University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn's Marcus Williams Declares Availability For NBA Draft
4/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. (April 25, 2006) - University of Connecticut junior Marcus Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.) announced Tuesday that he will forego his final season of eligibility at UConn and make himself available for the 2006 NBA Draft. Williams made the announcement during a press conference at Gampel Pavilion.
"Over the past few weeks, I've been talking a lot with my family and with Coach [Calhoun] about the options for my future and at this time, I would like to announce my decision to make myself available for the 2006 NBA Draft," Williams said in a statement. "It's been a difficult and complicated situation, but I think it's the best for me and my family."
"The experiences here at the University of Connecticut included ups and downs, but I think they have all made me into a better person and for that, I will always be grateful," he said.
Williams is the 11th UConn player to declare early for the NBA Draft and the third in the past three weeks. Sophomore Rudy Gay entered the draft on April 17, while junior Josh Boone entered the draft on April 7, but has not hired an agent. Previous early entrants include: Donyell Marshall (1994 after junior season), Ray Allen (1996 after junior season), Richard Hamilton (1999 after junior season), Khalid El-Amin (2000 after junior season), Caron Butler (2002 after sophomore season), Ben Gordon (2004 after junior season), Emeka Okafor (2004 after junior season) and Charlie Villanueva (2005 after sophomore season). All but one of those players (El-Amin) was an NBA Draft Lottery selection and continues to perform in the NBA currently.
"This is a particularly sad and a happy day all in one," Head Coach Jim Calhoun said.
"I'll remember Marcus' smile from the office in the mornings. I'll remember his loyalty; I'll remember how hard he has worked on becoming a terrific basketball player that is, in my opinion capable of stepping into the NBA and starting for someone next year. I think he is that good ... That is the happy part."
Calhoun continued: "The sad part is that we're going to lose him. He's a terrific young man and I just really believe 100 percent in Marcus Williams and I reinforce that belief every single day."
Williams appeared in 70 games in his three seasons at UConn and is the all-time assist per game leader in the history of the BIG EAST Conference. He averaged 9.0 points and 7.3 assists in his career at Connecticut. As a junior in 2005-06, Williams averaged 12.3 points and 8.6 assists, appearing in 23 games. He averaged 20.0 points and 8.8 assists in the NCAA Tournament, earning a spot on the NCAA Washington, D.C. Regional All-Tournament team. He totaled seven double-doubles and one triple-double on the year, while handing out eight or more assists in 16 of 23 games.
His all-time assist average of 8.1 in BIG EAST games is easily No. 1 in conference history, surpassing Sherman Douglas of Syracuse, who averaged 7.0 assists per game in his career. Williams overall average of 7.3 assists is No. 1 all-time at UConn, outdistancing Doron Sheffer’s 5.5 assist per game total. Williams also holds the UConn single game assist record, totaling 16 assists at Notre Dame on January 30, 2005 and vs. Central Connecticut on December 22, 2004.
Williams led the BIG EAST in assists as a sophomore and as a junior and finished No. 3 in the nation as a sophomore in 2004-05. His total of 8.6 per game in 2005-06 was enough to rank him No. 1 in the country, but he did not play in enough games to qualify for the NCAA statistics.
