Former San Jac player to compete in NCAA tourney

Reprinted with permission of Robert Avery, Pasadena Citizen. Former San Jac basketball player Stavon Williams played in NCAA tournament.

The San Jacinto College men’s basketball team may be done with their season, but that won’t mean March Madness will be bypassing the Ravens coaches office.

Head coach Scott Gernander and assistant Scott Horstman will be keeping a close eye on how the West Region pans out because their former all-conference guard Stavon Williams from just a year ago is now a player that’s going to The Dance.

Williams plays for Utah State, the West Region’s 11th seed and the team begins its efforts in the 64-team tournament on Thursday against sixth-seed Marquette in Portland, OR.

Upon leaving Pasadena, Williams jumped aboard an NCAA Division I program that has had a tremendous season, going 30-4 so far. The team received an automatic bid to the tournament when Utah State captured the WAC postseason tournament championship over the weekend by defeating Nevada 72-62. The team also won the regular season conference title.

Although not a starter, Williams has come off the bench three times this season to lead or co-lead the Aggies in the scoring column. His most recent came on the opening night of the WAC tournament when the team took on Fresno State. Williams scored a season-high 22 points in leading Utah State to an 85-68 victory.

On Feb. 18, Williams scored a team-high 13 points in defeating non-conference foe Cal State-Bakersfield 78-57. On Dec. 20, he was one of three players to net 11 points in helping the squad knock off Idaho State 67-57.

For the season, Williams is averaging 6.2 points per game, having netted 203 points. He’s converted 68-of-158 field goals for 43 percent and his percentage from behind the 3-point arc is also at 43 percent on 46-of-105 attempts. His 46 buckets and attempts both rank third on the club. From the foul line, Williams has the team’s highest percentage, sinking 84 percent of his attempts on 21-of-25 tries.

He also ranks fifth in assists and third in steals.

Williams closed out his San Jac career last winter by being named to Second Team All-Conference. En route to being among San Jac’s leading scorers last season, he also averaged 5.3 rebounds per game, the third-highest average on the 2007-2008 Ravens roster.