Willard Leon Sojourner (September 10, 1948 – October 20, 2005) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player and international coach.

[1] Sojourner attended Germantown High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he didn't play basketball until his senior year.

[6] The Wildcats captured the Big Sky Conference title and qualified for the 1969 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, where they defeated Seattle 75–73, behind Sojourner's 22 points and 12 rebounds.

They lost to Santa Clara 64–59 in overtime in the West Regional semi-final, as Sojourner had 12 points with 18 rebounds.

[9][10][11] In his senior season of 1970–1971, Weber State finished 21-6 and earned their third straight Big Sky Conference Championship, led by Sojourner's 17.8 points and 13.6 rebounds.

He placed third in the 1970 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with a high jump of 7'0".

He was also selected the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association as their 1st Round pick (#8 overall) in the 1971 ABA Draft.

As a rookie, Sojourner averaged 6.8 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Squires, playing in all 84 games, alongside teammates Julius Erving and Charlie Scott.

[19] With Erving starring, and Sojourner contributing 5.6 points and 4.7 rebounds, the Nets finished 55-29 and defeated the Squires (4–1) and Kentucky Colonels (4–0) in the playoffs.

Attilio Pasquetti and Italo Di Fazi, Sebastiani's team and general managers, initially looked to acquire Mike Sojourner, but he had signed with the Atlanta Hawks.

Sojourner moved to Rieti, in central Italy, and began play in Lega Basket Serie A.

Thanks to rules which greatly restricted transfers of foreign players, Sojourner remained with Sebastiani for six years, until 1982.

He became the leader of Sebastiani, playing with Cliff Meely, Lee Johnson, Irv Kiffin and Tony Zeno among others.

When he arrived in Rieti on September 15, 2005, he was welcomed warmly by fans and decided to accept the position.

He was returning to his home near Rieti when, due to rain and high speed, he lost control of his car which crashed into a tree.

[28] His funeral took place inside the Palaloniano, Sebastiani's basketball arena, officiated by the bishop of Rieti Delio Lucarelli.