5 Louisville basketball stars who deserved more time in the NBA

2. Terrence Williams

NBA Career: 2009-2013, 7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg

Teams: Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics

There has not been a more dynamic player walk through the doors of the Louisville basketball program prior to and post-Terrence Williams. His play, his highlight dunks, his infectious personality, his smile, his swag, and much more made him one of the most beloved players in program history, despite some of the issues off the court.

Of all five players that made this list, Williams is easily the player I’m most shocked didn’t have a longer NBA career. While some of that had to do with basketball-related things most of the issues that plagued his career were character and off-the-court related.

Williams was a bit an enigma during his time as a Louisville Cardinal. Playing alongside Earl Clark, Williams went from a raw athletic freak to one of the best basketball players in the country who was just as capable of dropping a triple-double as he was to put your best player on a poster. From incredible dunks to highlight passes, Williams star profile and Clark’s raw ability made Louisville one of the most fun teams to watch in the country (Williams appeared on back-to-back-to-back Sports Illustrated covers), pushing the program to the place it needed to be to attract the next level of talent for what was to come a few years ahead. His career totals of 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.3 steals per game helped him finish 19th on the all-time scoring list, seventh in rebounds, second in assists, and fifth in steals.

His NBA career, unfortunately, never reached anywhere near the level we all thought it could. T-Will was drafted 11th overall by the New Jersey Nets in 2009 and very early on looked to be as good, if not better, than advertised. However, it didn’t last as Williams began to butt heads with then-head coach Avery Johnson. The next several months would be the perfect synopsis of his entire career.

From reportedly suffering an injury from dunking in practice to being tardy on multiple occasions to practice and shootarounds, to poor performance on the floor, to recording a triple-double as a rookie to ultimately being sent to the NBA Development League as “punishment” by GM Billy King in his second season in the league.

Months later Williams would be traded to the Houston Rockets where he would play 22 total games before being released before signing with the Sacramento Kings for the remainder of the 2011-12 season. He’d attempt to latch on with the Pistons, with no success, before ultimately finding his first and only “long-term” spot in Boston.

I really thought the Celtics would help Williams turn things around as they made a smart move in moving him to the point guard position. In 24 games, Williams averaged a tad under five points but finished the final 12 games of the year looking like a potential long-term backup racking up multiple five-plus assist games and pushing his scoring average to eight points per night.

Unfortunately, after Williams was arrested for a domestic issue with the mother of his child, it ended his short-lived and underwhelming NBA career. I understand why Williams quickly became unsignable, especially after really never becoming anything more than a role player – but with time it would have been great to see him get another chance.

After his final season in Boston, Williams would bounce from the D-League to (setting multiple scoring records with the Los Angeles D-Fenders) to Puerto Rico, to Mexico, and Venezuela before attempting to make a comeback each of the last two years with the Big 3.

Williams is easily my favorite player as a Louisville fan and I hated that he never was able to play his best level of basketball in the NBA.