DECATUR, GA. -- Al Williams, who earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference basketball honors in 1969-70 and was a key member on the Drake team which played in the 1969 NCAA Final Four, died Monday night at the age of 60 after battling cancer.
Funeral services are set for Saturday at the Levett & Sons Funeral Home, 4347 Flat Shoals Parkway in Decatur, Ga., 30034.
"The team had affectionally named Al ? 'The Leaper' ? because no one on the team could jump as high as he could," said former Drake teammate Dolph Pulliam. "Al had great quickness for a 6 foot 6 inch center. Add that to his jumping ability and you can see why coach Maury John had him in the starting lineup in his junior and senior year."
Williams, a native of Peoria, Ill., started on Drake teams that played in both the 1969 and 1970 NCAA Tournament. Williams averaged 8.8 points and 7.2 rebounds on the 1968-69 Bulldog team which posted a school record 26-5 mark en route to finishing third in the NCAA Tournament. Drake fell to eventual champion UCLA, 85-82, in the semifinal round before blitzing North Carolina, 104-84, to claim third.
Williams was a co-captain on the 1969-70 Drake team, leading the Bulldogs to 22-7 record and the championship of the NCAA Midwest Regional.
He averaged 13.0 rebounds as a senior which was a school single-season record at the time. He also departed as Drake's career rebounding leader with 731 for an 8.6 average. That mark now ranks fourth on the school single-season list.
Williams grabbed 23 rebounds in a 95-84 victory at North Texas State Jan. 29, 1970.
He averaged 10.6 points during his career at Drake and ranks 27th on the school career scoring list with 905 points.
"I can remember being in the dressing room the evening we played UCLA in the semifinal round of the Final Four in 1969," added Pulliam. "During our usual loud and rambunctious dressing room pregame talk, Al leaped into the center of the locker room and yelled 'I'm going to out jump Alcindor!' (UCLA center Lew).
"Upon hearing those works we said to Al, 'now don't get too excited'. But Al showed the kind of spirit and will to win that helped the team reach the Final Four."
