By R.L. Bynum
After a playing career that included many stops around the world, Jawad Williams — who won a national championship at Carolina in 2005 — is coming home for his second assistant coaching job in the NBA.
Williams, 42, who was born in Cleveland and played at nearby St. Edward High School in Lakewood, is joining the staff of head coach Kenny Atkinson as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played parts of three seasons from 2008 to 2011.
Last season, two years after retiring as a player, Williams was an assistant coach and director of player development for the Sacramento Kings. Before that, he was an assistant coach and director of player development for Nagasaki Velca in the Japanese B. League.
Williams, named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2002 after being a McDonald’s All-American, averaged 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 128 games (including 105 starts) over four years at Carolina, with his last game the 75–70 victory over Illinois in St. Louis for the national championship in 2005.
Williams scored nine points in the championship game after collecting 20 points and eight rebounds in the 87–71 victory over Michigan State in a national semifinal. Williams’ career-high came earlier in his senior season with 25 points in a 96–75 home win Dec. 28, 2004, against UNCW.
Williams earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2005.
After going undrafted, he played in Spain, Japan and Israel before joining the Cavaliers in 2008. He moved on to play in Israel, France, Greece and Japan after the Cavaliers waived him in December 2010.
Williams won Japanese B. League titles for Alvark Tokyo in 2018 and 2019.
Photo via goheels.com
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