Deron Williams
From Hoopedia
Deron Williams attended Arbor Creek Middle School in Carrollton, Tx. Williams attended The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas and averaged 17 points, 9.4 assists, and 2 steals per game as a junior in 2001. That year he lead his team, the Cougars, to a 32-2 record and the Class 5A state semifinals. In 2002 as a senior he averaged 17.6 points, 8.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game. His team, the Cougars, went 29-2 that season. Deron was a teammate of Bracey Wright who went on to play for Indiana University.
Contents |
College
Williams played college basketball at the University of Illinois beginning with the 2002-03 NCAA season. In his freshman year, he started 30 of 32 games and ranked third in the Big Ten Conference in assists with 4.53 per game. As a sophomore, Deron improved his scoring average from 6.3 to 14.0 points per game (led team) and improved his assists per game to 6.17. Deron was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media.
In 2005, as a junior starting point guard, Williams led the Fighting Illini to the NCAA championship game, where they lost to the University of North Carolina. Williams declared for the NBA Draft after the 2005 season, forgoing his final year of collegiate eligibility.
Williams received many awards after the 2004-05 season. These honors include being named a consensus Second Team All American, as well as being named First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and All-Final Four team. Williams was also a finalist for the John Wooden Award and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Chicago Regional in the NCAA Tournament. Williams was named First-Team All-Big Ten as a sophomore in 2004 and as a junior in 2005, the year in which Williams, called by coach Bruce Weber "the MVP of the team", led the Illini to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship game before losing to North Carolina.
NBA
2005-06 Rookie Season
Following the season, Williams declared for the 2005 NBA Draft, in which the Utah Jazz selected Williams with the third overall selection. He was selected after #1 pick Andrew Bogut and #2 pick Marvin Williams. Williams started the season coming off the bench, but eventually moved into the role of starting point guard. Williams finished his rookie season averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 assists per game, in 80 games played. Williams was rewarded by being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, as well as being the only other rookie besides Chris Paul to receive a first-place vote in the 2005-06 NBA Rookie of the Year voting (Williams received 1 first-place vote).
2006-07 Season
Deron began the 2006-07 season as the starting point guard for the Jazz. The Jazz started the season with a 12-1 record. This record was the best in team history and in the league. During these first 13 games of the season Deron played remarkably, delivering five double-doubles. Two of these double-doubles were back-to-back performances of 26/14 and 27/15 (points/assists). Both of these assists totals bested his previous career high. In the second of those two games, he also had a career high in steals, with five. On January 17, 2007, in a game against the Detroit Pistons, he recorded a career high 31 points. A few days later, on January 24, he recorded a career high 21 assists in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies which helped contribute to Carlos Boozer's career high 39 points. In his second season, his numbers have improved in almost all categories, increasing to 16.2 points and 9.3 assists per game. The Jazz improved to post a 51-31 record, winning the Northwest Division title.
2007 Playoffs
The playoffs ended a three year layoff for the Jazz, and in the first round they faced the Houston Rockets. Deron scored in double figures in each of the seven games in the series, including a 14 assist, 20 point double-double on May 5 to close out the series in Houston. It was their first playoff series victory since 2000.
In the second round, Williams and the Jazz faced the Golden State Warriors who had just upset the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the first round. Deron started off the series strong, posting double-doubles in two of the first four games as the Jazz jumped out to a 3-1 series lead. In the fifth game, Williams was plagued by foul problems and struggled from the floor hitting only one of eleven shots from the field, and scoring just two points. His teammates picked him up, and posted a 100-87 victory, sending the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998 - in the days of John Stockton and Karl Malone.
The Jazz faced the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals, a team led by Tim Duncan who had posted three NBA championships since 1999. Deron played his best basketball of the season in the first three games, averaging nine assists and over thirty points in the first three games. Spurs guard Tony Parker recognized Deron's effort in the Jazz game three 109-83 win. “He played good tonight. He was was very aggressive from the beginning of the game. His outside shot was going and he was aggressive in getting everyone involved.”
Spurs player Bruce Bowen highlighted Deron's skills, and compared him to the previous Jazz all-star guard. “That's what's missing today in the NBA is solid point guards. You have the scoring guards, you have guards that can't do some things. With him, it's special because he spent that time in college and learned more and more about the game of basketball. So he goes to a team that really needs a great point guard and he just fits the mold of a young [John] Stockton."
