Coron Williams visited Winston-Salem this weekend and determined that it was the perfect place for him to spend his final college year of basketball. He should fit in pretty well for the Deacs and will likely compete for the starting shooting guard spot.
Williams shapes up at 6'2", 170, and will try to be the sharpshooter that the Deacs need to stretch out the D from Thomas and McKie inside next year.
Over the past three seasons at Robert Morris Williams has made 209 three-pointers (42%). For context, CJ Harris made 127 3's in the same 3 year period. He averaged 9.1 PPG last year in just over 24 MPG.
This is ideal for Wake Forest because it will provide Miles Overton with the chance to get used to the college game before being thrown immediately into the fire. It will also allow for Codi Miller-McIntyre and Madison Jones to play more at their natural position at point guard.
I would, however, like to see CMM get some play at the SG spot when Jones is at the point guard, but it seems that the staff is content to let him continue to try his hand at the point.
Some quick research indicates that Williams would perhaps be a nice upgrade from Chase Fischer. He can seemingly get his shot off pretty well and make 3's at a good clip. His 114.4 offensive rating would have been the best on Wake Forest's team last year by over 5 rating points (C.J. Harris' 109.2 rating). It's also nice to see his 12.6 TO rate (133rd best individual rate in the country last year).
Approximately 70% of his shots are from behind the three-point line and he is also a solid option on the defensive end as well.
For those of you concerned about his ability to perform against higher level opponents I give you these stats against bigger name opponents last year:
- Xavier- 23 minutes, 9 points (3-5 from 3pt), 2 boards, 2 assists
- Arkansas- 28 minutes, 17 points (5-6 from 3pt), 3 boards
- Kentucky- 27 minutes, 6 points (2-4 from 3pt), 3 boards
- Providence- 27 minutes, 9 points (3-11 from 3pt), 1 assist
Since the Deacs could not land high school senior Jon Severe (who recently chose Fordham over Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Rutgers and Wake Forest), Williams makes a lot of sense. Especially since he will not tie up a four year scholarship that could be used to recruit the talented and deep 2014 recruiting class.
I like this move and think that the staff actually made a move that will benefit us next year and beyond. This should help out the growth of our backcourt and give them the chance to learn from a guy who has been around the block.
Welcome to Wake Forest Coron, I hope this is a symbiotic relationship and will prove to be a great year for everybody involved.
PS: I guess if we can't get Andy Toole to come here to be our coach we can at least take his players!
