Bill Chamberlain obit

Bill Chamberlain: From Rucker to Carmichael

Harlem native Bill Chamberlain (’72) was a smooth scorer and defensive stopper for the Tar Heels.

 

He was not on the list.

North Carolina confirmed on Monday the death of Bill Chamberlain, who was a standout player for the Tar Heels from 1969-72. Following in the footsteps of fellow New Yorker Charlie Scott, Chamberlain became the second black player on a varsity basketball team at UNC. The 6-foot-6 forward was a career double-digit scorer, a defensive stopper, and earned second team All-American honors his senior season. 

With the news of his death, we wanted to republish this Inside Carolina Magazine feature, written by Jack Morton, that told Chamberlain's UNC story in Dec. of 2005.

Bill Chamberlain’s gentle humor is immediately evident, kindly teasing his co-worker who happens to be a Duke fan. His presence in this North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety office seems warm and comfortable on a rainy Raleigh afternoon; a humble giant nestled comfortably in the government structures in the capital city’s downtown. A State Training Officer, Chamberlain’s eyes twinkle when reflecting upon his childhood days in Harlem, an epicenter for cultural legend and pride.

“My life in Harlem was a bittersweet experience,” said Chamberlain, now a resident of Apex. “My parents were amazing – both college educated and determined to fend off street influences in my life. It’s a magical place, but I was fortunate to get out of there in time for high school.”

Chamberlain attended Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookfield, N.Y., a 36-acre campus far removed from the inner city dwelling in which he was raised. Lutheran’s Reverend Visher, father of five, opened the door for Chamberlain and another Harlem youngster to attend the school, housing them with his family as if they were his own. The serene setting and academic focus provided direction for the future Tar Heel, and his talent on the court grew increasingly evident by the time he was a senior.

“I was an All-American as a senior, and received more than 100 scholarship offers,” recalled Chamberlain. “Just as important was my involvement in the school – I was the senior class student government representative and finished in the top quarter of my class academically – the school did so much more for me beyond basketball.”

New York City has been a basketball Mecca for decades, a melting pot in which blacktop mythology thrives in the midst of poverty and crime. A city practically void of sporting fields and recreational space, the metropolis sports hundreds of inner city parks and basketball courts, home to legends too numerous to list.

“There’s no room for baseball diamonds, that’s for sure,” Chamberlain laughed. “The street game was a right of passage. Playing well in the park leagues got you noticed, got you that ‘street rep’ that would take you places.

“There are so many street talents that go unnoticed in the City, a lot of the time because guys get mixed up in drugs or violence. A lot don’t make it out – it’s such a large urban center, and there are so many guys who simply aren’t lucky enough.”

In the mid 1960’s, the 6-foot-6 Chamberlain hit the court at revered Rucker Park on 155th Street and 8th Avenue with the likes of Julius Erving, Lew Alcindor, Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Dexter Westbrook, Joe “The Destroyer” Hammond, and Mel Davis, who currently serves in the NBA front office. One such legend that never reached his full potential was Earl “The Goat” Manigault, a future star at Laurinburg Institute in eastern North Carolina, then a basketball factory of sorts. Manigault went on to star briefly at Johnson C. Smith College, but developed an addiction to heroin, destroying his lungs in the process. Though he cleaned up later in life, Manigault died an early death, only to be forever remembered as one of many playground legends.

Playing at the Grant Projects on 129th Street, Chamberlain remembers a courageous Lefty Driesell, then coach at Davidson, climbing through a hole in the playground fence to watch the future ACC star. Making a name for oneself in New York City is said to be the key to future hoops success, and Chamberlain benefited tremendously.

“The great players have to develop fundamentally, and that’s one thing that I think I did well,” Chamberlain explained. “I narrowed it down to Carolina and Princeton, but once I met with Coach Smith, Coach Guthridge, and John Lotz, I knew where I was headed. That wound up being an easy decision.”

He arrived in Chapel Hill in the fall of 1968 to a campus still close-minded to the presence of African Americans. Coach Dean Smith was committed to integration, something he had forged on the campus with the company of Charlie Scott two years earlier. Chamberlain was only the second black varsity basketball player at UNC, a dubious distinction.

“Charlie definitely paved the road, made it a bit more comfortable for me coming in,” said Chamberlain. “My time at Lutheran was essential for me because it made me understand that color of skin wasn’t a determining factor – at least it shouldn’t be. I learned that Coach Smith’s father had integrated high school basketball in Kansas years earlier, so it was only natural for him to do the same.

“At the time, the world viewed black athletes as jocks. I was able to hold my own, especially in the classroom, in group discussions – my success in the classroom went a long way to help me feel comfortable everywhere else.”

Chamberlain enjoyed a successful season on the freshman squad during the 1968-69 season, joining the likes of Steve Previs, Dennis Wuycik, and Bill Chambers. The Tar Heels finished 18-9 during his sophomore campaign, the final time a Dean Smith team would end a year with fewer than 20 victories. Throughout his Carolina career, Chamberlain enjoyed being a teammate, reluctant to take credit as a front man.

“I tried to be selfless, tried to focus on things like passing and diving on the floor for loose balls,” said Chamberlain. “We crushed a lot of teams with our defense. It’s funny – 11 guys from my sophomore team went on to play professionally. That’s 11 out of 15; Coach Smith had a way of making players very good while remaining selfless.”

As a junior, Chamberlain was named MVP of the 1971 postseason NIT, fundamental to a run that included a 90-52 victory over Massachusetts in former playground rival Julius Erving’s final collegiate game – Chamberlain held soon-to-be-known “Dr. J” to 13 points. Chamberlain had a career-high 34 in the title game, hitting 13 of 18 shots and grabbing 10 rebounds in the victory over Georgia Tech. As a senior, Chamberlain led Carolina to a 26-5 record and an appearance in the 1972 Final Four, when the Tar Heels lost the national semifinal to Florida State, 79-75. He was named second-team All-America, and finished his Tar Heel career with one of the school’s highest career field goal shooting percentages (54.0%).

“This was one of our great teams,” said former coach Dean Smith. “We shouldn’t have, but I think we looked past Florida State ahead to UCLA, and got beat by a good Seminole team.”

Bill Chamberlain’s basketball career – and life for that matter – took a dramatic turn during his rookie season with the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels in 1972. Playing in the Greensboro Coliseum against the Carolina Cougars, Chamberlain chased a loose ball out of bounds and slipped on the edge of the arena’s hockey rink, slightly exposed at the baseline of the hardwood. The slip sent him careening into the Coliseum’s carelessly placed Zamboni machine, and the resulting collision left the budding star with two ruptured discs and an eight-week stay at Memorial Hospital in, of all places, Chapel Hill.

“That injury had a huge impact, that’s for certain – that was the beginning of the end, in terms of playing,” said Chamberlain, who was subsequently dealt to Memphis. “Teams at that time could get rid of you at any time with no strings attached, and they didn’t want to keep me around, thinking I’d have trouble recovering.”

The ultimate tales of travel were soon to follow. While taking muscle relaxants and using traction to rehabilitate his back, Chamberlain was cut by Memphis and spent the fall of 1973 playing in Yugoslavia. After a short stint overseas he spent several months with the Phoenix Suns before being waved and then headed to France for a summer league in 1974.

Deciding it was time to settle down and put his playing days behind him, an open-minded Chamberlain joined the coaching staff at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh), serving as an assistant from 1976-78 – his first son, William Jr., was born in ’76. Next came a stint from 1978-79 at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La., followed by a return to Pittsburgh and an ultimate move to Raleigh in 1981. Chamberlain has been in and out of state government work ever since, spending several years in the late 1990s as a coach at Laurinburg Institute and a teacher/coach at nearby Scotland County High School.

“I started working as a Crime Prevention Specialist, and formed the ‘Athletes Against Crime’ program in the early ‘80s,” said Chamberlain. “I worked in the Division of Crime Prevention and the Department of Youth Advocacy Office, and really enjoyed what I was doing – I felt like I was making a difference. Then my wife passed.”

Five weeks after giving birth to their second son Carlton, Chamberlain’s wife died of a cerebral aneurysm in 1988. The former Tar Heel was relieved of his job, a victim of the system’s lack of personal leave days - since changed. Frustrated, Chamberlain and his two sons moved to Greenville, N.C., a time during which he “cleared his head,” and he returned to Raleigh and a position in the Attorney General’s office in 1989. Chamberlain served as a Health and Safety Officer from 1989-94.

“It was a tough time, but we managed to survive it OK,” recalled Chamberlain, his eyes a bit glossed in recollection. “I left Raleigh for Laurinburg in 1994 and spent six years there coaching and teaching in the area – it was good to get back into basketball for a while.”

Frustrated by the dilapidated facilities in Laurinburg, Chamberlain spent time with his aging parents in New York in 2001, and after his father passed he moved his mother to Apex. He’s now in his third year as a State Training Officer in the NC Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

Bill Chamberlain is now a grandfather. He lives with his two sons, William Jr. and Carlton, his mother, William’s wife and two children in Apex, surrounded by those he loves in a family environment similar to the one that blanketed him during his years in Chapel Hill. On this ‘Casual Friday’ he is, naturally, donning a Carolina blue cabana shirt and enormous Carolina-looking basketball sneakers. From the waist down he resembles anyone’s favorite Tar Heel, his giant feet and long legs indicative of his talent. From the waist up, Chamberlain is like most former Tar Heels, still in love with his alma mater and the doors it opened for the New York native.

“The Carolina family has been helpful in every way,” said Chamberlain, gathering his things before leaving the office. “I finished there 33 years ago, and I’m still a part of the family.

“The common denominator we share means you were somebody, means you were someone special and a part of something great,” he continued as he put on his Carolina blue backpack and lumbered towards the elevator. “We had respect for each other and respect for our opponents. Coach Smith never wanted us to play dirty – he just wanted us to play cleanly, and to win.”

Career information

High school     Long Island Lutheran

(Brookville, New York)

College            North Carolina (1969–1972)

NBA draft        1972: 3rd round, 43rd overall pick

Drafted by       Golden State Warriors

Playing career 1972–1974

Position           Small forward

Number           42, 24

Career history

1972–1973      Memphis Tams

1973    Kentucky Colonels

1973–1974      Phoenix Suns

Career highlights

Second-team All-ACC (1972)