Darrell Williams Gives Unique Tale As Rise To NBA Draft Prospect

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Darrell Williams Gives Unique Tale As Rise To NBA Draft Prospect 

Post#1 » by RealGM Articles » Thu Jun 11, 2015 3:09 am

In the midst of the predraft workouts and interviews, the tale of Darrell Willliams has struck NBA executives: In jail just three years ago, and now in the NBA 2015 Draft process. Williams was wrongly convicted on a sexual assault charge, a contributing reserve at Oklahoma State cut from his team and vanquished from a career in basketball.


Williams, an admirer of Draymond Green’s game, starred at Texas A&M Commerce this season to finish his collegiate career. He had been charged guilty into jail for a falsified incident in 2010, a college party that slowly, surely, came around two years later and had serious repercussions. Williams, 6-foot-8, spent three months in jail before being cleared by the Chicago Innocence Project, with Bulls executive Randy Brown leading the group’s support for him.


“I thought my career was over with to be honest,” Williams told RealGM. “I thought I’d never be able to get a chance again to play basketball. I was wrongly accused of something, and I never thought it would turn around for me.”


Everyone on Williams’ workout track has been curious to ask: How did you end up out of jail and in our gym? They’ve all come away impressed with his demeanor. When Williams went to one of his visits to the Dallas Mavericks, an official there stopped him during his workout.


“How did you manage to go through jail and still be able to play today?” the Mavericks’ front office staffer said.


“I’m just trying to reach my goals,” Williams responded.


Out of jail, Williams continued to pursue professional basketball. Out of his imaginations in prison in the summer of 2012, he has compiled a full workout schedule. Along with the Bulls and Mavericks, Williams, a Chicago native, has visits to the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers.


Where should Williams be right now? Not in this position — not working out for NBA teams — if the 25-year-old had maintained his disposition during that wretched state three years ago.


“That’s how I take it, that I shouldn’t even be here right now,” Williams said. “I have all odds against me, so going into the workouts, one of my strengths is having a lot of confidence. I had no plans to being here and no one thought I’d be here. It’s a chip I carry on my shoulder.


“I want to control what I can control and let go of the past. I want to be in a spot to play like the guys I look at with my game — like Draymond Gree, Paul Millsap.”

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