| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 4, 1929 Shelbyville, Indiana, US |
| Died | August 7, 1974 (aged 45) Indianapolis, Indiana, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Shelbyville HS (Shelbyville, Indiana) |
| College | Indiana (1948–1951) |
| NBA draft | 1951: 2nd round, 16th overall pick |
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
| Position | Center |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1953–1956 | Harlem Globetrotters |
| As coach: | |
| 1956–1957 | Wood HS |
| 1957–1968 | Crispus Attucks HS |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach:
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
William Leon Garrett (April 4, 1929 – August 7, 1974) was a basketball player, coach, educator, and a college administrator who is best known as the first African American to regularly play on a Big Ten Conference varsity basketball team. Prior to becoming a college player for Indiana University (1947–51), the Shelbyville, Indiana, native led his Shelbyville High School basketball team to its first state high school basketball championship in 1947 and he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball. In 1959 Garrett coached Indianapolis's Crispus Attucks High School boys' basketball team to the state high school basketball championship title, making him the only Indiana Mr. Basketball to win a state championship as a player and as a coach.
The Boston Celtics chose Garrett in the second round of the 1951 National Basketball Association draft, but he was drafted into the U.S. Army and released from the Celtics without playing in an NBA regular season or playoff game. After completing his military service in 1953, Garrett played exhibition games for the Harlem Globetrotters for less than two years before becoming a basketball coach and educator in Indianapolis. In his later years Garrett served as a coach and athletic director at Crispus Attucks High School, an instructor at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, and as assistant dean for student services at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Garrett was inducted into Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974.