DeAndre Williams

DeAndre Williams (born October 4, 1996) is an American college basketball player for the Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He previously played for the Evansville Purple Aces.

DeAndre Williams
No. 12 – Memphis Tigers
PositionPower forward
LeagueAmerican Athletic Conference
Personal information
Born (1996-10-04) October 4, 1996
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
College
Career highlights and awards
  • NIT champion (2021)
  • First-team All-AAC (2023)
  • Second-team All-AAC (2022)

High school career

Williams played basketball for Klein Forest High School in Klein, Texas. After his junior season, he enrolled at the Sports Association of Texas for Christian Homeschoolers, with whom he completed online courses and improved academically in hopes of qualifying for an NCAA Division I scholarship. He started training under the guidance of former NBA coach John Lucas II.[1] He played a postgraduate season at Nation Wide Academy, a new program in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds per game.[2][3]

College career

Williams was ruled ineligible by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for his 2018–19 season at Evansville. He was designated as an academic non-qualifier but was allowed to keep his athletic scholarship and practice with the team after Evansville submitted a waiver.[4] On November 12, 2019, in his second career game, he helped his team achieve a 67–64 upset win over No. 1 Kentucky in Rupp Arena.[5] On December 7, he recorded a career-high 37 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 17-of-18 from the field, in a 101–87 win against Miami (Ohio).[6] Williams missed 14 of Evansville's final 17 games with a back injury. As a freshman, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 64.8 percent from the floor. Williams was a four-time Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honoree.[7] After the season, he entered the transfer portal and declared for the 2020 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[8]

For his sophomore season, Williams transferred to Memphis, choosing the Tigers over Kentucky, Arkansas and Baylor.[9] He became eligible about three weeks into the season, after the NCAA approved a blanket waiver for Division I transfers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] Williams helped Memphis win the 2021 National Invitation Tournament, posting a season-high 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 90–67 semifinal win over Colorado State.[11] As a sophomore, he averaged 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game.[12] Williams was named to the Second Team All-AAC as a junior.[13]

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
2019–20 Evansville 181527.1.648.455.8006.92.7.91.015.2
2020–21 Memphis 212026.1.497.455.6925.83.42.2.511.7
2021–22 Memphis 262525.0.564.300.6935.81.71.3.711.1
Career 656025.9.567.406.7256.12.61.5.712.4

References
  1. King, Jason (December 30, 2015). "Inside the Growing Trend of Home Schooling in High School Basketball". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  2. "Evansville basketball player declared ineligible by NCAA". USA Today. Associated Press. October 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  3. "Opportunity at UE is a dream come true for DeAndre Williams". University of Evansville Athletics. July 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  4. Hickey, Pat (October 10, 2018). "NCAA declares Evansville basketball recruit Deandre Williams ineligible for 2018-19". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  5. Hale, Jon (May 3, 2020). "DeAndre Williams helped Evansville beat Kentucky. Could he transfer to UK now?". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  6. Kalbrosky, Bryan (December 17, 2020). "Memphis' DeAndre Williams, now eligible, demands attention from NBA". Rookie Wire. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  7. Lindskog, Chad (April 20, 2020). "Reports: Evansville standout DeAndre Williams enters NCAA transfer portal". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  8. Giannotto, Mark (May 14, 2020). "Evansville transfer DeAndre Williams, a top Memphis target, to announce college decision Friday". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  9. Roberts, Ben (May 15, 2020). "Evansville basketball transfer DeAndre Williams won't be playing for Kentucky next season". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  10. Lerner, Danielle (January 19, 2021). "Sometimes down, but never out: How DeAndre Williams landed at Memphis". Daily Memphian. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  11. Gershon, Aaron (March 28, 2021). "Former UE star DeAndre Williams helps lead Memphis to NIT title". Princeton Daily Clarion. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  12. Terry, Samaria (April 14, 2021). "'Let's do this again': DeAndre Williams announces his return next season". WREG-TV. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  13. "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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