HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Corey Williams

Hi! This is the 2006-07 D-League champion you’re reading. We won the championship game Sunday and it was an incredible night. We were al witnesses of the Darius Rice show. He took us, the Dakota Wizards, to the title with an amazing performance. 52 points, people. 52 points. He got on a roll in the second quarter and there was no stopping him after that. I’ve never in my life seen a guy step up at such an impressive level with the stakes so high. I’m talking about a guy who was averaging like 9 or 10 points per game this year. But last night… Wow. He was in a zone. If he doesn’t get a contract in the NBA after that next season, he’s never getting to the NBA. That’s clear.

I was nervous in the fourth quarter because we were close to losing the game. Once Darius hit the trey to force overtime, though, I was absolutely sure we were winning this thing. I wasn’t wrong.

I had a good game myself. I contributed 11 points, which is nice. The greatest thing for me was that my mom was in the stands. She flew to Bismarck to see me play and it meant a lot. She saw me get the MVP at Rucker Park playing against Ron Artest; she also saw me win the Last Man Standing thing… But this is much better. She was there watching as I won a championship. It’s just a whole different level. Although the night life in Bismarck is far from great, we had a lot of fun celebrating the title. We had friends, co-workers and all kind of people partying with us. And it was a long party! I probably slept just a couple of hours, but I’m not even feeling the effects of it.

We have a team banquet today and that will be the end of the celebrations. Tuesday morning, I’m back to Denver. I’ll be there spending time with my kids and evaluating my situation. I’m going to look at the offers and see what I do next. The only thing that’s clear is that I’m done with minor league basketball. Got to make some money now playing at the highest level I can. I’ll try to get into training camp with some NBA team next season, but I’m pretty much open to anything. I know I have some fans down in Australia wanting me to play there and I think that would be cool. Australia, Europe… Anywhere I’m wanted is OK with me.

You’ll hear from me again soon. Bye!

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It’s the final, baby! We made it. We will be playing for the D-League title Sunday against the Colorado 14ers after beating my former team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, last weekend. It was a close game. And also pretty emotional for me since we were playing the squad I had to leave earlier this season. But we got the W and I’m just plain happy.This has been a loooooong season. There’s been a lot of up and downs, people. But for me to finish my stay in the D-League with a chance to win the championship, it means a lot.

The great atmosphere on the team is the key to our team. It’s like a family and it shows when we play. We’re always doing things together. We eat together, we hang out together… We even went together to the zoo today. The zoo! It also helps that the coach gives minutes to everybody. There’s probably just one player averaging 30-plus minutes and that’s Renaldo Major, who was called up by the Golden State Warriors a few weeks ago.

Sunday’s game is definitely the most important in my career. It’s not just that I’m shooting for a title. It’s also that there will be a lot of people watching. It’s a great stage. Probably all NBA teams will send scouts to the game and there will be guys from Europe watching too. Having success in that game could translate into very good things in the near future. Hopefully, that won’t make us play selfish. But we haven’t done that so far and I don’t expect that to happen Sunday.

Although the D-League has been a great experience for me as a basketball player, you know that from the money standpoint is not that great. You really make no money here… The HoopsHype.com guys asked me, “What if a European team came with a big offer under the condition that you leave Dakota before the championship game?” I could have given the political answer and say that I just want the title and stuff. But let’s be real, at the end of the day your main concern is taking care of your family. I would have to take the money and leave. That’s the truth. I really want to win the D-League title, though. (And by the way, I will probably go to Europe once the NBADL season is over. Just don’t know where yet).

Although the D-League season comes to an end Sunday, the Diary will stay in the website. I will have a lot going in the summer and will tell you about it here. The guys at K1X will be shooting a documentary about me, I’ll take part in the Last Man Standing Championship… Just a bunch of stuff.

Talk to you again Monday – hopefully after winning a title. Bye!

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Hi there!

We are very excited here in Dakota, because on Saturday we have a very big game. It’s playoff time!

We play against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, my old team, so it will be special for me. But I’m confident and comfortable with the situation. I’m not thinking about sweet revenge or anything. The goal is NBADL title. There’s nothing else to think about.

I finished the regular season strong and I hope that the wait (because we were the first team in the East, we don’t have to play the first round) will pay off and we can be fresh and ready. Because of my experience, I will set an example by staying calm on the court. The playoffs are a whole new level of intensity.

The key to beat the Skyforce is to attack them on every possession, hustle and play hard. And hit the free throws. Do the little things, that’s the main thing when you want to go deep in the playoffs and get the title.

Of course there is some room to chill out. On and off the court, our guy is Rod Benson. Like me, he has a blog and is a very funny guy. He has a lot of charisma. You know how these people from California are. They just bring a different energy.

As I said before, my ‘1-8-7′ shoes will not be available until next fall, maybe November. But I will show the first ones during the summer in one of the streetball tournaments in New York City. You know I’m the champion of The Last Man Standing and I wanna repeat! But I’m not thinking about what is gonna be a big summer for me.

There’s a big game coming Saturday.

That’s all for now. See you. Bye!

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