Former Duke guard Elliot Williams is headed to Memphis.
“I’m a Memphis Tiger,” Williams told the Memphis Commercial Appeal in a text.
“The most important thing in this situation was coming closer to my family,” Williams said today. “As far as basketball, I’m playing for a great coach in [Memphis head coach Josh] Pastner.
“I mean, I’m playing for my hometown in Memphis. What better thing is there, coming back and playing for Memphis?”
A 6-foot-4 combo guard, Williams transferred from Duke because his mother, Delois, is ill and he wanted to be closer to home.
He will seek a waiver of NCAA regulations so that he can immediately play next year.
Memphis, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky all recruited him initially, but the Tigers won the recruiting battle.
In other Memphis news, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports is reporting that former Kentucky player Matt Pilgrim will visit Memphis this weekend.
Pilgrim, a 6-8 forward, left Kentucky when new coach John Calipari landed too many players, but Calipari will reportedly back Pilgrim’s request for a waiver to play next year.
KNIGHT VISITS UCONN
Brandon Knight, the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2010, took unofficial visits to UConn on Saturday and Yale Friday.
“It was fine. He hasn’t made up his mind or anything. I live in Connecticut for the summer and he came to visit and he went to visit a couple of schools,” said Dave Beckerman, Knight’s coach at Ft Lauderdale (FL) Pine Crest.
Beckerman said the following schools are in the mix for the 6-3 Knight, the top point guard in the Class of 2010: UConn, Duke, Syracuse, Miami, Florida and Kentucky.
“He hasn’t made up his mind,” Beckerman said. “He’s a very bright kid. He was here on a visit and he wanted to see different things and he’s visiting different schools on an unofficial basis so that he can get a feel for it.”
Beckerman said there’s no timetable for a decision.
“He’s going to let the process play out,” he said. “That’s what he would prefer to do and hopefully he’ll make the right decision.”
HARRIS VISITS NOTRE DAME, GEORGIA TECH
Tobias Harris, a 6-8 rising senior forward from Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West, and his brother, Tyler, a 6-7 sophomore, tripped to Notre Dame last week and recently saw Georgia Tech as well.
“Tobias and Tyler visited Notre Dame this past Wednesday and they both had the opportunity to speak with Coach [Mike] Brey about how they would fit into Notre Dame’s style,” Torrel Harris said. “They watched film of Notre Dame’s style of play and were impressed.
“My sons had the opportunity to spend some time with the players. They were very impressed with the school and its basketball program.”
As for the Georgia Tech visit, Torrel said:“Tobias visited Georgia Tech and he had a great visit. He was very impressed with the school and its basketball program.” Harris’ list is: Tenn, UCONN, West Virginia, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, St.John’s, Virginia, Kentucky, Louisville and West Virginia. He was the sixth-leading scorer (13.3 ppg) at the NBA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va., and plans to cut his list later this summer. “At the end of the summer we will cut the list to five schools and by the end of September we will have a college decision,” Torrel said. “When we pick our five, everybody’s going to know.”
