William Gates

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For other persons named Bill Gates, see Bill Gates (disambiguation).

William Gates (b. ca. 1972) was a subject in the 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams, with Arthur Agee.

Gates and Agee were teenagers from the housing projects of Chicago who hoped to hone their basketball talent into careers with the NBA. The documentary followed them through their recruitment by St. Joseph High School and into their college years. At St. Joe's, Gates suffered a knee injury, which limited his playing and recruitment offers.

Gates is a graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played college basketball.

In 2001, Gates worked out with Michael Jordan in preparation for Jordan's comeback, and was offered a tryout with the Washington Wizards, but injured his foot; a tryout with the Chicago Bulls resulted in an offer to be on the reserve team, but Gates turned that down.

His brother Curtis Gates, also seen in the film, was murdered in 2001. As of 2004, Gates was a minister with the Living Faith Community Center in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood of Chicago, where he grew up. Gates and Agee remain friends.

[edit] Quotations

People say, "When you make it to the NBA, don't forget about me." I feel like telling them, "Well, if I don't make it, make sure you don't forget about me." (from Hoop Dreams)