"Nobody wants to go through their senior year and not have a great season.
"Knowing we had a great core group of guys coming back helped make Chaz's decision easier than it might have been if we were on a down year," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. Poised to make the biggest impact is Lalanne, a 6-foot-10 rim-protecting center who is finally healthy after two injury-plagued seasons and has shed enough weight over the offseason to improve his mobility and explosiveness and avoid picking up quick fouls. The frontcourt is stocked with experienced veterans, from seniors Raphiael Putney and Sampson Carter to juniors Cady Lalanne and Maxie Esho. Gordon averaged 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds as a freshman two seasons ago and will likely thrive in an up-tempo system at UMass because of his defensive anticipation and his ability to draw fouls and finish at the rim. Having Western Kentucky transfer Derrick Gordon eligible will ease the pressure on Williams to always create off the dribble because the 6-foot-3 combo guard can share scoring and ball handling duties. Unlike last season when Williams averaged 15.5 points and 7.3 assists but had to carry too great a burden after Jesse Morgan's midseason ACL tear, UMass has surrounded its point guard with a capable supporting cast. Williams had led the Minutemen to a pair of NIT appearances since joining the program after one season at Hofstra, but this season probably represents the 5-foot-9 senior's best chance at playing on college basketball's biggest stage. That Williams returned for his senior year is critical for a UMass program seeking its first NCAA bid since 1998. That left a real bitter taste in my mouth and I didn't want to leave on that note." We lost in the first round of the NIT last year. I can set an example for my daughter and finish my degree. "I want my daughter to have the best and I really wanted to provide her with the things I haven't been able to in years past, but I felt like coming back to school would be better. "I thought about it long and hard," Williams said.
Only after asking the Turkish team to extend its deadline five days did Williams finally reject the offer in late August, opting instead to return to UMass in hopes of making his first NCAA tournament, finishing his degree and putting himself in position to coach one day once his playing career is over.
#Wow classic unfinished business pro#
Williams' mother said her son was initially enthusiastic enough about turning pro that he requested she begin investigating what there was to do in Istanbul and where the best schools were for Cheree. Whereas NBA officials warned Williams in April he'd likely go undrafted and have to fight his way onto a roster with a strong summer league showing, the offer from the Turkish team guaranteed him financial security and a way to provide for his family. Preparing for his final year at UMass had been Williams' sole focus since making a mature decision not to enter the NBA draft three months earlier, but this was a tempting scenario. He said, 'But where are we going to live?' They said, 'We'll hook your family up with their own flat and they'll have their own personal car.' When he told me all of that, I was like, 'Oh wow.' That was a pretty great offer out of the gate." "He told them, 'My mom and my daughter need to come out here too.' They were like, 'Alright, we'll get plane tickets. "It seemed like everything he asked for they kept giving to him," Diane Williams said. Some brief negotiations soon yielded Williams a contract offer worth $150,000 and an agreement that the team would pay for his mother Diane and three-year-old daughter Cheree to join him in Istanbul as well.
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