Subject: Well well seems the crap BZ has gotten about Williams was unfair
Posted by: Irish Buff on Thu May 8 2008 8:51:21 AM
Message:
I have posted as a guess that Ricardo must have been really pissed
off during his lame duck year. Now it seems he was recruiting CU
players to leave with him. This is part of the mess BZ came into.
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Williams heads home first
Forward to return to Memphis before deciding whether to leave Buffs
By Ryan Thorburn (Contact)
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Jeremy Williams is heading back home to Memphis for the summer.
Whether or not Colorado's promising 6-foot-7 forward bought a one-
way ticket is still unclear.
"I don't know and I won't know until he gets here," Jewel Fason
Plunkett, Williams' mother, told the Camera on Wednesday.
Apparently, Williams has never truly felt comfortable in Boulder
since Ricardo Patton announced before the 2006-07 season began that
it would be his final year as CU's head coach.
According to Plunkett, Williams wanted to transfer during his
freshman season but Patton wouldn't release him from his scholarship.
And last December, when it became clear that he would have to take a
redshirt instead of play due to academic ineligibility, Williams had
to be talked into remaining in the program by the new coaching staff.
"It has been a trying year for Jeremy at CU," Plunkett
said. "Actually, it has been trying there since his freshman year
with his former coach leaving upon his recruitment and a lot of
different things with the team."
During the recruiting process, Williams and his family made the
assumption that Patton would be at CU throughout his collegiate
career.
Will Smith, one of the Buffs' assistants at the time who has moved
on to Northern Illinois with Patton, played at Williams' high school
and helped lure the talented prospect to Boulder.
"We didn't know it was a possibility that Coach Patton’s contract
was up and that he wouldn’t be there,” Plunkett said. “I do know
Jeremy wouldn’t have gone to CU had we known that.”
Williams, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds as a freshman, is
finishing up his final exams this week, which will determine whether
or not he will be eligible to play for CU next season.
Plunkett said her son was a very strong student in high school and
is back on track academically after a tough start in the college
classroom.
Plunkett added that there has been a lot of personal issues in the
family recently, including the loss of her father the summer before
Williams left for CU.
“With Jeremy leaving home for the first time, having his grandfather
pass, and then Coach Patton dropping that bombshell ... it made it a
tough freshman year for him,” Plunkett said. “That all played a part
in his academics and he fell short in that area. But that’s all
water under the bridge.”
If Williams decides not to return to CU he will become the seventh
Patton recruit to leave the program since Jeff Bzdelik was hired a
little over a year ago.
Plunkett said Patton and his staff wanted Williams to come with them
to Northern Illinois — where former CU players Sean Kowal and Xavier
Silas have transferred and Caleb Patterson has made an official
visit — but he didn’t have any interest in going to De Kalb, Ill.
Six different coaches have already called Plunkett inquiring about
Williams’ status since rumors of his departure hit the Internet two
weeks ago.
He would have three years of eligibility left at CU but only two
should he transfer to another program.
“As for Jeremy returning to CU, Bzdelik has told him to think about
what he wants to do,” Plunkett said. “Nothing has been discussed.
We’re just trying to get past this semester. When he gets home we’ll
see what he wants to do. ... A lot has happened to Jeremy but
something positive will come out of all this.”
Williams is scheduled to fly home to Memphis on May 12
Current Thread:
Well well seems the crap BZ has gotten about Williams was unfair -- Irish BuffThu May 8 2008 8:51:21 AM
