Rarely has Sean Miller made good on the promise of this recruits, but Derrick Williams is the man who originally delivered on the hype.
It happens every time a new big-time recruit heads to Tucson. A message will pop up from the only diehard University of Arizona fan in my life celebrating, maybe even a couple hallelujahs, followed by an early proclamation of where this puts them in the NCAA tournament. A No. 1 seed? Another Sweet 16? Rarely over the past half-dozen seasons have the Wildcats made good on the promise of the recruits they pull in, but Derrick Williams is the man who actually delivered on the promise of his hype, the phenom who reminded Arizona fans of the glory days under Lute Olsen and made them believe in Sean Miller as the next elite coach in the desert.
To understand what went wrong for Williams in the NBA, you have to understand what he did in college. Olsen retired in 2007 after winning a national championship in 1997. He is beloved in Tucson. The small town in southern Arizona revolves entirely around the college in its heart, and Olsen, who made four Final Fours during his time coaching the Wildcats, created an expectation of success.
Williams was the jewel of Miller’s first recruiting class two years after Olsen’s departure, but Arizona missed the tournament. Still, Williams averaged 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game with a 62.0 true shooting percentage. There was promise again.
In the second year of their partnership, Williams and Miller led Arizona to the Final Four, seemingly announcing the triumphant return of Arizona basketball. Unfortunately, their run ended there, as they fell victim to Kemba Walker and the Cinderella Huskies.
It would be the highest note of Williams’ career. He entered the NBA draft, was selected second overall by David Kahn’s Timberwolves and busted out of the league by 2017, excepting a 10-day deal with the Lakers last March. The typically inventive Rick Adelman was unable to get the most out of Williams even as the team’s offense blossomed into a top-10 unit centered around Kevin Love. It would be easy to call Williams and a group of college stars who entered the NBA in the early 2010s “tweeners before their time.” Guys like Anthony Randolph and Michael Beasley never caught on either, as the league struggled to understand the value of their versatility.
Williams was very inefficient in the NBA and never learned to shoot from deep. He wasn’t a playmaker and turned the ball over too often. Defense was never his strong suit. Maybe today, Williams still wouldn’t develop into an above-average NBA player. Pure interior scorers have been filtered out of the league, and if there was interest in Williams, he would probably be on a roster right now.
Williams’ legacy in the NBA is small, but his shadow looms large over Arizona basketball. Miller hasn’t made it back to the Final Four. The recruiting class in 2018 was weak, though he managed to maintain commitments from five-star guard Nico Mannion and five-star forward Josh Green amid an FBI investigation into payments to NCAA athletes, an investigation in which Miller and Arizona are key figures. Just as Williams brought newfound energy into the NBA after dazzling college basketball as a sophomore, he left Arizona with the feeling that a new era arrived.
Neither came to pass. Williams went out without a bang in Minnesota and probably misses those days at school when it felt like there was nothing he and his coach couldn’t do.
In the years since, Miller has been criticized for misusing his stars. He made 2018 No. 1 pick and 7-foot-1 beast Deandre Ayton into a power forward one season after failing to put together a capable defense with playmaking big man Lauri Markkanen at center. No one can explain what happened with Stanley Johnson, a point guard at Arizona who is now on a similar track as Williams. Did we miss Miller dooming Williams as it was happening? Miller’s teams have rarely defended worth a lick, and that 2010-11 group was no different, finishing as the 148th D in the country. It can’t be considered a surprise Williams couldn’t guard either forward spot in the NBA after two years under Miller.
Yet somehow, Miller has feasted upon the promise of that 2011 run and still has his job, while Williams watched high expectations and a bad situation early on hurt his chances for success as a pro.
This year feels similar to 2010 down in Tucson. Mannion and Green have the opportunity to help the school change the narrative away from players getting paid and coaches being arrested. A weak Pac-12 is wide open for Arizona to dominate. I’ve fielded endless messages from my buddy, who now lives in Tucson, about how this is the year. Mannion, who just won the state high school championship in the spring, is already turning heads. Just as he once brought them out of the post-Olsen dead space, Miller will be tasked with taking his team out of a slump that he wrought on it. Based on recent history, a bettor would be smart to guess he keeps his job whether it goes well or not.
As for Williams? He’ll be in Turkey this fall, hoping for a call from the NBA that may never come again.