NEW YORK — Shawne Williams was the 15th man on the Knicks roster out of training camp.
After sitting for most of the early portion of the season, the 6-foot-9 former Memphis star has now become a go-to guy for head coach Mike D’Antoni, especially in the fourth quarter.
Williams is averaging 13.3 points in his last three games and is 10 of 12 from beyond the arc.
“For him to go to me in the fourth quarter on defense, that’s great,” Williams said before the Knicks beat the Raptors 113-110 Wednesday night at MSG. “That lets me know he’s got a lot of confidence in me and I appreciate that.”
Donnie Walsh drafted Williams to Indiana with the 17th pick in 2006, but a year later Williams was arrested in Indianapolis on a marijuana possession charge. He’s since had multiple arrests on drug, gun and suspended license charges.
Still, Walsh believed enough in his talent to bring him in this year and keep him on the roster over Patrick Ewing Jr.
“Shawne was more talented than some of the guys we were talking about bringing in,” Walsh told the New York Post. “But I waited until the final week before camp to sign him because I needed Shawne to understand that here, you’re going to be judged very harshly off the court. On the court I knew he could play, but he made very bad judgments off the court.
“He told me, ‘You don’t have to worry about me, Donnie.’ And I thought he learned enough from past mistakes where I could believe him.”
While home in Memphis and out of the league, Williams said he made a decision to turn his life around when his nieces and nephews began asking him why he wasn’t on TV anymore.
“That’s what I went through,” he said. “And that’s what I made my mind up to do — play ball.”
WALKER TO MAKE D-LEAGUE DEBUT
Former NBA standout Antoine Walker makes his D-League debut Wednesday night for the Idaho Stampede.
“My dream is to play in the NBA. I left the game at the wrong time,” Walker, who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2008, told the Idaho Statesman. “I want to leave the game on my own merit. … This is the perfect stepping stone to see if I can still be competitive and play at that level.”
Walker, 34, averaged 17.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in 12 NBA seasons with Boston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and Minnesota. He won an NBA title with Miami in 2006.
“I’m here to play,” Walker told the paper.
Yahoo! Sports reported that Walker blew $110 million of his NBA earnings. He has been pursued by creditors and has declared for bankruptcy, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Still, he’s been working out with Louisville coach Rick Pitino and told AOL Fanhouse he’s focused and ready to move forward.
“I’ve worked out very hard. Starting in May, I went back with Coach Pitino at Louisville so I’ve been at it pretty hard getting myself in shape,” he told Fanhouse. “Obviously I haven’t been able to play a lot of five-on-five because the guys that I was playing against are obviously playing right now, but I’ve still been able to work out.
“I’ll probably be a little rusty in the beginning because I haven’t played competitive basketball in a year and a half. It’s going to be a little rough in the beginning, but hopefully it all comes back to me real fast.”
(Photo courtesy Daily News)
