John Williamson

Who was John Williamson?

John Lee Williamson was an American basketball player.

Williamson played high school basketball at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Connecticut and played college basketball at New Mexico State University. He was a 6'2" guard. Williamson was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 6th round of the 1973 NBA Draft but had other plans.

While at Wilbur Cross High School, Williamson played on the Connecticut state champion teams of 1966-67, 1967–68 and was runner up to crosstown rival Hillhouse in 1968-69, losing 76-71 in the final. For his senior year, Williamson led the nation in scoring with a gaudy 38.7 points per game average. His team was upset in a semi-final match against Bridgeport Central, with an ending score of 105-103. Cross previously won over Central in the 1968 title game in a 123-82 game.

Williamsons' teammates, Alex Scott 24 points, and Clint Davis 40 points, led the way in the romp for Cross' third consecutive title. Williamson chipped in 17, which was his average that year. He went on to team up with Scott and Davis at New Mexico State University where he averaged 27 points per game his sophomore and junior years. In the final regular season game of 69-70 Cross played St. Anthony's Catholic of Washington, DC. They were the no. 1 team in the DC metro area and one of the top five in the country. Coached by Georgetown's John Thompson, Cross was a huge underdog. All-America player Williamson scored 36 points and fellow all-stater Danny Hardy had 22 to pace the Governors to a 74-66 win. In that game, John Thompson took his team off the floor and to the locker room with about two and a half minutes remaining in protest over officiating, and not return. During this season, Williamson had a string of nine straight games in which he scored 40 or more points.