Corey Williams (basketball, born 1977)

Corey "Homicide" Williams (born Carey Williams; August 3, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He is best known for his time spent in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), earning league MVP honors in 2010 with the Townsville Crocodiles.

Not to be confused with Corey Williams (basketball, born 1970).
Corey Williams
Personal information
Born (1977-08-03) August 3, 1977
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight86 kg (190 lb)
Career information
High schoolRice (New York City, New York)
College
NBA draft1999 / Undrafted
Playing career1999–2016
PositionPoint guard
Career history
1999Dakota Wizards
2000–2001Club San Carlos
2001Brooklyn Kings
2001–2002Minas
2003Brooklyn Kings
2003–200408 Stockholm
2004–2005Yunnan Honghe
2005New Jersey Flyers
2005Westchester Wildfire
2005Sellbytel Baskets Nürnberg
2006Sioux Falls Skyforce
2006Guaiqueríes de Margarita
2006Cholet Basket
2007Sioux Falls Skyforce
2007Dakota Wizards
2007–2010Townsville Crocodiles
2008KK Cibona
2009Trotamundos de Carabobo
2010–2011Melbourne Tigers
2012Byblos Club
2012Piratas de Quebradillas
2012–2013Bejje SC
2013Hoops Club
2014Al Mouttahed Tripoli
2015–2016Tadamon Zouk
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Born in New York City as Carey Williams, he changed his name to Corey in middle school after being teased in elementary school. Due to poor grades in middle school, his mother moved him to an all-boys Catholic school in Harlem called Rice High School.[1] A late-bloomer, there were no scholarship offers waiting for Williams when he left high school. There was an offer to play basketball with a junior college in Kansas City called Penn Valley CC.[2] As a freshman in 1995–96, he helped Penn Valley win the NJCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship before being named a JUCO first-team All-American as a sophomore.[1]

In 1997, Williams joined Alabama State. He spent the next two years there, averaging 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 54 games,[3] while finishing his degree in criminal justice in 2000, fulfilling a promise to his mother.[2] Coming out of the small Division I school, he had no connections to professional basketball, nor did he have direction from any mentors. He decided to try his luck in the streetball scene, as he proved his worth on the playgrounds of New York City. He was so good, he picked up the nickname "Homicide" by the streetball MCs.[4]

Professional career

Early years

In 1999, Williams had a stint with the Dakota Wizards of the International Basketball Association. Williams, who graduated from Alabama State in 2000, spent a year touring with the Harlem Globetrotters before spending time in the Dominican Republic with Club San Carlos during the 2000–01 season. After playing in the United States Basketball League with the Brooklyn Kings in 2001, he was invited to try out with a pro team in South Korea.[5] Williams' 2001–02 season was then spent in Brazil with Minas.

After another stint with the Brooklyn Kings in 2003, Williams moved to Sweden in December 2003, where he spent the rest of the 2003–04 season with 08 Stockholm.[6]

2004–05 season

In July 2004, Williams participated in the Denver Nuggets Rookie/Free Agent Camp.[7] He later joined the Yunnan Honghe for the 2004–05 season, marking the team's inaugural season in the Chinese Basketball Association.[8] He averaged 27 points per game with Yunnan.[9] In May 2005, he had a one-game stint with the New Jersey Flyers and a three-game with the Westchester Wildfire, both of the United States Basketball League.[10]

2005–06 season

After spending his summer in 2005 working the competition on the streets of New York City, Williams was noticed by Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jim Todd.[11] As a result, on October 3, 2005, Williams signed with the Raptors for training camp.[12] Williams averaged 4.0 points and 1.0 assists in four pre-season games for the Raptors before being waived by the team on October 27.[13] On November 3, 2005, Williams was selected by the Austin Toros in the ninth round of the 2005 NBA Development League Draft.[14] He was waived by Austin on November 17 before appearing in a game for them.[15]

In December 2005, Williams signed with German team Sellbytel Baskets Nürnberg, but left the team after appearing in just three games due to family problems.[16] In January 2006, he joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the Continental Basketball Association.[17] In March 2006, he was named to the CBA All-Defensive Team and All-League Second Team, while finishing the season with a league-high three triple-doubles, also tying the franchise record for triple-doubles in a season with Cedric Hunter.[18] He later had a one-game stint with Venezuelan team Guaiqueríes de Margarita.

2006–07 season

In July 2006, Williams played for the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Summer League. He signed with the Denver Nuggets on October 2, only to be was waived on October 8.[12] Later that month, he joined French team Cholet Basket. He spent just under two months with Cholet, leaving in mid-December having averaged 9.3 points in eight games.[19]

On January 1, 2007, Williams was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce, now of the NBA Development League.[20] After being waived by the Skyforce on February 16, he was picked up by the Dakota Wizards a week later.[21] Williams won the NBA Development League Championship with the Wizards in April, averaging 14 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the 2006–07 season.[22]

NBL (2007–2011)

After playing for the Golden State Warriors during the 2007 NBA Summer League, Williams signed with the Townsville Crocodiles of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) on October 3, 2007, replacing the injured Rosell Ellis.[22] Williams spent three seasons with the Crocodiles,[23] leading them to semi-final berths in 2009 and 2010. To conclude his third and final season, Williams was named the NBL's Most Valuable Player for the 2009–10 season. He averaged 18.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists over his 31 games in 2009–10, shooting the ball at 50.6% from the field.[24]

During his tenure with the Crocodiles, Williams had off-season stints with KK Cibona of Croatia (2008) and Trotamundos de Carabobo of Venezuela (2009).

After being cut by Townsville, Williams joined the Melbourne Tigers in November 2010.[25][26]

In his four NBL seasons, Williams played 114 games (91 for Townsville and 23 for Melbourne) and averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest.[27]

Lebanon (2012–2016)

Between January 2012 and April 2016, Williams played for multiple teams in Lebanon, including Byblos Club, Bejje SC, Hoops Club, Al Mouttahed Tripoli,[28] and Tadamon Zouk. He also had a 12-game stint in 2012 with Puerto Rican team Piratas de Quebradillas.

Personal

Williams travels with a Jamaican passport.[29]

Williams joined the Fox Sports NBL commentary team for the 2015–16 season.[30][31] He continued on with the commentary team in 2016–17 and 2017–18.[32]

References
  1. "Making a Homicide". theplayerstribune.com. February 22, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  2. Otto, Tyson (February 23, 2016). "How street baller became Corey 'Homicide' Williams". News.com.au. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  3. "Corey Williams College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  4. Wood, Ryan. "How Corey 'Homicide' Williams Became a Streetball Legend". USAB.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  5. Lee, Laura (July 1, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Brooklyn a Haven for U.S.B.L. Hoop Dreamers". nytimes.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  6. "Corey Williams bjuder på passningskonst från Bronx". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). December 15, 2003. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  7. "Five Players Earn Spots in Rookie/Free Agent Camp". NBA.com. June 26, 2004. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  8. "Yunnan Honghe Bulls". china.org.cn. January 26, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  9. "Globetrotter". Toronto Star. October 3, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  10. "Corey Williams Career Stats". proballers.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  11. Hofstetter, Sam Blake (August 23, 2005). "BALLER OF THE SUMMER: COREY "HOMICIDE" WILLIAMS". nypost.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  12. "Carey Williams Player Profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  13. "Raptors cut Corey Williams, Morris". cbc.ca. October 27, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  14. "2005 NBA D-League Draft Board". NBA.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  15. "2005-06 Transactions". NBA.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  16. "Corey Williams kehrt zurück in die USA". schoenen-dunk.de (in German). December 23, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  17. "'Force Facts". oursportscentral.com. January 10, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  18. "'Force season comes to an end". oursportscentral.com. March 22, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  19. "Corey Williams". lnb.fr (in French). Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  20. "Skyforce Acquires Guard Corey Williams". keloland.com. January 1, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  21. "2006-07 Transactions". NBA.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  22. "'Homicide' to breath new life into Crocs". smh.com.au. October 3, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  23. ""Homicide" In The Ville, MacKinnon And Smith To Stay Home". jronfire.blogspot.com.au. April 28, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  24. "Homicide wins MVP at NBL awards night". NBL.com.au. March 19, 2010. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.
  25. "'Homicide' Williams to join Tigers". ABC.net.au. November 18, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  26. "MELBOURNE TIGERS SIGN COREY HOMICIDE WILLIAMS". asternwarning.com. November 18, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  27. "Player statistics for Corey Williams". SportsTG.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  28. "Williams in Tripoli, Avery in Bejje". lebanesebasketball.net. January 8, 2014. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014.
  29. "Where in the world is Corey Williams?". backpagelead.com.au. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014.
  30. Hurley, Jarrad (October 13, 2015). "WHY COREY 'HOMICIDE' WILLIAMS SHOULD BE IN THE NBL'S FOX SPORTS TEAM". aussiehoopla.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  31. Uluc, Olgun (November 18, 2015). "Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze joins FOX Sports' NBL commentary team". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  32. Randall, Michael (November 25, 2017). "Corey 'Homicide' Williams shakes up NBL with social media banter". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
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