FOR EVERYONE".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2016.
- ^abcGwin, Peter (June 1, 1997)."Translatlantic [sic]: How Europe is shaping US basketball hoops ".Europe.Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2015.RetrievedAugust 4,2015– viaHighbeam Research.
- ^Casey, Tim (December 2, 2013)."THE WIZARDS' WELCOMING GIANT".Sports On Earth.Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2015.RetrievedAugust 4,2015.
- ^Johnson, K. C. (July 18, 2001)."Bulls are plotting more moves".Chicago Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2016.
- ^Bucher, Ric (July 1, 1998)."FOR MANY WIZARDS, IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on March 13, 2016.
- ^Sokeland, Justin."Damon Bailey to France".Times-Mail.Archived fromthe originalon May 27, 2024.RetrievedAugust 4,2015.
- ^Brennan, Christine (September 16, 1993)."BIG BULLET SET TO GO".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2016.
- ^S and ler, Michael (February 14, 1996)."GEORGE MASON BOYS 56, RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY 51".Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on March 13, 2016.
- ^"Bill Sweek - Filmography".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon March 25, 2016.
- 1947 births
- Living people
- American expatriate basketball people in France
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- American sports agents
- American women's basketball coaches
- Basketball coaches from California
- Limoges CSP coaches
- Basketball players from California
- Guards (basketball)
- Le Mans Sarthe Basket coaches
- AS Monaco Basket coaches
- Pasadena High School (California) alumni
- Phoenix Suns draft picks
- Stade Français basketball coaches
- Stade Français basketball players
- UCLA Bruins men's basketball players