Williams Wants to Play at Memphis with Lance

Latavious Williams says he could end up playing for Memphis and he hopes Lance Stephenson joins him there.

Williams, a 6-foot-8 combo forward out of Humble (TX) Christian Life Center, plans to announce in the next few days among Memphis, Georgetown, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Florida International.

“I’d say Memphis is the favorite,” Williams said Wednesday by phone. “More likely, it’s Memphis right now.”

That would be good news for Josh Pastner’s program, which watched point guards  Eric Bledsoe and John Wall both choose Kentucky over Memphis; DeMarcus Cousins bail on an oral commitment to Memphis in favor of Kentucky; and Darnell Dodson depart to play for John Calipari‘s new team as well.

Williams asked about Stephenson’s plans and said he’d love to play with “Born Ready” in Memphis.

“He needs to go to Memphis,” Williams said of the 6-foot-5 Stephenson, the all-time leading scorer in New York State history.

Stephenson is still involved in a sexual assault case in Brooklyn that was adjourned until June 29. He may wait until after the case is resolved to pick a school.

Arizona, Memphis and possibly Maryland are in the mix.

Williams, who has spoken with FIU coach Isiah Thomas, reiterated that Thomas told him FIU was out of the Stephenson Sweepstakes.

“He had said they couldn’t get him,” Williams said.

Williams has never met Stephenson but watched him play in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

“I just saw him play,” he said. “I had seen him play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and some other game.”

Still, if Williams ends up picking Memphis, he would like Lance to join him there, giving Pastner a couple of dangerous options on the wings.

“I haven’t met him,” Williams said. “I saw him in Vegas. If he goes to Memphis, that would be a good thing.”