Willis Reed, Jr. is a retired American basketball player, coach and general manager. He spent his entire professional playing career with the New York Knicks. In 1982, his outstanding record and achievements were recognized by his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1997, he was voted one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History." After retiring as a player, Reed served as assistant and head coach with several teams for nearly a decade, then was promoted to General Manager & Vice President of Basketball Operations for the New Jersey Nets. As Senior Vice... President of Basketball, he led them to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Reed was born in 1942 in Hico, Louisiana and named after his father, Willis Reed. He grew up on a farm in nearby Bernice, a lumber town in an area of pine woods. His parents worked to ensure Reed got an education in the segregated South. Reed showed athletic ability at an early age and played basketball at West Side High School in nearby Lillie. He attended Grambling State University, a historically black college, where he played college basketball.
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