Eric Williams (basketball, born 1984)

Eric Bernard Williams, Jr.[1] (born March 26, 1984) is an American-Bulgarian professional basketball player. One of the top prospects of the 2002 high school class, he played college basketball at Wake Forest where he was a 4-year starter. He went undrafted in the 2006 NBA draft and moved to Europe to play professional basketball, mainly in Italy with stints in France, Poland and Switzerland, and also had experiences in Kazakhstan, China and Uruguay.

Eric Williams
Personal information
Born (1984-03-26) March 26, 1984
Frankfurt, West Germany
NationalityAmerican / Bulgarian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight280 lb (127 kg)
Career information
High schoolWake Forest-Rolesville
(Wake Forest, North Carolina)
CollegeWake Forest (2002–2006)
NBA draft2006: undrafted
Playing career2006–present
PositionCenter
Career history
2006–2007Cantù
2007–2009Avellino
2009–2010VL Pesaro
2010–2011JuveCaserta
2011–2012BC Astana
2012Reyer Venezia
2013Guangzhou Liu Sui
2013–2014Limoges CSP
2014–2015Cantù
2015–2016MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza
2016–2017Lugano Tigers
2017Hebraica Macabi
2017–2018Lions de Genève
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Williams was born in Frankfurt, Germany to parents Eric and Debra (née Certain),[2] who were both athletes at Livingstone College: his father was a football player, while his mother played basketball.[3][4] Williams grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and started playing basketball at age 9;[2] when his parents separated, Williams and his mother moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina when he was in eighth grade.[2] Williams enrolled at Wake Forest-Rolesville High school, where he played in the varsity team for 4 years, coached by Chuck Hess. He chose to wear jersey number 31[5] for the number of rebounds his mother once recorded in a single game,[6] and as a freshman he averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.[3] As a sophomore in high school he weighted 313 pounds[7] and posted averages of 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals per game.[3]

Williams was already being recruited by NCAA Division I colleges in his junior year[8] as a nationally ranked prospect;[7] he averaged 22 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks,[7] 5 assists and 3 steals, shooting 85% from the field, and during a game he broke a rim.[3] Wake Forest-Rolesville lost in the sectional final game against Leesville Road High School,[7] the team of 2001 North Carolina Mr. Basketball Anthony Richardson. Before his senior season Williams lost a significant amount of weight, reaching 280 pounds:[7] he recorded averages of 28 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals while being named Conference Player of the Year and Wake County Player of the Year, and was an all-state selection.[3] On December 4, 2001, against Northern Durham he shot 18 for 18 from the field, a North Carolina high school basketball record, tying Stuart Davis of Robbinsville who shot 15 for 15 in 1990.[9] He was ranked the 11th center in the nation by ESPN[10] and was in the top-40 of several national rankings.[7][11] He also finished in 2nd place for the Mr. Basketball award, behind Shavlik Randolph and ahead of Curtis Withers and Chris Paul.[12]

His successful senior year earned him a selection as a McDonald's All-American and in the Parade All-America Third Team. In the 2002 McDonald's game, which was played in New York City, he scored 9 points, shooting 4/10 from the field and 1/4 from the free throw line, recorded 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, and he was the top rebounder of the game with 13 rebounds in 14 minutes of play.[13][14]

College career

Freshman season

Williams was recruited since his junior year in high school, and received interest from Wake Forest, Clemson,[7] NC State[15] and North Carolina.[3] He signed for Wake Forest in July 2001,[16] becoming the third recruit signed under newly appointed coach Skip Prosser.[7] He chose a degree in sociology and jersey number 31, the same he wore in high school.[3] His official debut was on November 27, 2002, against Yale, and he recorded 14 points and 4 steals.[3] He scored a then career-high 20 points on March 21, 2003, against East Tennessee State in the NCAA tournament.[3] He started all 31 games he played, the third best result for a freshman in Wake Forest history, but during the season he was often in foul trouble, leading the team in fouls.[3] He also led the team in field goal percentage, and was the fifth best scorer with 8.7 points per game.[4][17]

Sophomore season

For his sophomore year, coach Prosser increased Williams' minutes, and the center improved his averages to 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.7 blocks. He started 24 of his 31 games, recorded a career-high 25 points against Indiana on December 2, 2003, and was named the ACC Player of the Week after his 24-point performance against North Carolina on December 20, 2003, when Wake Forest won after a triple-overtime.[3] He still had issues with excessive fouling,[6] but ranked third in the team in scoring behind Justin Gray and Chris Paul, second in blocks, and again led the team in field goal percentage, shooting .546.[18]

Junior season

Williams started his junior year with an improved physical condition, having lost weight, and reached 271 pounds, a significant drop from his freshman weight of 340.[6][15][19] He was also invited by Kelvin Sampson to participate in a training camp with the Under-20 USA national team, but was ultimately unable to join the team due to illness.[3][20] He started 32 out of 33 games and recorded a new career-high with 29 points against Cincinnati on January 22, 2005, and on February 2 against Duke he broke a Wake Forest record for offensive rebounds in a single game with 11.[3] On January 31 he received another ACC Player of the Week award; he led the entire ACC conference in field goal percentage with .630, which was also good for third place in the entire Division I.[4][21] The Demon Deacons reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated by West Virginia despite a 23-points, 12-rebounds performance by Williams.[4] He also managed to improve on fouling,[6] recording less fouls compared to his previous 2 years, and fouled out only twice in the whole season.[3] At the end of the season he was named in the All-ACC second team[19] and was an honorable mention AP All-American.

Senior season

Williams initially entered his name in the 2005 NBA draft and participated in pre-draft workouts, but withdrew in April without having hired an agent, something that allowed him to come back to Wake Forest for his senior year.[4][19] In his last season of college basketball Williams was again in the starting five (34 out of 34 games), averaging 32.6 minutes. He made his debut in the first game of the season on November 10, 2005, against Mississippi Valley State and posted 22 points and 9 rebounds.[22] On January 11, 2006, he recorded 22 points and 20 rebounds (career high) against Clemson.[23] His season averages were all career-highs: 16.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks; he also led the ACC in field goal percentage with .619, and was third in the conference for rebounding average.[4] At the end of the year he was named in the All-ACC third team.[24]

When he ended his career at Wake Forest he ranked 13th for points scored with 1,738, 6th in total rebounds with 858, and his 121 career starts ranked second all-time in Wake Forest history behind only Tim Duncan.[3]

College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Wake Forest 313120.1.547.000.6214.10.60.70.68.7
2003–04 Wake Forest 312424.9.546.000.6825.60.60.80.712.4
2004–05 Wake Forest 333228.8.630.000.5697.70.51.21.116.1
2005–06 Wake Forest 343432.6.619.000.4938.91.01.31.116.3
Career 12912126.8.593.000.5746.70.71.00.913.5

Professional career

After his final year in college, Williams was automatically eligible for the 2006 NBA draft, and during the NBA Draft Combine he was measured at 6 ft 7.25 in without shoes, 6 ft 8.75 with shoes with a 7 ft 4.25 in wingspan and a weight of 285 lbs.[25] He was not drafted by an NBA franchise, but he was drafted by the Yakima SunKings in the 6th round of the 2006 CBA Draft (61st overall).[26] He joined the New Jersey Nets for the 2006 Orlando Summer League,[27] playing in five games (2 starts) averaging 10.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game during the event. He did not make the Nets roster for the 2006–07 NBA season, and signed for Italian team Pallacanestro Cantù.[28] In his first season in Serie A, he played 37 games, averaging 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in 18.9 minutes, shooting .633 from the field. In 2007 he took part in the Las Vegas Summer League with the Phoenix Suns, playing 4 games with averages of 1.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 9 minutes. In July 2007 he signed for another Italian team, Avellino,[29] where he averaged 12.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in his first season, and 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in his second season. In 2008 he won the Italian Basketball Cup, and the following season he participated in the 2008–09 Euroleague, playing all 10 games and posting averages of 9.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.[30]

In 2009 he left Avellino for Libertas Pesaro, another team in the Italian top level, and he played one season there averaging a career-best 14.2 points and 8.1 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game: with Pesaro he took part in the 2009–10 FIBA EuroChallenge, finishing in fourth place. He played 15 games in the competition, posting averages of 11.9 points and 5.7 rebounds. In the summer of 2010 Williams obtained a Bulgarian passport, and became a Bulgarian national in October, after coming back from a training camp with the Portland Trail Blazers.[31] The Bulgarian passport made him an EU citizen, thus making easier for him to sign for European clubs.[32] In 2010 he signed for another Italian team, JuveCaserta, where he played in Serie A and in the 2010–11 Eurocup Basketball.[30] In 2011 he left Italy for Kazakhstan, and joined BC Astana, signing a 1-year contract.[33] Williams had a successful season with Astana, where he won both the national cup and the league title, was named "best center" in both competitions,[34] and won the Kazakhstan player of the year award.[35] In 16 games in Kazakhstan he averaged 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds.[30]

He went back to Italy in June 2012, signing for Reyer Venezia[36] but only stayed there for 6 months, being released in the last days of December 2012.[37] He then joined Chinese team Guangzhou Liu Sui, which played in the National Basketball League, and averaged 14.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 9 appearances.[26] He came back to Europe signing for Limoges, a French team, and he played in the LNB Pro A until February 2014[38] averaging 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in limited playing time. He signed for Cantù again in July 2014, and played a total of 35 games with the team, averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game. He also had the chance to compete again at continental level, taking part in the 2014–15 Eurocup.[30]

He signed for Steaua București on August 22, 2015, but did not play any official game with the team, and was released on September 6.[39] He then joined Polish team MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza and played the entire 2015–16 season there, posting averages of 10.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In 2016 he moved to Switzerland, signing for the Lugano Tigers.[40] In 2017 he transferred to Uruguayan club Hebraica Macabi to play in the 2017 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol.[1] After the experience in South America he went back to Switzerland, this time to the Lions de Genève. In the summer of 2018 he joined Wake the Nation, a team of former Wake Forest University alumni that competes in The Basketball Tournament.[41]

References
  1. "Eric Bernard WILLIAMS JR". FIBA. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  2. Daniels, Rob (March 11, 2004). "DEACONS' WILLIAMS OWES A LOT TO HIS MOM DEBRA WILLIAMS' GREGARIOUS NATURE AND HER BRIGHT GOLD HAT MAKE HER STAND OUT AT WAKE FOREST GAMES". Greensboro.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  3. "Eric Williams". godeacs.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  4. "Eric Williams". NBA.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  5. Blake, J. Mike (January 19, 2018). "Wake Forest High sposts HOF class". The News & Observer. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  6. Jones, Andrew (December 23, 2004). "Williams well-rounded for Wake". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  7. Daniels, Rob (July 11, 2001). "WAKE FOREST NABS A TOP-50 BIG MAN". Greensboro.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  8. "Top targets". The Cincinnati Enquirer. July 8, 2001. p. 25.
  9. "NCHSAA MEN'S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK" (PDF). January 30, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  10. Mayemura, Mark (August 27, 2001). "Class of 2002: Top 25 centers". ESPN. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  11. "Recruiting Services Consensus Index (RSCI) Rankings - 2002". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  12. "Mr., Miss Basketball Named In North Carolina By Ihigh.com" (PDF). nchsaa.org. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  13. "The Next 48 are up" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-01-29. 2002 game and rosters at page 83.
  14. "2002 McDonalds All-American Leaders". realgm.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  15. Weiss, Dick (November 26, 2004). "Wide a-Wake on top". New York Daily News. p. 144.
  16. "Feats of the Week". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 18, 2001. p. 19.
  17. "2002-03 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  18. "2003-04 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  19. Daniels, Rob (April 13, 2005). "WAKE FOREST'S WILLIAMS MIGHT TEST NBA WATER DEACONS SOPHOMORE CHRIS PAUL, WIDELY CONSIDERED TO BE A HIGH DRAFT PICK, HAS YET TO ANNOUNCE HIS INTENTIONS". Greensboro.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  20. "SAMPSON'S USA TEAM FINALIZED". soonersports.com. July 23, 2004. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  21. "2004-05 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  22. "Williams scores 22 in No. 18 Wake Forest's debut". ESPN. November 11, 2005. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  23. "Clemson 74, Wake Forest 73 (OT)". ESPN. January 12, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  24. "2005-06 All-ACC & All-Academic Teams" (PDF). Atlantic Coast Conference 2005-06 ACC Annual Report. p. 39.
  25. "Draft Combine Anthro 2006-07". NBA.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  26. "Steaua CSM EximBank Bucuresti cut Eric Williams". eurobasket.com. September 5, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  27. Kerber, Fred (July 11, 2006). "Rookies lead Nets". New York Post. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  28. Oriani, Massimo (October 9, 2006). "C' è Jordan Vince Cantù" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  29. "L'Air Avellino ingaggia il pivot Eric Williams" (in Italian). legabasket.it. July 26, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  30. "WILLIAMS, ERIC". euroleague.net. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  31. Ely, Bruce (October 2, 2010). "Blazers Fan Fest notes: Maybe a few boos, but mostly cheers for Rudy Fernandez". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  32. Anzoini, Camillo (October 9, 2010). "BASKET Caserta, preso Williams il "bulgaro"" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport.
  33. "Basketball club Astana got a new 5 from US". tengrinews.kz. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  34. "History". bcastana.kz. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  35. Caldarelli, Maurizio (June 7, 2012). "Eric Williams lascia Boniciolli e passa a Venezia" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  36. "Reyer ingaggia il "centro" Eric Williams" (in Italian). Corriere del Veneto. June 6, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  37. "RISOLUZIONE CONSENSUALE TRA UMANA REYER ED ERIC WILLIAMS" (in Italian). reyer.it. December 27, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  38. "Basket: ufficiale il ritorno di Williams a Cantù. Attesa la firma di Jones" (in Italian). Corriere di Como. July 18, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  39. "Steaua CSM EximBank a renunţat la Eric Williams" (in Romanian). steauabaschet.ro. September 9, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  40. "Nuovo arrivo in casa Tigers" (in Italian). tio.ch. November 10, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  41. Johns, Les (July 10, 2018). "Meet Wake The Nation - Wake Forest Alumni join forces for TBT". 247sports.com. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
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