Latavious Williams: D-League bound

In case you missed it yesterday, Latavious became the first player to jump straight from high school to the D-League as he was drafted by the Tulsa 66ers yesterday.

If you remember, back in July Williams announced that he would be backing out on his commitment to Memphis to try and latch on with a professional team overseas. But without the profile of a Brandon Jennings or even a Jeremy Tyler, Williams apparently could not find a willing suitor.

Latavious Williams was drafted by the D-League.
(photo credit: dimemag)

So he took the next best option.

He went to the D-League.

Which, if you think about it, is exactly what the NBA wants.

Right?

Kids aren't allowed to go to the NBA straight from high school, but they are allowed to go to the D-League. Why? Because while there, they will be working with professional coaches teaching them how to make themselves the best professional players that they can be. They will be playing against other professionals, some of whom have or will be NBA players.

If he had went to college, Josh Pastner would have been training him to fit into the college game, into the style that he wants Williams and the Tigers to play. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is not the same as the nature of being a professional.

And don't try to tell me that you need to be a college player with some notoriety in the United States to be a successful pro. Milwaukee Bucks fans will probably tell you differently, as will the multitude of European players currently in the NBA.

So the question becomes how does this effect the college game?

Well, if Williams does, in fact, become a successful pro, maybe it will open up a pathway for high school kids to skip college. And if it does, is that really a bad thing? While it will no doubt take some of the talent out of the college basketball ranks, is taking the one-and-done guys that have no desire to be in college out of the college ranks really a bad thing?

Is reducing the amount of fake student-athletes and recruiting scandals at the collegiate level at the cost of a few stud freshman every year really that bad?
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Latavious Williams headed to ... China?

That's what Rivals is reporting.

The jewel of the 2009 Memphis recruiting class, and Josh Pastner's first signee as the head coach of the Tigers, is opting to head overseas. Williams, a top 20 recruit nationally, was quoted as saying that it is a "done deal" and that he is "trying to work something out in China".

Memphis commit Latavious Williams seems to be headed to China.
(photo credit: College Basketball 365)

This is a devastating loss for the Tigers. With all they lost to graduation last year and Shawn Taggart's decision to skip his final year of eligibility, the Tigers will now head into the season with some serious question marks across their front line - can Pierre Henderson-Niles stay in shape? How good is JuCo transfer Will Coleman? Can the unproved Angel Garcia contribute?

Williams, an athletic 6'7" combo forward with a similar skill set to Robert Dozier, would have provided some versatility to the Tiger's frontline as he is mobile enough to play some on the perimeter.

Tigers fans better hope Elliot Williams, a two-guard who transferred from Duke, is granted eligibility this season. Without him, this is what the Memphis starting five looks like:

• F - Pierre Henderson-Niles
• F - Will Coleman/Angel Garcia
• F - Wesley Witherspoon
• G - Roburt Sallie/Doneal Mack
• G - Willie Kemp
  

Does that look like a top 25 team to you?

UPDATE: Gary Parrish is reporting that it was unlikely that Latavious Williams' transcript would have been cleared by the NCAA.
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Found this gem on ZagsBlog. The following is a quote from Latavious Williams, regarding his decision to go to Memphis.:

“I made a 710 on my ACT and I need a 2.5 GPA. Coach Carlos said I’m good,” he said.

That's a damn good score.

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JOSH PASTNER LANDS FIRST RECRUIT: In today's Morning Dump, we linked an article that said that Latavious Williams, a top 20 recruit according to Rivals, would make his college decision today.

He did, electing to attend Memphis.

And if you believe Adam Zagoria, Lance Stephenson could be on his heels.

It is a big addition for Josh Pastner, who had the recruiting class he stood to inherit gutted by John Calipari. As it stands, the Tigers line-up will probably look something like this (assuming Shawn Taggart pulls his name out of draft consideration):

• F - Pierre Henderson-Niles
• F - Shawn Taggart
• F - Wesley Witherspoon
  
• G - Roburt Sallie
  
• G - Willie Kemp
  
• Bench - Latavious Williams, Angel Garcia, Doneal Mack
  

Jeff Goodman also expects Pastner to go hard after Noel Johnson, a top 100 recruit recently released by USC.

While Memphis looks like they are once again going to have issues on the perimeter, the Tigers will once again have an excellent front court. Expect another top 25 campaign and C-USA title in Memphis, especially if Stephenson and Johnson sign.

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