Courtney M. Williams
| File:Courtney Williams (USF) (cropped).jpg
Williams in 2016
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| No. 11 – Phoenix Mercury | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 27, 1994 Folkston, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Charlton County (Folkston, Georgia) |
| College | South Florida (2012–2016) |
| WNBA draft | 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall |
| Selected by the Phoenix Mercury | |
| Playing career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| 2016–present | Phoenix Mercury |
Courtney Williams (born May 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Courtney completed her high school basketball career at Charlton County High School. She signed with the University of South Florida and enrolled at the school in the fall of 2012.[1]
Contents
High School career
She played basketball for the Indians at Charlton County high. Her mother Michelle Williams (then Michelle Granger)[2] had also played basketball for the same high school 22 years earlier. Michelle set the single-game scoring record when she scored 40 points. In her junior season, Courtney took over the record by scoring 42 points in a game.[3]
Collegiate career
Freshman
Williams was a solid role player coming of the bench in her first season. she appeared in every game and started in 3. She averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and .88 assists over 33 games.[1]
Sophomore
In Williams sophomore year she averaged 30.4 minutes a game compared to her 15.3 coming off the bench the season before. She finished the year with 16.3 points a game along with 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She was named All-Conference First team and was an Honorable Mention for the All-American team.[1]
Junior
She was a starter in every game and averaged 20.3 points per game which led the AAC. Overall she was the ninth leading scorer in the country with 20 or more points in 20 different games. During one stretch of 10 game she scored over 20 points in each game which is the longest streak in the nation at the time.[1]
Senior
in her senior year Williams hit 308 field goals which was second in the nation among all Division I teams. She scored 763 points which was eighth best among all Division I players.[4]
South Florida statistics
Source[4]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2012-13 | South Florida | 33 | 245 | 41.9 | 32.4 | 72.5 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 7.4 |
| 2013-14 | South Florida | 36 | 586 | 43.8 | 27.4 | 76.7 | 7.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 16.3 |
| 2014-15 | South Florida | 35 | 710 | 42.0 | 36.9 | 78.9 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 20.3 |
| 2015-16 | South Florida | 34 | 763 | 42.6 | 38.2 | 69.7 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 22.4 |
| Career | South Florida | 138 | 2304 | 42.6 | 35.3 | 74.6 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 16.7 |
USA Basketball
Williams was selected as one of 12 players to play for the USA at the 2015 World University games, held in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2015. The USA team opened with a win over Italy. In the second game against China, Williams was the leading scorer with 18 points. The USA team won the next two points to earn a berth in the semifinal against Japan. The USA team was down by 15 points, but came back to tie the game up and send the game into overtime. The teams matched scores in the first overtime and went into double overtime for the first time in World University Games history. With 10 seconds left in the second overtime, Japan cut the lead to two points but Williams hit two free throws to secure the victory. Williams recorded a double double, scoring 17 points and securing 10 rebounds. The gold-medal game was against Canada. The USA won the gold-medal 82–63 with Williams again contributing a double double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.[5]
WNBA Draft
Williams was selected as the eighth overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2016 WNBA draft. She was surprised by the selection as she did not think she had had significant discussions with the Mercury. Williams has identified Diana Taurasi as a player who “I look up to and who I compare my mentality to”, and now she will be playing on the same team as Taurasi.[6]
Awards and honors
- 2014—AAC First team[7]
- 2014–15 added to watchlist for the Wooden Award, Dawn Staley award, the Naismith Trophy, and the Wade Trophy[7]
- 2015—AP All-America honorable mention[7]
- 2016—AAC First team (unanimous)[8][9]
- 2016—AAC Scholar-Athlete[8]
Personal
Daughter of Michele and Donald Williams, Courtney Williams has one sister, Doniece Williams.[1]
References
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