Da'Monte Williams (born November 2, 1998) is an American former professional basketball player. Williams previously played professionally for U.D. Oliveirense.[1] Williams played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 2, 1998 Peoria, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Manual (Peoria, Illinois) |
| College | Illinois (2017–2022) |
| NBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–2023 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 20 |
| Career history | |
| 2022-2023 | U.D. Oliveirense |
High school career
editWilliams played his high school career at Manual High School, playing on varsity all four years.[2] As a junior, Williams averaged 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.1 steals a game as he helped lead Manual into third-place at the IHSA Class 3A State Championship. Individually, Williams was awarded the Associated Press 3A All-State First-Team, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A All-State First-team, the Champaign News-Gazette Second-team All-State, and the Peoria Journal-Star All-Area Co-Player of the Year.[3][4] However, William's high school career came to an abrupt end after he tore his ACL in the fourth game of season.[5][6][7] Williams signed his National Letter of Intent on November 9, 2016.[8]
Recruiting
editOn February 28, 2016, Williams verbally committed to play Illinois and John Groce over offers from high-major schools like Indiana and Cincinnati.[9] In March 2017, Williams remained committed to playing for Illinois after Brad Underwood was hired to replace Groce as head coach.[10]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Da'Monte Williams PG |
Peoria, IL | Manual (IL) | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 28, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 211 ESPN: 93 | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
editIn his freshman year, Williams played in every game but one and started three times, averaging 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists a game. In his sophomore year, he played in every game and made 18 starts, averaging 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.[11] In his junior year, Williams established himself more as a defender even though his average points were down to 2.8 points a game, he guarded players from the one to four position.[12] In his senior year, he was unanimously voted as captain of the Illini along with Ayo Dosunmu.[13] In this season, Williams averaged 5.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a game, all career highs. Moreover, his advanced stats were up as he set career highs in 15.1 PER and 10.0 box plus/minus. This was mostly likely due to his defensive contributions and his efficiency from three-point range as he shot 54.7%, which lead the nation for players that attempted at least two shots a games.[14] With the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States,[15] Williams returned to play for Illinois for a fifth year.[16] He played in all 33 games, starting 30, and averaged 3.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists a game. Moreover, with 159 games, Williams set the school record for the most career games.[17][18]
Professional career
editU.D. Oliveirense
editAfter graduating, Williams joined U.D. Oliveirense. He appeared in two games in their 22-23 season.
Post-playing career
editOn August 28, 2023, Williams was sworn in as a police officer in his hometown of Peoria.[19]
Personal life
editWilliams is the son of former NBA and Illinois basketball player Frank Williams.[20] Williams majored in sociology.[18]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Illinois | 31 | 3 | 16.9 | .337 | .225 | .705 | 2.9 | 1.1 | .7 | .1 | 3.5 |
| 2018–19 | Illinois | 33 | 18 | 21.5 | .344 | .317 | .700 | 3.5 | 1.2 | .8 | .2 | 3.4 |
| 2019–20 | Illinois | 31 | 22 | 21.6 | .347 | .283 | .700 | 3.6 | 1.3 | .7 | .4 | 2.8 |
| 2020–21 | Illinois | 31 | 17 | 24.9 | .515 | .547 | .681 | 5.3 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 5.5 |
| 2021–22 | Illinois | 33 | 30 | 28.8 | .307 | .325 | .531 | 5.0 | 2.5 | .8 | .3 | 3.9 |
| Career | 159 | 90 | 22.8 | .366 | .354 | .670 | 4.1 | 1.6 | .8 | .3 | 3.8 | |
References
edit- ^ "DA'MONTE WILLIAMS STATS". Retrieved June 30, 2023.
- ^ Schwindenhammer, Lonnie (January 18, 2015). "DaMonte Williams. son of Manual star Frank Williams, is making his own name on the court". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Men's Basketball (18 November 2016). "Groce and Staff Reel in Top-10 Recruiting Class". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Schwindenhammer, Lonnie (March 18, 2016). "Manual's Da'Monte Williams suffers his lowest-scoring game of the season". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Ferguson, Ron (December 9, 2016). "Illini recruit Da'Monte Williams of Manual will miss season with knee injury". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Stevens, Matthew (October 28, 2019). "Underwood Blames Himself for Da'Monte Williams' Offensive Struggles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Da'Monte Williams". Rivals.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Da'Monte Williams". 247Sports. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Da'Monte Williams". ESPN. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Vainisi, Jim (March 29, 2017). "Da'Monte Williams remains committed to Illinois Basketball following Brad Underwood hire". The Champaign Room. SBNation. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ ONeall, Matt (March 29, 2019). "Illinois Basketball 2018-19 Player Review: Da'Monte Williams". The Champaign Room. SBNation. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Wilson, Jalen (Mar 31, 2020). "Illinois basketball: 2019-20 season wrap up for Da'Monte Williams". Writing Illini. Fansided. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Pearson, Mark (November 23, 2020). "Illini men's basketball announces their captains for the upcoming season". WAND. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Richey, Scott (March 26, 2021). "Good Morning, Illini Nation: Season in review — Da'Monte Williams". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Murphy, Dan (October 14, 2020). "NCAA grants extra year of eligibility for all winter sport athletes, voids .500 rule for bowl teams". ESPN. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Good, Gavin (April 28, 2021). "Peoria's Da'Monte Williams returning to Illini basketball for a fifth season". Journal Star. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Good, Gavin (March 9, 2022). "Da'Monte Williams is a man of few words, but the guard's impact at Illinois--and in Peoria--runs deep". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Da'Monte Williams". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Cohn, Stephen (28 August 2023). "Da'Monte Williams sworn in as Peoria police officer".
- ^ Richey, Scott (March 1, 2020). "He's not flashy — like his dad — but Da'Monte Williams has value in other ways". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 31 March 2022.