derrick-williams The Draft Review - The Draft Review minnesota The Draft Review - The Draft Review

Background: Unlike many of his prep counterparts on the California high school basketball landscape, Williams didn’t play for any of the powerhouses (Dominguez, Mater Dei or Fairfax) with their big profiles and ESPN coverage that boasts a host of prospects year after year that keep recruiters and college coaches coming back for more.

With Williams off the national radar he steadily raised his profile in the Pangos summer camp. Perhaps this is where former USC head coach, Tim Floyd, became intrigued with the combo forward. A few months later, at the beginning of his senior year, Williams committed to USC, citing his relationship with Floyd and close location.

Less than a month later Floyd was fired for the O.J. Mayo fiasco, so with his future coach gone and with NCAA sanctions quick to be handed down, Williams reopened his recruitment. Three schools, Arizona, Arizona State and Memphis, jumped to the forefront as Williams’ profile grew by his play during his senior year. He is no longer viewed as a two star player struggling to be a top 200 player, as certain recruiting lists had him. Williams was usually found among the top 125 players in the nation. He finished his senior year averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while leading his school to the quarterfinals of the CIF southern section playoffs. New Arizona Head coach, Sean Miller, made a big push to secure Williams commitment and, lucky for the rising coach, Williams enjoyed his visit and was enthralled by the history of the program. In the end Arizona beat out Memphis, the other finalist.

Williams’ freshman year at Arizona justified Coach Sean Miller’s persistence in recruiting the talented forward, as Williams led the team in points and rebounds, along with winning the Pac-10 conference Freshman of the Year honors. He was also selected to the All-Pac-10 first team.

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Statistics

SEASONS

GP

FG%

3PT%

FT%

SPG

BPG

RPG

APG

PPG

2009-10 Arizona

31

57.4

25.0

68.1

0.6

0.6

7.1

0.7

15.7

2010-11 Arizona

38

59.5

56.8

74.6

1.0

0.7

8.3

1.1

19.5

DIV I Totals

69

58.6

42.5

71.7

0.8

0.7

7.8

0.9

17.8

 

 

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