Duke guard Elliot Williams is leaving after one season because of family medical reasons.
He is expected to file an appeal for a waiver of the NCAA’s year in residence transfer rule that would require him to sit out the 2009-10 season. Williams is seeking to transfer closer to his hometown of Memphis, Tenn., to be near his family.
He initially chose Duke over Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Memphis.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Elliot and his family,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We fully support him in his efforts to be closer to them during this trying time. He is a good young man with an opportunity to become an outstanding player. We wish him well as he determines his future. He will always be a part of our program and we will always be in his corner.”
Williams started 11 of Duke’s final 12 games and averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 34 games last season.
Williams is a shooting guard, but Memphis is in need of a point guard next year with only Wesley Witherspoon and Willie Kemp returning. The Tigers are also involved with Lance Stephenson, but there has been no movement on that front.
In 2010, Memphis gets Will Barton and is targeting Joe Jackson at the point.
(The AP contributed)
TheFinger / June 24, 2009
geeze, how many guys named williams does josh want on his roster? you can bet he’s salivating over this one .
/
bball purist / June 24, 2009
I hope Elliot’s family member gets well soon. Wow, that would be a tough break going from coach K to JP, huh Rastaboy?
/
DrDick / June 24, 2009
First, my prayers go out to the Williams family. I hope for the best for them.
Wow! Josh Pastner is amazing. If Elliot transfers, he signs Derrick Williams and possibly Lance – Memphis will have the strongest group of incoming players in the country. Remember 6’11 Angel Garcia who sat out last year will be in the class too.
I believe Memphis will have a better group of players coming in next year than Kansas or the Kentucky Tigers. Pastner was a great hire!
/
1MphsFan / June 24, 2009
Don’t forget that Vandy was on his list of schools. So, Mphs is not a done deal yet.
I hope he comes here… we sure do need him.
If all goes well and everyones academics are ok………we land Derrick and Elliott Williams and maybe Stephenson then we are bad to the bone again. That is if Paz can coach. My bet is that he is a good a coach as he is a recruiter!!
Latavious, Derrick and Elliot………..”THE WILLIAMS TRIFECTA”
Hey Cal……..get you some of this!
/
Anonymous / June 24, 2009
Who are the Kentucky Tigers???
/
zonahoops / June 24, 2009
Derrick is going to arizona along with lamont. Maybe lance too. Well find out after his court date… william might be yours.. don’t think josh is a good recruiter yet.. he does the same tim flloyd thing get friend/ brother get star recruit
/
pastaboy / June 24, 2009
Elliott Williams will ask the Ncaa to waive the transfer rule due to medical reasons within his family …….Memphis would be a great choice for him in that Pastner needs guards and there will be plenty of playing time for him . Coach K is so over the hill he didn’t have the sense to play him until late in the season when Williams led them to the Acc conference title and a nice run in the tourney . Coleman …..LW ……Lance …… Derrick Williams …..and Elliott ……. nice haul considering the circumstances .
/
OldTerp / June 24, 2009
Maybe Williams wasn’t as good earlier in the season …. I love to see Duke lose, but Coach K. still knows what he’s doing – even if he is over the hill.
/
DrDick / June 24, 2009
The Kentucky Tigers are the new nickname for the school in Lexington that bought the Memphis coach and their recruits.
Kentucky also purchased the services of William Wesley who is known for steering the top players to John Calapari (does anybody want to guess how?). He should very soon be the focus of the NCAA – that will make Tim Floyd and his runner Rodney Guillory look like saints. Perhaps Kentucky should check out the background of coaches and their shady associates BEFORE they hire them.
/
USC.trojan / June 24, 2009
Good kid which makes another good decision.
Always better to spend as much time with his mother ,during these challenging times.
/
bob4455 / June 24, 2009
What’s UK’s Mascot Dr. Dick? Obviously you don’t watch enough basketball to know their mascot, or their team.
/
USC.trojan / June 24, 2009
AZ,
There is word coming out that MoMo has decided.
Some are saying that he is going to ARIZONA.
Any news on his decision and joining his godfather?
Note:
D.Williams is expected to visit Arizona this weekend.
So, the reports from Memphis saying that D.Williams would decide his college by Wednesday were completely fails. Not surprising ….
Or shall I say…..SHOCKING…..
LMAO….
/
pastaboy / June 24, 2009
Nice to see most of you in here saying nice things about the kid’s mother …ahem …… the deal is already done ….Williams signed the transfer papers with Pastner about an hour ago ….. now we’ll see if the Gestapo grants the waiver.
/
pastaboy / June 24, 2009
Kids don’t get better sitting on the bench …..he had the game …..guys like hose nose K and his psycho buddy Bobby Knight are old school has beens ….. playing freshman is a no no unless they are program changers .
/
USC.trojan / June 24, 2009
AZ,
WHATZ UP!
MoMo is an ARiZONA WILDCAT.
That makes TWO from NY……how many more to complete the THREE AMIGOS! (from NYC).
PS—
More news on another ANNOUNCEMENT…..D. Williams is excited about the Wildcats.
.
/
UKCATSFAN / June 24, 2009
You’re an idiot! It sounds like sour grapes. UK did not “purchase” their incoming recruits. If you knew anything about college bball, you would know that recruits pick the coaches just as much as the university. Coach Cal never took any recruit that had signed a LOI. You may want to turn your rant to Kansas for that one. It’s not UK’s fault that the recruits wanted to play for Calipari. It’s the recruits choice and like I said, in today’s game the kids pick the coach just as much(probably more) than ever before. Get over your sour grapes!
/
aznemesis / June 25, 2009
I took that as a swipe at Calipari taking Memphis recruits to Kentucky.
/
aznemesis / June 25, 2009
You know, I share your opinion of Cal & Wesley. However, I can’t help but wonder why Memphis fans had no problem with this behavior until after Calipari left Memphis. He was just as shady when Memphis hired him.
/
OldTerp / June 25, 2009
Williams is a good player, no question, and I agree that kids don’t get better sitting on the bench.
However, we have no idea what is going on behind the scene. I believe a kid’s work ethic in practice and overall attitude is what gets them off the bench. Williams was much better than Paulus – no question. He’ll be good at Memphis if he does indeed sign there.
/
pastaboy / June 25, 2009
Old terp ….this is a gift from the God’s for Memphis ……the circumstances are tragic however and should not be seen as any type of recruiting accomplishment
/
OldTerp / June 25, 2009
Pasta – I understand and feel for the family.
As for Lance, do you still think he fits at Memphis? Williams played off-guard at Duke but I’d really like to see him at the Point.
/
pastaboy / June 25, 2009
Memphis needs to just load the wagon and not worry about the mule being dead ( or in Ky) …….Pastner can’t use a strategizing sytem of recruiting at this point …he needs quality players ..and he needs them now .
/
OldTerp / June 25, 2009
Well they’ll sure be loading next year with the Barton brothers and some other potential recruits such as Harrison Barnes. Maybe Stephenson & Williams (if he signs) can split the #1 & #2 guard positions. Stephenson might actually be better at the off-guard.
/
pastaboy / June 27, 2009
Elliot Williams will make it official Monday …announcing his decision to attend Memphis and ask for a waiver to play immediately ……..We may also hear from Derrick Williams …despite Az . thinking he’s going there ….I still say its about 50/50…..but if I had to guess ….I’d say he’s going to AZ ……DW would have added some much needed depth to the Tigers but lets face it ….he wouldn’t have started over Latavious , Coleman , Witherspoon , or even Garcia …..the big news will come from Lance who I expect to declare for Memphis as early as Tuesday ….. With LW and EW on the team Lance knows he can take Memphis all the way
/
Big Ben / June 27, 2009
Harrison Barnes has said quality of education is a top priority. That’s not exactly the mold of a typical Memphis player. Most think he’s already down to 2 or 3 schools (Kansas, Duke and maybe Carolina) and everyone else is just trying to get him to pick up the phone.
/