Overview

The John R. Wooden 2007 midseason All-American selection was a valuable performer during his two seasons with the Wildcats. He earned All-Pacific-10 Conference honors as a sophomore, when he developed into one of the best wing players in the West.

Williams scored in double figures in 49 of his 63 games at Arizona. He displayed excellent mid-range shooting ability and his strong outside shooting saw him consistently beat defenders off the dribble. He became the third Seattle native to play for head coach Lute Olsen at Arizona, joining Michael Dickerson (1994-98) and Jason Terry (1995-99).

As a senior at Seattle's Roosevelt High School, Williams was rated the sixth-best small forward prospect in the country by Rivals.com. The four-time letter winner earned first-team All-State honors as a junior and senior. A three-time All-League selection and the 2005 King County 4A Conference Most Valuable Player, he was also a member of the Adidas All-American squad in 2004-05.

Williams played in the 2005 Global Games on the same team with Wildcats' teammates Fendi Onobun and J.P. Prince, July 23-30, in Dallas, Texas, where he averaged 18.8 points and 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, while shooting 48.3 percent (43 of 89) from the floor in six games.

He averaged over 27 points per game in each of his last two prep seasons, leading the Rough Riders to a 21-6 record and their first state tournament appearance in 17 seasons, as he averaged 28.6 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals as a senior. As a junior, he led the state with an average of 27.2 points per game and also averaged eight rebounds.

Williams was so determined to play for Lute Olson that he signed with Arizona during the November signing period. He went on to start 25 of 33 games for the Wildcats in 2005-06. He was a Pac-10 all-freshman choice, and his 430 points scored are the seventh-most by a freshman in Arizona history. Collegeinsider.com named him to their Freshman All-American squad and he was a second-team All-Rookie selection by collegehoops.net.

His mid-range game continued to improve as he became more assertive over the course of his first season. He led all Pac-10 freshmen with a 13-point average (15th in the league) and had five or more rebounds in 14 of his last 18 games while averaging 13.7 points and 5.6 rebounds in Pac-10 play. He closed the season with six consecutive games with double-figure points, which equaled a season-best.

Olson compared Williams to Sean Elliott (1985-89), UA's career scoring leader, at similar points of their freshman seasons. Williams was simply unstoppable down the stretch. He averaged a team-leading 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 40.6 percent (54 of 133) from the field, over his last 10 games that season.

As a sophomore, Williams earned first-team All-Pac-10 Conference, USBWA All-District IX and NABC All-District XV first-team honors. He finished the season ranked among the Pac-10 leaders in scoring (fourth/16.6 ppg), rebounding (eighth/6.7 rpg) and defensive rebounds (eighth/4.57 drpg). Averaging 30.8 minutes played per game, a figure that ranks eighth in Schoolhistory during his 63-game career, Williams shot 49.4 percent from the field (196 of 397) with a 28.8-percent clip from 3-point range (23 of 80) while making 82 of 118 free throws (69.5 percent).

Williams was named to the John R. Wooden Award midseason All-American team, despite being suspended for the Jan. 24 Arizona State game (violation of team policy). He returned to action vs. North Carolina, only to miss the second half of that contest with a high ankle sprain. For the season, he scored 497 points, snared 200 rebounds, including 63 offensive boards, chipped in with 23 blocked shots and 33 steals while dishing out 67 assists. He was called for 66 fouls and turned the ball over 80 times.

In November, he set new season-highs with 24 points and nine rebounds vs. UNLV, while his 10 field goals and 4 of 4 3-point shooting were career-highs. He collected 14 points, eight boards and a steal vs. Samford and had nine field goals and two blocked shots, as he tallied 20 points and seven rebounds in 39 minutes vs. New Mexico State.

In December, Williams produced a game-high 23 points (10 of 14 FG) and had a key rebound with 1:39 to go that may have been his best play of the day vs. Stanford. He made all eight field-goal attempts en route to scoring 21 points vs. California and registered his second straight double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with a season-high three assists vs. Houston. He posted a double-double with 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds at San Diego State to go with two blocks and two steals to earn player of the game at the San Diego Slam.

Williams started off 2007 in fine fashion, but did struggle with his ankle injury later in January. He hit 8 of 12 shots and three 3-pointers to finish with 23 points at Oregon State and collected 11 points, three rebounds and a career-high six assists against no turnovers in 30 minutes vs. Washington in early February. He scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half at Arizona State to go with two assists, two blocks and two steals and also posted 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes vs. UCLA. He tallied 15 points, three assists and three blocks at Stanford.

In April, Williams became the ninth underclassman during the Olson era to make himself eligible for the NBA draft. He follows Brian Williams (1991), Mike Bibby (1998), Gilbert Arenas (2001), Jason Gardner (2001), Richard Jefferson (2001), Michael Wright (2001), Andre Iguodala (2004), Chris Rodgers (2005) and Mustafa Shakur (2006). Of that list, only Gardner, Rodgers and Shakur returned to Schooland completed their eligibility.

Marcus Williams eliminated the possibility of returning to the Wildcats for his junior season when he signed with an agent.

"It's always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA," said Williams, "and I feel like I'm in a good position to take that next step. I want to thank the coaching staff and the fans in Tucson for supporting me over the last two seasons."

In two seasons at Arizona, Williams averaged 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and two assists in 63 career games (54 starts). He's a 47.5-percent shooter for his career (355 of 748), including 35.6 percent from 3-point range (53 of 149). He amassed 927 points, hitting on 164 of 231 free throws (71.0 percent) and registered 354 rebounds, including 124 off the offensive boards. He turned the ball over 139 times and committ6ed 126 fouls, but also blocked 41 shots, had 65 steals and recorded 128 assists.

Scouting Report

Positives: Was the team's best-conditioned athlete, according to the training staff...Very effective mid-range shooter who has a nice, all-around game...Led the team in scoring, rebounding or blocked shots 10 times and in steals nine times during the 2006-07 season...Has a long, limber frame with a smooth release and a quick running stride...Quick enough to play shooting guard, having the perimeter range needed to compete at that position...Strong enough and efficient enough as a rebounder to get several minutes of action at power forward, if needed...Known for his ball-handling skills, he is also a promising passer with good court vision...Knows how to use his arm length, strength and leaping ability to crash the boards for rebounds and creates his own shot, especially off the dribble...Has good retreat skills backing away from the basket and while he needs to improve his 3-point consistency, he has a smooth and quick release shooting from long range...Likes to work underneath, slipping past the defense while utilizing a nice array of fakes to get his shot off...Has the quick first step and slashing ability to get into the lanes on attempts top push in his lay-up shot...When he gets a burst of speed, it is tough for the smaller defenders to keep him out of the lane...Is his best when around the basket, as he shows the ability to penetrate and take the ball to the hole...Doesn't have the bulk to battle centers or power forwards, but when he's forced out of the paint, he has enough of a mid-range shot to force the opponent to come out and defend him at the perimeter, or he will make clean shot after shot...Gets good elevation on layups, jump shots and floaters and shows good body adjustment skills when driving to the baseline...Knows how to draw contact with the ball to get to the free-throw line and is the type of player than needs just a little space to get off his shot and doers a good job of slashing through the lanes without the ball to give the point guard an open option...When he stays in front of his man, he gains confidence in using his wing span in attempts to steal the ball...Makes a determined effort when facing his opponent to take the man off the dribble...Has good flexibility battling for loose balls and his size creates mismatches when the opposition puts a guard on him to cover...Has developed a quick and high release and uses his long arms well to get the ball over taller defenders on the way to the basket...Has the natural hands to get the put-backs when playing under the rim...Uses the backboard well as a weapon, especially on reverse layups...Moves well without the ball and, while he lacks blazing speed, he can move up and down the court on the fast break... Can put the ball up quickly after a few dribbles and fire a quick shot from mid-range.

Negatives: Good court technician, but struggles vs. a physical defender and can be boxed out by power forwards attempting to get into the lane...Will shy away from physical contact at times...Has a nice mid-range shot, but he relies too much on his outside shooting when forced outside rather than driving to the rim...Hit a rough patch in January, as he started forcing his shots and also tried to compensate for an ankle sprain that caused him to blow defensive assignments...Shows a smooth release and good form, but his free-throw shooting suffered as a sophomore, as he seemed to be rushing his shot...Needs to play with better aggression, as he struggles to combat double-team activity...Gets into a stretch of passive play where he allows perimeter shooters to get clean shots from the outside...Must develop a better feel for his teammates, as he is a good ball handler, but sometimes tries too much to create his own shot rather than feeding the open man...While his scoring touch could see him be an efficient shooting guard, he lacks the overall quickness to cover the speedier two-guard types on defense...Can create some shots off the dribble, but doesn't do it with enough regularity...Needs to improve his shooting from behind the arc and seemed to lose confidence the second half of the 2006-07 season taking shots from this area (28.8-percent shooter from 3-point range)...Has good weight-room strength, but with a thin frame, his strength doesn't always translate to the court...Needs to improve his balance...Must show better lateral range when taking on opponents down low.

Compares To: MIKE MILLER, Memphis. Williams has good arm length and ball-handling skills to get some extra minutes as a shooting guard, but will struggle to defend vs. small and quick opponents. He became too reliant on his jump shot in January, but after he recovered from his ankle woes, he took the ball to the basket more often, as his outside shot continued to be too erratic for him to rely on it. He needs to remain focused, as he seems to drift during games. When he gets into a shooting rhythm, his length and elevation make his shots nearly unstoppable. He is developing into a decent passer and uses his frame well to crash the boards for rebounds. He could use another year in school, but lost his eligibility when he signed with an agent. Now, he might have to settle for a late first-round call, as he is still a few years away.

High School

Attended Roosevelt (Seattle, Wash.) High School, playing basketball for head coach Bart Brandenburg...Rated the sixth-best small forward prospect in the country by Rivals.com and earned first-team All-State honors as a junior and senior...Three-time All-League selection and the 2005 King County 4A Conference Most Valuable Player...Member of the Adidas All-American squad in 2004-05...Played in the 2005 Global Games on the same team with current Wildcats Fendi Onobun and J.P. Prince, July 23-30, in Dallas, Texas, where he averaged 18.8 points and 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, while shooting 48.3 percent (43-of-89) from the floor in six games...Averaged more than 27 points per game in each of his last two prep seasons, leading the Rough Riders to a 21-6 record and their first state tournament appearance in seventeen seasons, as he averaged 28.6 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals as a senior...As a junior, he led the state with an average of 27.2 points per game and also averaged eight rebounds.

Personal

Business major...Son of Gayle Williams...Born Marcus Eliot Williams on 11/18/86 in Seattle, Washington.

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