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Arizona basketball: 30 Greatest Wildcats of all time

By Shereen Rayan

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Former Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson waves to fans as he walks with wife Kelly Pugnea during the first half of the college football game against the Utah Utes at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Former Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson waves to fans as he walks with wife Kelly Pugnea during the first half of the college football game against the Utah Utes at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

Arizona Basketball Greatest Player No. 18 – Derrick Williams

Position: Forward

Years at Arizona: 2009-2011

College Stats: 17.8 pts, 7.7 reb, 0.9 Ast, 0.8 stl, 0.7 blk

College Awards: 

2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
1st Team All-Pac-10 2010, 2011
2011 Consensus All-America (2nd Tm)
2011 NCAA Tournament All-Region
2011 Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year
2011 Wooden Award 10-player All-America team
2011 Wooden Award – Finalists
2012 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
2011 Three-time Pac-10 Player of the Week
2011 USBWA District IX Player of the Year
2011 First-team All-American by Sports Illustrated
2011 2nd Team by the Associated Press
2011 2nd Team by Sporting News
2011 2nd Team by the United States Basketball Writers Association
2011 2nd Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches
2nd Team Second-team by Fox Sports 2010, 2011

NBA Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Years in the NBA: Seven

When you think about Derrick Williams, monster dunks and blocks come to mind. Without Williams’ heroics at the end of some games in the NCAA Tournament, Arizona may not have made it to the Elite Eight. Head Coach Sean Miller had wooed him away from USC where he originally committed.

He had about three tries to get the team to the Final Four, but the ball wouldn’t fall. Williams averaged 17.8 points and shot 58.6%. He won earned spots on numerous first and second teams and was a Wooden Award finalist

Williams came out of school the year of the NBA lockout. When the NBA was back in session, Derrick was drafted No. 2 overall by the Timberwolves where he played for two seasons, then moved to the Sacramento Kings, then the Cavs where he received praises from LeBron James. He bounced around to another few teams including the Knicks and the Lakers and finally took his talents overseas.

The So Cal native is rocking Eurobasket in Germany for FC Bayern Munich, he is on fire recently earning MVP accolades:

"With the best performance of his brief Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career, FC Bayern Munich forward Derrick Williams not only made the difference in his team’s dramatic 88-84 win over Zalgiris Kaunas, but in the process earned the MVP honor for Round 12. Williams’s 27 points and performance index rating of 35 were personal bests for the 27-year-old EuroLeague newcomer, and both marks rank second in Bayern’s 56-game EuroLeague history."

We would love to see him back in the NBA playing for the right coach and the right system on a winning team where he can thrive.

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