Highly touted U of M basketball signee Shawne Williams will make himself available to the NBA draft, according to The Commercial Appeal.
The Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep product was expected to highlight an impressive recruiting class for head coach John Calipari.
Rivals.com ranked Williams the No. 19 prospect in 2004, the year he originally signed with the Tigers. When he didn't qualify academically,
Williams returned to Laurinburg as a fifth year senior and signed a second letter of intent with Memphis. Collegesports.com ranked the 6-9 forward as the nation's No. 17 prospect in 2005.
Williams won't initially sign with an agent, allowing him to retain amateur status if he withdraws his name from consideration. The early entry withdrawal deadline is June 21, exactly one week before the draft.
"It's not like I'm a lock (for the first round), so it's not guaranteed that I'm going to go for sure," Williams told The Commercial Appeal. "But I know I am going to declare."
In the latest nbadraft.net mock draft, Williams is projected as the 40th pick.
