Profile: Kevin Willis
HOOPS AND DENIM
With 21 years in the NBA, he’s tied with Robert Parrish for longevity in professional basketball. And if he signs on as a free agent this year, he’ll have the record all to himself. But basketball is not the only thing in the life of Kevin Willis, the 7-foot center who starred for MSU in the early 1980s. Beginning in 1988, when he was notching double digit points and rebounds for the Atlanta Hawks, Willis teamed up with former MSU teammate Ralph Walker, ’88, to form Willis & Walker, a custom clothing business for big and tall people who wanted fashionable leather jackets.
“There was a void in the marketplace,” explains Kevin, who majored in Fashion & Textiles at MSU and plans to finish up his degree soon. They were an immediate hit and counted the likes of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley among their clients. “About three years ago, we got into denim,” Kevin notes. “Our premium brand is Willis & Walker, which sells for $195 on up. But we have a sub-brand, W&W, that sells denim products to high school and college kids, with a price point ranging from $70 to $95.”
Their company has a storefront in Buckhead, Atlanta, and a web site (willisandwalker.com). “I’m in the grind every day,” he notes. “Ralph wears 10 hats and I wear 10 hats.” They contract the manufacturing out to Asia, Mexico, Italy and the Dominican Republic.
A native of Detroit, Kevin credits MSU with turning him into a man. “MSU was a fantastic ride,” he recalls. “If it hadn’t been for (former coach) Jud (Heathcote), my life would have been much harder. I learned discipline. I learned how to keep things in perspective. I learned to listen.”
After a successful career with seven NBA teams, Kevin calls his 2002-2004 stint with the San Antonio Spurs “the highlight of my professional career.” That was when he teamed for fellow Spartan hoopster Steve Smith and won the NBA title.