One of the two transferring Hoosiers has found a home.
Nick Williams, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward from Mobile, Ala., will transfer to Ole Miss, the school confirmed today. Williams had requested a transfer after growing concerns about his future role with the team, given the talented six-person recruiting class on its way to Bloomington this fall.
"Nick is a talented, versatile wing who we are fortunate to welcome into our program," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said in the release. "The experience he gained as a freshman at IU, coupled with his outstanding prep career, make him exactly what we were looking for in filling our last scholarship."
The move makes sense for Williams.
Being in the SEC means a majority of his games will be far closer to home and thus easier for his family to attend. And without meaning any offense to Kennedy's program, Williams should find playing time easier to win in Oxford, Miss.
IU's other transfer, Malik Story, still has not found a school for next year. Click on to read the text of the Ole Miss release.
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss head basketball coach Andy Kennedy announced Monday that former Indiana starting guard Nick Williams is transferring to join the Rebels.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, the 6-foot-4, 211-pound Alabama native can start practicing with the team in the fall but is ineligible for the 2009-10 season. Williams may begin playing in the 2010-11 campaign with three years of eligibility remaining.
"Nick is a talented, versatile wing who we are fortunate to welcome into our program," Kennedy said. "The experience he gained as a freshman at IU, coupled with his outstanding prep career, make him exactly what we were looking for in filling our last scholarship."
A native of Mobile, Williams played in all 31 games and started 29 as a freshman at Indiana this past season. He averaged 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per outing, while leading the team with a 73.8 percentage from the free-throw line. His scoring improved in Big Ten play, where he averaged 9.8 points and pulled down 4.4 boards per contest.
He cracked double figures in scoring 14 times as a freshman, including a 19-point outburst at Wisconsin and an 18-point performance against Cornell. He grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds at Wake Forest.
Williams is a graduate of LeFlore Prep Academy in Mobile, where he was named the Alabama High School Player of the Year after his senior season. Rated the No. 30 overall prospect and No. 7 shooting guard by ESPN.com in 2008, he averaged 21.0 points and led his team to a 30-3 record, a No. 32 national ranking and a berth in the Class 6A state semifinals. As a junior, he helped LeFlore to a 32-3 record and state championship while averaging 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Other Rebel signees in this year's signing class are incoming freshman forward Reginald Buckner (Manassas HS, Memphis, Tenn.) and junior college forward DeAngelo Riley (Southwest Tennessee CC, Memphis, Tenn.).
