Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 58

March 24th, 2009

– Donell Williams is a training camp signing of the Clippers in 2007 who hasn’t done anything of note before or since. A 28-year-old 6’3 guard, Williams spent his first two collegiate years at West Los Angeles Community College, before transferring to Fayetteville State for his final two years, averaging 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in his senior year, 2004-05. D-Will then went back to school for the 2005-06 season to complete his degree, even though he wasn’t eligible to play for the basketball team. The following season, his basketball career finally started, with Williams now aged 26. Williams played in the 2006 JBL Pro-Am League, a largely unheard-of American minor league that takes place between April and May, in which he averaged 27 ppg, 16 rpg and 5 apg. He then did nothing for the next 16 months, between May 2006 and October 2007. And then he was somehow signed by the Clippers. After unsurprisingly not making the team, Williams went to the D-League, totalled 38 points and 21 rebounds in 18 games with the Bakersfield Jam, and was waived in January 2008. He hasn’t played anywhere since.

Of all the random training camp signings we’ve had over the years – Brad Stricker, Rashid Byrd, Ajani Williams, etc – I think this one is the most random.

– Corliss Williamson retired in the 2007 offseason and became an assistant coach at Arkansas Baptist College. Whether he’s still there or not, I can’t tell. Here’s a story he’s in from a reunion of the 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks.

– Kevin Willis is now 46, and presumably not going to make another comeback. Then again, we fell for that once before. According to this story from October, Willis was running a custom jeans company called Willis & Walker. However, the company’s website no longer exists, which doesn’t bode well.

– Roderick Wilmont started the year with Solsonica Rieti in Italy, totalling 13 points and 10 fouls in three games, before moving to join Aliaga Petkim in Turkey. Wilmont has averaged 11.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 20 games in the Turkish league.

– Kennedy Winston did the opposite, starting in Turkey and then leaving. K-Win averaged only 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16 games for Turk Telekom, before landing a plush gig at Real Madrid as the replacement for Quinton Hosley. Winston has totalled 6 and 3 in his two games there.

– DaShaun Wood averages 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists for Benetton Treviso in the EuroCup. He has barely played for the team in the Italian league, presumably due to some rules limiting the amount of foreigners or something, but he has totalled 23 points, 20 assists and 18 rebounds in the 5 games he has played there.

– Loren Woods – the original L Train, thank you Austin Carr – was waived by the Rockets this offseason due to a combination of their eternal tightness, the need for roster spots, and his inabilty to prove he was worth it. He then signed in Lithuania for Zalgiris Kaunas, and averaged 12.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the EuroLeague, 8.4/5.8/1.4 in the Lithuanian league, and 7.8/8.5/1.5 in the Baltic League. He left the club in December after the near-bankrupt team released all its foreign players in a bid to stay solvent. Woods then signed in Zaragoza (a Spanish city with a tiny airport, albeit with a funky roof), and has averaged 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in his two games for the team. To think that I passed within a few miles of Loren Woods recently and didn’t know about it. Oh the shame.

– Qyntel Woods started the season with Fortitudo Bologna, and averaged 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game in the Italian league, alongside 14.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg in the EuroCup. He then left in January and signed with Prokom Sopot, for whom he has averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in the Polish league, alongside 12.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in the EuroLeague.

– Bracey Wright started the year with DKV Joventut Badalona, where he averaged 14.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the Spanish league, alongside 12.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in the EuroLeague, before being released by the team at the start of the year after he missed a few games due to “family issues”. A bit of a soap opera then unfolded; it was widely reported that Wright had signed with KK Zadar in Croatia, but he hadn’t, and he eventually re-signed with the team he played for last year, Aris Thessaloniki. However, that was six weeks ago, and Wright still hasn’t played for them yet due to conditioning problems. This article says that the team might replace him.

– Finally, former Pacers draft pick Rashad Wright is in Germany, playing for ALBA Berlin, a team absolutely stacked with Americans who managed to make it impressively far in this year’s EuroLeague before becoming overmatched. Wright averaged 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in EuroLeague play, along with 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the German league, while being part of a fearsome backcourt rotation that also features Casey Jacobsen, Immy McElroy and Julius Jenkins. .