Derrick Williams (basketball)

Derrick Williams

Williams playing for Arizona
No. 7   Minnesota Timberwolves
Small Forward
Personal information
Date of birth	May 25, 1991 (1991-05-25) (age 20)
Place of birth	La Mirada, California
Nationality	American
High school	La Mirada
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	241 lb (109 kg)
Career information
College	Arizona
NBA Draft	2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
League	National Basketball Association

Derrick LeRon Williams (born May 25, 1991), nicknamed D-Will, is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was considered one of the top prospects for the 2011 NBA Draft and was selected as the second overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. ^[1]

College career

Derrick Williams originally committed to play at the University of Southern California but asked for a release from his letter of intent when head coach Tim Floyd resigned amid allegations of NCAA rules violations. ^[2] He was quickly recruited by first year Head Coach Sean Miller at the University of Arizona.

Freshman year

As a freshman Williams averaged 15.7 points per game and was named a freshman All-American and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.^[3][4]

Freshman year honors:

• Fred Enke Most Outstanding Player (Team co-MVP)
• All PAC-10 team

Sophomore year

Williams rose to national prominence in his sophomore year. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. During the 2011 season, Williams led the NCAA in True Shooting percentage (.690) and Effective Field Goal percentage (.650), helping lead the Arizona Wildcats basketball team to a regular season PAC-10 championship. Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year.^[5]

Williams also contributed to the Wildcats' run in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. He made a critical block with less than 2 seconds against Memphis. ^[6] He had a 3 point play against the Texas Longhorns, which advanced the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.^[7] Williams then led Arizona to an upset victory over the #1-seeded Duke by a 16 point margin to advance into the Elite Eight, where they fell 65–63 to, future champion, Connecticut.

Sophomore year honors:

• Pac-10 Player of the Year
• Three time Pac-10 Player of the Week^[8]
• USBWA District IX Player of the Year^[9]
• Wooden Award's 10-player All-America team in 2011^[10]
• First-team All-American by Sports Illustrated^[11]
• Second-team by the Associated Press in 2011.^[12]
• Second-team by Sporting News^[13]
• Second-team by the United States Basketball Writers Association^[14]
• Second-team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches^[15]
• Second-team by Fox Sports.^[16]

Professional career

Williams announced that he would declare for the NBA draft on April 13, 2011.^[17] He was selected with the second overall pick by the Timberwolves in the 2011 NBA Draft. During the NBA lockout of 2011, Derrick spent the summer at the University of Arizona taking summer classes to finish his degree. ^[18] Shortly after the draft, Under Armour signed an endorsement deal with Derrick Williams. ^[19] Derrick joined several other notable NBA players for an exhibition game in the Philippines during the summer of 2011. ^[20]

References

1. ^ Draft Express
2. ^ College basketball: Derrick Williams – the outlier who skirted the grassroots basketball hype machine and still made it – latimes.com
3. ^ Derrick Williams Named Freshman All-America
4. ^ Derrick Williams wins Pac-10 Freshman of Year
5. ^ Arizona Daily Wildcat – Williams named Pac-10 Player of the Year
6. ^ Tigers replay: Derrick Williams' block sealed Memphis' fate »
7. ^ Arizona vs. Texas: Wildcats Advance, Defeating Longhorns 70–69 – SB Nation Arizona
8. ^ Williams Named Pac-10 Men's Basketball Player of the Week > Pac-10 > News
9. ^ Williams Earns District Player-of-the-Year Kudos from USBWA – University of Arizona Wildcats Official Athletic Site
10. ^ Wooden Award
11. ^ BYU's Jimmer Fredette headlines SI.com's awards, All-Americas – NCAA Basketball – SI.com
12. ^ Arizona Basketball: Honors continue to pour in for Williams
13. ^ Jimmer Fredette named Sporting News' 2011 College Basketball Player of the Year – NCAA Basketball – Sporting News
14. ^ USBWA > News > Men's All-America Team
15. ^ Williams an NABC All-American – University of Arizona Wildcats Official Athletic Site
16. ^ Goodman, Jeff (Mar 7, 2011). "Goodman's 2010–11 All-America teams". Fox Sports (Fox Sports Interactive Media). http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/duke-blue-devils-notre-dame-fighting-irish-represented-postseason-honors-030711. Retrieved June 21, 2011. 
17. ^ Derrick Williams Declares for NBA Draft – University of Arizona Wildcats Official Athletic Site
18. ^ Derrick Williams in Tucson during NBA lockout
19. ^ SLAM ONLINE | » EXCLUSIVE: Derrick Williams Speaks on Joining the Under Armour Family
20. ^ Kobe Bryant: NBA vs. PBA All-Star Game Is Kobe's Playground in This Clip | Bleacher Report

External links

• Arizona Wildcats bio
• Derrick Williams at NBA.com
• Derrick Williams bio at ESPN

Persondata
Name	Williams, Derrick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 25, 1991
Place of birth	La Mirada, California
Date of death
Place of death