Brandon Williams is leaving Arizona to pursue professional opportunities, the program confirmed today. Williams missed his sophomore season as he recovered from offseason knee surgery, but he remained in Los Angeles when the rest of the team returned to Tucson this summer. Both side came to a mutual understanding that the best course for Williams moving forward is to pursue a professional career meaning he will forego the rest of his remaining college eligibility.
“Arizona, I Say Thank You!” Williams said in a statement. “Thank you to the University, the fans, the basketball staff and all those who supported me. I especially want to thank Sean Miller, who believed in me from day one. I also want to send a special thanks to athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie and the training staff for pushing me each day during this long rehab process. With that being said, it’s now time for me to pursue my goals of being a professional basketball player. I will continue to pursue my degree in the future, and it will always be UofA forever in my heart. Thanks again to the entire Arizona basketball family, both past and present! BEARDOWN FOREVER!!!”
Sean Miller had cautioned in the spring that the most crucial part of his recovery still has to be completed, so it was a long shot that he would be ready to go in time for the start of the season. Arizona also has been over the scholarship limit since the spring and needed to have something change to make room for all the incoming players.
Miller supports the decision by Williams to move on from the program.
“I am going to miss Brandon Williams being a part of our everyday program at Arizona,” Miller said Friday. “However, I am excited to follow his path moving forward, both on the basketball court and academically, as he continues to pursue his undergraduate degree from our university.
“Brandon is one of the most talented guards we have recruited during my tenure here. Unfortunately, his health didn’t allow him to showcase his talents for an entire career in our program. In his lone year playing for us, while he was never 100% physically, Brandon had an outstanding season.
“I completely support Brandon’s quest to pursue his professional opportunities, especially now that he has had successful knee surgery and over a year to recover.”
“On a personal level, I want to thank Brandon’s parents, Chris and Kisha, for their unwavering support of both their son and our basketball program. I will certainly miss seeing them at our games and throughout the season.”
Decision analysis
As I have said before, doctors have advised Williams that he should not continue to play basketball as far back as a year ago because of his ongoing knee issues but he has remained adamant that he wants to continue playing. The reality is it was going to take a lot to get him cleared medically at Arizona and there would have a strong chance that it would have never happened. It was also not likely that he would have been cleared by any college medical staff. He wants to play and now he will look for the chance to do that on a professional level.
This is not a decision that is catching the program off guard as it has been known for quite some time that this would be the final outcome. Arizona now has 13 scholarship players and is back under the limit for the upcoming season.
The reality of the situation with Williams is that Arizona was not anticipating him returning to the team and it was just a matter of figuring out what the next step would be. Williams has had his eye on the professional route for quite some time and he it seemed to be the most logical move for him to make considering the circumstances. He will have an opportunity to now look at a potential G-League option down the road or he could opt to go overseas to play professionally.
Impact on Arizona
The impact on the Wildcats is going to be minimal despite some fans believing that losing Williams will be present an issue for the team. This is something the staff has planned for, so there are other options in place to take his role. Would it have been great for the team to have him back healthy and ready to go for the upcoming season? Absolutely. However, the reality is that likely was not going to happen and there is certainly a fear that his knee issues could continue to linger and force him to again miss time in the future.
The additions of players like Kerr Kriisa, James Akinjo, Terrell Brown this season to go along with Jemarl Baker Jr. give the Wildcats plenty of options on the perimeter. All four players have similar skills to Williams with their ability to play both guard spots and score as well as facilitate for others.
A healthy Williams would certainly be in consideration for being the team's most talented player, but there is certainly not a ton of optimism that he will be able to reach that point again after going through another knee surgery last year.
All of that is not to undersell the significance of the loss of a player like Williams. it absolutely hurts Arizona overall as having someone like him on the roster could help elevate the team by giving the Wildcats another proven option on the perimeter. His goal was to be the team's point guard and this season would have been his best chance to do so, but health has certainly changed what could have been for the sophomore guard.
There will be some speculation (I have already seen it out there on social media) that the NCAA's decision to clear Akinjo for immediate eligibility prompted this decision from Williams, but it is something that has been in the works for a while.
“Arizona, I Say Thank You!” Williams said in a statement. “Thank you to the University, the fans, the basketball staff and all those who supported me. I especially want to thank Sean Miller, who believed in me from day one. I also want to send a special thanks to athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie and the training staff for pushing me each day during this long rehab process. With that being said, it’s now time for me to pursue my goals of being a professional basketball player. I will continue to pursue my degree in the future, and it will always be UofA forever in my heart. Thanks again to the entire Arizona basketball family, both past and present! BEARDOWN FOREVER!!!”
Sean Miller had cautioned in the spring that the most crucial part of his recovery still has to be completed, so it was a long shot that he would be ready to go in time for the start of the season. Arizona also has been over the scholarship limit since the spring and needed to have something change to make room for all the incoming players.
Miller supports the decision by Williams to move on from the program.
“I am going to miss Brandon Williams being a part of our everyday program at Arizona,” Miller said Friday. “However, I am excited to follow his path moving forward, both on the basketball court and academically, as he continues to pursue his undergraduate degree from our university.
“Brandon is one of the most talented guards we have recruited during my tenure here. Unfortunately, his health didn’t allow him to showcase his talents for an entire career in our program. In his lone year playing for us, while he was never 100% physically, Brandon had an outstanding season.
“I completely support Brandon’s quest to pursue his professional opportunities, especially now that he has had successful knee surgery and over a year to recover.”
“On a personal level, I want to thank Brandon’s parents, Chris and Kisha, for their unwavering support of both their son and our basketball program. I will certainly miss seeing them at our games and throughout the season.”
Decision analysis
As I have said before, doctors have advised Williams that he should not continue to play basketball as far back as a year ago because of his ongoing knee issues but he has remained adamant that he wants to continue playing. The reality is it was going to take a lot to get him cleared medically at Arizona and there would have a strong chance that it would have never happened. It was also not likely that he would have been cleared by any college medical staff. He wants to play and now he will look for the chance to do that on a professional level.
This is not a decision that is catching the program off guard as it has been known for quite some time that this would be the final outcome. Arizona now has 13 scholarship players and is back under the limit for the upcoming season.
The reality of the situation with Williams is that Arizona was not anticipating him returning to the team and it was just a matter of figuring out what the next step would be. Williams has had his eye on the professional route for quite some time and he it seemed to be the most logical move for him to make considering the circumstances. He will have an opportunity to now look at a potential G-League option down the road or he could opt to go overseas to play professionally.
Impact on Arizona
The impact on the Wildcats is going to be minimal despite some fans believing that losing Williams will be present an issue for the team. This is something the staff has planned for, so there are other options in place to take his role. Would it have been great for the team to have him back healthy and ready to go for the upcoming season? Absolutely. However, the reality is that likely was not going to happen and there is certainly a fear that his knee issues could continue to linger and force him to again miss time in the future.
The additions of players like Kerr Kriisa, James Akinjo, Terrell Brown this season to go along with Jemarl Baker Jr. give the Wildcats plenty of options on the perimeter. All four players have similar skills to Williams with their ability to play both guard spots and score as well as facilitate for others.
A healthy Williams would certainly be in consideration for being the team's most talented player, but there is certainly not a ton of optimism that he will be able to reach that point again after going through another knee surgery last year.
All of that is not to undersell the significance of the loss of a player like Williams. it absolutely hurts Arizona overall as having someone like him on the roster could help elevate the team by giving the Wildcats another proven option on the perimeter. His goal was to be the team's point guard and this season would have been his best chance to do so, but health has certainly changed what could have been for the sophomore guard.
There will be some speculation (I have already seen it out there on social media) that the NCAA's decision to clear Akinjo for immediate eligibility prompted this decision from Williams, but it is something that has been in the works for a while.
