Returning PBA import John Williamson shouldn’t be confused with the late NBA star, a namesake, who died of kidney failure due to diabetes at the age of 45 in 1996.
The deceased Williamson played eight years in the ABA and NBA. He retired with the Washington Bullets in 1981. Known as “Super John,” the 6-2 guard played on two ABA title squads with the New York Nets. His No. 23 was retired by the Nets along with other ABA stars Julius Erving, Bill Melchionni and Wendell Ladner.
The other Williamson, nicknamed Jwill, is alive and kicking. The 6-6 forward suited up in two seasons with the University of Cincinnati varsity and played for Coca-Cola in the 2009-10 Fiesta Conference. Williamson, 24, came in as Rashad Bell’s replacement and was the Tigers’ third import.
It was easy to like Williamson’s style of play. He led Coca-Cola to three straight wins over Ginebra San Miguel, San Miguel Beer and Sta. Lucia Realty before losing to Rain Or Shine to finish No. 7 in the standings with an 8-10 record. In the wildcards, Coca-Cola survived a do-or-die game against Sta. Lucia with Williamson scoring 30 points to key the 100-84 win but got the boot from the Elasto Painters in the next game, a 98-93 loss. In six outings, Williamson averaged 25.7 points and 10 rebounds.
Powerade coach Bo Perasol kept Williamson in mind with the Tigers allowed to recruit a 6-6 import for the Governors Cup starting June 11. But Williamson wasn’t Perasol’s first choice.
Perasol initially tapped Louisiana State University’s Tasmin Mitchell who averaged 16.8 points in his fifth year with the varsity, coincidentally also called the Tigers, in 2009-10. Mitchell got an extra year of eligibility because he played only three games as a junior in 2007-08. Ordinarily, a collegiate player has only four years of eligibility. Mitchell played with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA pre-season exhibitions last year and is coming off a stint with the Erie Bay Hawks in the NBA D-League.
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Perasol wanted to make sure Mitchell wouldn’t be over the height limit and arranged for his measurement before sending his plane ticket. “We had him measured in the US before leaving,” said Perasol. “He was a fourth of an inch more than 6-6.”
Quickly, Perasol sent for Williamson, a logical choice since he already knows the Tigers system. Plus, he didn’t do badly in his first tour of duty in the PBA. Williamson flew in last Monday evening and reported for practice the next day.
Before moving to the University of Cincinnati, Williamson played two years with the Cincinnati State and Technical College. In his second year, he averaged 27.4 points and 11.7 rebounds to lead the varsity to a 26-9 record and the finals of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Transferring to the University of Cincinnati was a foregone conclusion as Williamson is from nearby Columbus, Ohio and had played at a Cincinnati junior college. Besides, it’s an honor to be a Bearcat. NBA players with Bearcat roots include Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, Kenyon Martin, Jason Maxiel and Nick Van Exel. Former PBA imports who played at Cincinnati include Ryan Fletcher, Erik Martin and Art Long.
Williamson averaged 13.5 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds as a Bearcat rookie in 2006-07. He scored in double figures in 23 of 29 outings, including a career-high 27 on 11-of-15 field goals (1-of-2 triples) and 4-of-7 free throws in a win over Oakland. That season, Williamson shot 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds against Ohio State. He wound up hitting .485 from the field and .587 from the line. In his second and final season, he averaged 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 32 contests. Williamson hit .483 from the floor, .385 from three-point distance and .614 from the stripe.
Williamson has played as an import in France, Poland, Sweden and Finland.
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By the way, Tasmin Mitchell isn’t the only Mitchell who was supposed to play in the Governors Cup but scratched out.
Alaska coach Tim Cone said the Aces were all set to bring in Dwayne Mitchell of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as their 6-4 import. But he cancelled at the last minute.
“The one we wanted backed out last Monday,” said Cone. “L. D. (Williams) was a possibility. We had Dwayne set to come in as soon as he finished in the Israeli league but he backed out.” Williams was Alaska’s import in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The good news from Alaska is newly acquired Wesley Gonzales playing “extremely well” at practice. Gonzales recently came in from Air 21 in a trade for Elmer Espiritu.
Cone said if only Dwayne Mitchell signed up, he would’ve dominated in the third conference for sure. Mitchell, 28, averaged 16.6 points and 7.9 rebounds with Louisiana at Lafayette as a senior in 2005-06. He has played in France, Germany and Israel. Only two weeks ago, Mitchell compiled a triple double – 20 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists – in leading Maccabi Rishon to a 105-95 win over Bnei Hasharon in the Israeli league.
Cone disclosed that with Mitchell unavailable, the Aces will tap former Air 21 import Jason Forte of Southern Mississippi “We like his energy and character,” he said. “He’ll be a good fit. We like the fact that he knows the league.” Forte played only two games for the Express in the 2009-10 Fiesta Conference as Keena Young’s replacement. He, in turn, was sidelined by Reggie Larry who later gave up his job to Leroy Hickerson. Forte, 27, averaged 23 points with Air 21.