Greg Willard
| Greg Willard | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
November 5, 1958 Pasadena, California |
| Died | April 1, 2013 (aged 54) Huntington Beach, California |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Long Beach State, Orange Coast College |
| Occupation | Referee (NBA) |
| Spouse(s) | Laurie (m. 1990) |
| Children | Bryce, Shelby, Weston |
Greg Willard (November 5, 1958 – April 1, 2013) was an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1988 and wore the uniform number 57. Willard officiated 1,515 regular season, 134 playoff and three NBA Finals games.
While attending Long Beach State University, Willard officiated football as a member of the Orange County Football Officials Association and worked as a high school basketball official before advancing to the Continental Basketball Association where he spent four years. Willard also spent four years officiating basketball in college's PCAA (now Big West) and Pac-10 (now Pac-12) conferences. Willard earned his Associate of Arts degree from Orange Coast College.
As the NBA moved from a referee alignment of utilizing two-person officiating crews to that of a three-person crew in 1988, the League recruited top college and CBA officials to fill the new vacancies created by the officiating department's expansion, including Willard. The League previously experimented with three person mechanics during the 1978-79 NBA season when officials went on strike in protest of the move. Willard officiated his 1,500th career regular season game during the 2011-12 NBA season.
Since joining the NBA, Willard remained active with the Orange County Football Officials Associations as well as the Musical Youth Artist Repertory Theatre. He was a married father of three and was active in coaching local youth sports leagues. Willard resided in Huntington Beach, California.
After working 10 games during the 2012 NBA Playoffs, Willard withdrew from his June 6, 2012 assignment, Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, after being diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer. It was his last assignment of the 2011-12 season. NBA officials working the 2012 NBA Finals wore a #57 patch on their jerseys to recognize Willard.
...
Wikipedia