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Duke basketball team to lose guard
Williams wants to be closer to home
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Published: June 25, 2009
Elliot Williams, one of the players who sparked Duke to the ACC basketball tournament championship, will leave school to be closer to his sick mother.
Williams will transfer after one season to a school nearer his Memphis, Tenn., home. His mother, Delois, is seriously ill.
Williams is back home with his family, is in good spirits, according to Chris Kourvelas, an assistant basketball coach at his old high school.
Williams told Jeff Ruffin, the coach at St. George's Independent School in Collierville, Tenn., just outside of Memphis, that he would leave Duke because of his family concerns.
"Jeff and Elliot just touched base about a couple of things," Kourvelas said. "Jeff asked him what he was going to do. He said, ‘My mom's sick, and my family does come first.'"
Williams' next destination is unknown. Memphis will likely be a consideration, but he could also choose Vanderbilt or Tennessee.
"Two weeks ago, when Jeff saw him, Jeff said that he seemed like he's doing good," Kourvelas said. "His cousin is on our basketball team as well and he said that Elliot is doing pretty good."
Duke officials said yesterday that Williams will ask the NCAA for a waiver of its transfer rule so he can play immediately next season.
Under normal transfer conditions a player must sit out one season.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke said in a statement that he understood Williams' reason for leaving.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Elliot and his family," Krzyzewski said. "We fully support him in his efforts to be closer to them during this trying time.
"He is a good young man with an opportunity to become an outstanding player. We wish him well as he determines his future. He will always be a part of our program and we will always be in his corner."
Williams, a 6-4 guard, averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 34 games last season. He did not play regularly until the last third of the season, when Krzyzewski made lineup changes. Williams became a starting guard and Jon Scheyer moved to point guard, replacing Nolan Smith.
Williams started 11 of Duke's last 12 games. He scored a season-high 15 points at Maryland on Feb. 25. He helped Duke defeat Wake Forest 101-91 on Feb. 22 with a season-high four steals.
His departure and Gerald Henderson's decision to enter the NBA Draft will leave Duke with only two guards, Scheyer and Smith.
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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