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Caroline native Reggie Williams seeks a shot at the NBA Date published: 4/15/2008
BY TAFT COGHILL JR. PORTSMOUTH-- Reggie Williams was so pumped up directly after a Portsmouth Invitational Tournament first-round game Thursday, he could hardly contain himself."I'm just so hyped right now," he said. But that wasn't the Reggie Williams, who had just poured in a game-high 22 points by using an array of jump shots, drives to the basket and rim-rattling dunks in front of dozens of National Basketball Association scouts and executives. That was the father of the Caroline County native and former Virginia Military Institute star, who led Division I in scoring the past two seasons in an unconventional up-tempo offense. "People say he was a product of his team's offense and he came out here and showed he's an all-around player," the elder Williams said of why he was so excited. "His stat line is something a lot of people would be proud of." Vying to get noticed In addition to his point total, that stat line included six assists and a 9-of-13 shooting effort from the floor. Williams (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) said he wanted to show he was more than just a scorer, while competing against seniors from major conferences, such as Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr. and Wisconsin's Brian Butch in an effort to impress NBA scouts. "Being that I come from a small school, I don't have a lot of exposure," Williams said. "A lot of these guys are coming from big-name schools you see on TV every week. People have already seen them and evaluated them, so this is big for me." Williams was held to five points in his team's second-round game, but bounced back with 22 in the final contest. He was named to the all-tournament team and was presented the sportsmanship award. However, tournament honors aren't the purpose of the Portsmouth Invitational. The goal is to impress a scout enough that a team is willing to risk a draft pick. Williams' newly hired agent, Jerry Dianis, said that's a possibility if his client keeps showing he's an all-around player. Chris Monter, editor/publisher of College Basketball News, told The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot that Williams has "a better than average" chance of being drafted.
Date published: 4/15/2008
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