Da'Monte Williams

Da'Monte Williams (born November 2, 1998) is an American professional basketball player. Williams previously played professionally for U.D. Oliveirense.[1] Williams played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference.

Da'Monte Williams
Personal information
Born (1998-11-02) November 2, 1998
Peoria, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolManual
(Peoria, Illinois)
CollegeIllinois (2017–2022)
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2022–present
PositionShooting guard
Number20
Career history
2022-2023U.D. Oliveirense

High school career

Williams played his high school career at Manual High School, playing on varsity all four years.[2] As a junior, Williams averaged 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.1 steals a game as he helped lead Manual into third-place at the IHSA Class 3A State Championship. Individually, Williams was awarded the Associated Press 3A All-State First-Team, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A All-State First-team, the Champaign News-Gazette Second-team All-State, and the Peoria Journal-Star All-Area Co-Player of the Year.[3][4] However, William's high school career came to an abrupt end after he tore his ACL in the fourth game of season.[5][6][7] Williams signed his National Letter of Intent on November 9, 2016.[8]

Recruiting

On February 28, 2016, Williams verbally committed to play Illinois and John Groce over offers from high-major schools like Indiana and Cincinnati.[9] In March 2017, Williams remained committed to playing for Illinois after Brad Underwood was hired to replace Groce as head coach.[10]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Da'Monte Williams
PG		 Peoria, IL Manual (IL) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Feb 28, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 83
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: N/A  247Sports: 211  ESPN: 93
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Illinois Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  • "2017 Illinois Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  • "2017 Illinois Basketball Commitment List". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022.

College career

In his freshman year, Williams played in every game but one and started three times, averaging 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists a game. In his sophomore year, he played in every game and made 18 starts, averaging 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.[11] In his junior year, Williams established himself more as a defender even though his average points were down to 2.8 points a game, he guarded players from the one to four position.[12] In his senior year, he was unanimously voted as captain of the Illini along with Ayo Dosunmu.[13] In this season, Williams averaged 5.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a game, all career highs. Moreover, his advanced stats were up as he set career highs in 15.1 PER and 10.0 box plus/minus. This was mostly likely due to his defensive contributions and his efficiency from three-point range as he shot 54.7%, which lead the nation for players that attempted at least two shots a games.[14] With the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States,[15] Williams returned to play for Illinois for a fifth year.[16] He played in all 33 games, starting 30, and averaged 3.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists a game. Moreover, with 159 games, Williams set the school record for the most career games.[17][18]

Professional career

U.D. Oliveirense

After graduating, Williams joined U.D. Oliveirense. He appeared in two games in their 22-23 season.

Personal life

Williams is the son of former NBA and Illinois basketball player Frank Williams.[19] Williams majored in sociology.[18]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Illinois 31316.9.337.225.7052.91.1.7.13.5
2018–19 Illinois 331821.5.344.317.7003.51.2.8.23.4
2019–20 Illinois 312221.6.347.283.7003.61.3.7.42.8
2020–21 Illinois 311724.9.515.547.6815.31.7.8.35.5
2021–22 Illinois 333028.8.307.325.5315.02.5.8.33.9
Career 1599022.8.366.354.6704.11.6.8.33.8

References
  1. "DA'MONTE WILLIAMS STATS". Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  2. Schwindenhammer, Lonnie (January 18, 2015). "DaMonte Williams. son of Manual star Frank Williams, is making his own name on the court". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. Men's Basketball. "Groce and Staff Reel in Top-10 Recruiting Class". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  4. Schwindenhammer, Lonnie (March 18, 2016). "Manual's Da'Monte Williams suffers his lowest-scoring game of the season". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  5. Ferguson, Ron (December 9, 2016). "Illini recruit Da'Monte Williams of Manual will miss season with knee injury". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  6. Stevens, Matthew (October 28, 2019). "Underwood Blames Himself for Da'Monte Williams' Offensive Struggles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  7. "Da'Monte Williams". Rivals.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  8. "Da'Monte Williams". 247Sports. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  9. "Da'Monte Williams". ESPN. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  10. Vainisi, Jim (March 29, 2017). "Da'Monte Williams remains committed to Illinois Basketball following Brad Underwood hire". The Champaign Room. SBNation. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  11. ONeall, Matt (March 29, 2019). "Illinois Basketball 2018-19 Player Review: Da'Monte Williams". The Champaign Room. SBNation. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  12. Wilson, Jalen (Mar 31, 2020). "Illinois basketball: 2019-20 season wrap up for Da'Monte Williams". Writing Illini. Fansided. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  13. Pearson, Mark (November 23, 2020). "Illini men's basketball announces their captains for the upcoming season". WAND. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  14. Richey, Scott (March 26, 2021). "Good Morning, Illini Nation: Season in review — Da'Monte Williams". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  15. Murphy, Dan (October 14, 2020). "NCAA grants extra year of eligibility for all winter sport athletes, voids .500 rule for bowl teams". ESPN. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  16. Good, Gavin (April 28, 2021). "Peoria's Da'Monte Williams returning to Illini basketball for a fifth season". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  17. Good, Gavin (March 9, 2022). "Da'Monte Williams is a man of few words, but the guard's impact at Illinois--and in Peoria--runs deep". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  18. "Da'Monte Williams". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  19. Richey, Scott (March 1, 2020). "He's not flashy — like his dad — but Da'Monte Williams has value in other ways". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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