Willis Reed was a star for the New York Knicks and one of the greatest players in NBA history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But before he took to the NBA hardwood, Reed became a legend at Grambling and is still considered its greatest basketball star. In 1961, Reed led then-Grambling College to its only men\u2019s basketball national championship in history with a victory over Georgetown of Kentucky in the NAIA title game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After he left for the pros, became a basketball executive and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Reed never forgot about Grambling and the opportunities it gave him, which he why he always supported the school right up to his passing on March 31st of this year.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, Grambling never forgot about Reed’s contributions and efforts of support, and so last week the school decided to honor their legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the pre-game festivities for the Brick City Classic, which featured Grambling taking on Hampton at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, Grambling honored its graduate and university Hall of Famer with the establishment of a $1 million endowed scholarship in his name to benefit student-athletes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Attending the event were his widow, Gale Kennedy Reed, University President Rick Gallot and former U.S. Senator from New Jersey Bill Bradley, who played with Reed on the Knicks Championship teams of the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe was the soul of the team in the very real sense of the word,\u201d said Bradley of his former teammate<\/a>. \u201cAnd you know, there\u2019s a great difference between a star and a champion. New York\u2019s had a lot of stars. But only a few have been champions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Reed was definitely a champion.<\/p>