Former Arizona star Derrick Williams agrees to join Bayern Munich

Former Arizona Wildcat star and NBA player Derrick Williams announced on Instagram he has agreed to a join the FC Bayern Munich basketball club in Germany.

As of Thursday, Williams had not yet passed physicals due to an infection, according to Sportando.

Williams led Arizona to a Sweet Sixteen victory over Duke en route to an Elite Eight appearance in 2011, winning Pac-10 Player of the Year.

His collegiate success prompted the Minnesota Timberwolves to draft him with the No. 2 pick in the 2011 draft. However, Williams has been unable live up to expectations in the NBA, playing for six teams over a seven year span.

He averaged 8.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks while shooting 48.4 percent from the field over his NBA career.

The Timberwolves are the only team Williams played on for two full seasons. Sixteen games into his third year in the league, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings, where he played for the remainder of that season and the next.

Williams also played with the New York Knicks for a year, the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016-17 and then the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

This won’t be Williams’ first foray into international ball. Prior to signing with the Lakers, he played 16 games for Tianjin in China, where he averaged 20 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals.

Despite his struggles in the NBA, Williams wrote in the Instagram post that he sees the positive of each stop and the stars he played with.

“Do I look at it as a negative? No way because I’ve worked my way from so far most people wouldn’t even understand. People would kill to even accomplish that. Do I complain? No. I’ve just learned and tried to get better in every aspect of the game and learned behind some of the best players to pick up a basketball and many of those guys will tell you I come to work and do what’s asked from me.”

He also said he hasn’t given up on the NBA.

“I know I’ll be back and that’s what people hate about me … I’m 27 now and only getting wiser and mentality stronger for the next call I get and it will be epic,” he wrote.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’ve made the decision to play in Europe this year with FC Bayern Munich. Wasn’t the easiest decision but it was the right decision. I’ve been in the NBA for 6-7 years now and I’ve been on multiple teams , played against and with some of the best players in the world. I’ve been behind K love , Rudy Gay , Carmelo , Bron , and the list can go on. Do I look at it as a negative ? No way because I’ve worked my way from so far most people wouldn’t even understand. People would kill to even accomplish that. Do I complain? No. I’ve just learned and tried to get better in every aspect of the game and learned behind some of the best players to pick up a basketball and many of those guys will tell you I come to work and do what’s asked from me. It’s never the end of the road because i know I’ll be back and that’s what people hate about me .. I’m still here and pushin’ along. People talk and I’ve heard them all but Tiger just proved it … you can have the world against you but he is still in your face. That’s my plan and everyone will see. I’m 27 now and only getting wiser and mentality stronger for the next call I get and it will be epic. I’ll continue to update everybody on this journey that is coming up ..

A post shared by Derrick Williams (@dwxxiii) on Sep 27, 2018 at 12:05pm PDT

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