Watsons Indecision Hurts UT With Deron Williams

Deron Williams, a 6-3 and 195-pound point guard from The Colony High School in Texas, saw Tennessee drop out of his recruiting race a couple of days ago when C.J. Watson committed to the Volunteers.

The Volunteers thought they had nailed down the verbal of solid lead guard C.J. Watson of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. In fact, they were so confident they told Deron Williams his visit to Knoxville this weekend was off. You can't blame the staff of Tennessee. They did the right thing by telling Williams they got anothe commitment and didn't want to overrecruit the position.

But it stings now. At least as of today. Watson, of course, could still honor his verbal and play for Tennessee next season. But what happens if he doesn't?

Well, Tennessee also then loses out on Williams, one of the better floor generals available in the class of 2002. Williams especially solidified this statement toward the end of the summer.

Williams, who has battled nagging injuries all summer long, led Fort Worth into the final four of the Best of the Summer, where the Lions fell to the eventual champion Long Island Panthers.

Williams will now visit Illinois on September 15th, Georgia Tech on September 22nd, and Maryland on October 6th.

Williams said that Illinois and Georgia Tech are still out in front in the race to secure his services, and that Maryland is also still very much in the picture.

Williams is a tremendous leader with very little extraneous matter to his game. He handles the ball with robot like precision, finds open teammates around the basket and oh yes, he can score a little bit too when his team needs him to pitch in offensively.

Add it all up and you have without a doubt the top PURE point guard in the Class of 2002.

Williams led Ft. Worth to a second place finish at last month's Great American Shootout in Denton, Tex., and a final four apperance at the Best of the Summer.

He is especially tough in late game circumstances. IR personally witnessed Williams lead Fort Worth to several come from behind victories at the Great American Shootout. He is essentially an extension of the coach on the basketball floor.

What Williams lacks in speed and athleticism, he makes up for in court awareness and basketball IQ.

He'll be a fine addition to the college program that lands him, and IR would like to congratulate Deron for a terrific summer.

We will certainly keep you posted on his recruitment as the summer winds down and fall approaches, so stay tuned!