Blue-chipper to join D-League draft

MANILA, Philippines – Fil-Am point guard Michael Williams is applying to join the PBA D-League draft on Nov. 19 and could be a consensus first round pick based on his stats with the California State at Fullerton varsity and the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA D-League.

Williams’ agent, lawyer Jason Aniel of San Francisco, said he’s rushing the paperwork from the Bureau of Immigration and Department of Justice to formalize his application. He submitted a letter to PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa yesterday requesting an extension of the Oct. 30 deadline to deliver the citizenship documents but promised to get the papers ready before the draft.

“We’re ready to turn in the documents for the Bureau of Immigration certification and the Department of Justice confirmation,” said Aniel. “We’ve been told the papers are complete but it may take a few more days for the BI and DOJ to go over the documents. The ultimate goal is for Michael to apply for the PBA draft but we understand the requirement of playing in the D-League beforehand. If we miss the D-League draft, we’ll have to wait another year before we can apply again.”

Aniel turned in the letter to Narvasa through coach Eric Castro who oversees the D-League operations. Narvasa said he will study Aniel’s request and consider the circumstances surrounding the delay of submission of documents.

Williams, 23, has played pick-up basketball with Manny Pacquiao and is highly recommended by the Mahindra playing head coach. “Manny put me on the job and gave the go-signal for Mikey to apply for the D-League draft,” said Aniel. “Last August, I took Mikey and Robbie Herndon, another Fil-Am, to Manila and they played practice games with Rain Or Shine, Alaska and Kia. They got positive reviews. They were in town for 17 days to show their wares.”

Williams, a 6-2 point guard, averaged a team-high 17.4 points and hit at least 20 points in 12 of 31 games with the Fullerton varsity in 2013-14. He previously played three seasons with the University of San Francisco, averaging 5.5 points as a freshman in 2009-10, 14.7 as a sophomore in 2010-11 and 11.1 as a junior in 2011-12. Williams redshirted in 2012-13 to establish residency at Fullerton the next season.

Williams’ mother Angelica Baldo was born in Naga City and moved to the US with her family when she was nine. His father Kurt is an American. At Fullerton, Williams scored 24 points in the Titans’ 87-80 win over Texas Southern, 23 in an 82-81 decision over California State at Northridge and 21, including 8-of-12 field goals, in a 78-73 victory over University of California at Riverside.

“Mikey is electric,” said Fullerton coach Dedrique Taylor. “He can do a lot of things exceptionally well. He can handle the ball, shoot it with great range, get to the rim and finish. He passes it and has great floor vision, a command of when to push and when to slow down. He definitely has a point guard element. He also has a scoring element when he needs to.”

With the Skyforce last season, Williams averaged 4.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 15.4 minutes in 39 games. He also played on DeMar DeRozan’s Most Hated Players squad that lost to James Harden’s L. A. Unified team, 98-93, in the final of the Drew League in Los Angeles last August.

Aniel said Williams is ripe for the PBA. “He’s an NBA-type player, a scoring point guard like Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul with the ability to drive and kick,” he said. “He’s a natural leader on the floor, he runs the team, he’s fast and explosive. He plays at a high level. He was once recruited by Gilas but he’s never had a Philippine passport. He’s also been invited to play in the ABL but he wants to play in the PBA and the D-League is his pathway. Mikey looks like the Los Angeles Lakers’ Nick Young whose nickname is Swaggy P and that’s why he’s called Swaggy Pinoy.”

Aniel said Herndon is another prospect for the D-League draft. “He’s a shooter like Klay Thompson, he’s quicker than Mikey but not as athletic,” he continued. “He’s a physical player and he likes contact. Unlike Mikey who’s a point guard, Robbie can play two or three.”

Herndon, 22, is a 6-4 swingman whose father Robert Herndon is 3/4 Filipino and mother Tonda is Caucasian. His grandmother Zenaida Lagrosola is Filipina and grandfather Robert Mesa Herndon is half-Filipino. Herndon played at San Francisco State and in a game against Cal Poly Pomona in 2012, he was matched against Matt Ganuelas. In that game, Herndon scored eight points while Ganuelas compiled five points, two rebounds and six assists as Pomona won, 73-59.

“Manny has seen Robbie play,” said Aniel. “Both Mikey and Robbie have lots of potential. I know they’ll be exciting players in the D-League and later, in the PBA. If only they had Filipino passports before they turned 16, they would’ve been eligible to play for Gilas. Based on the information I gave to the Bureau of Immigration, I was told they’re eligible for citizenship. I leave for San Francisco tomorrow (Sunday) and I hope to be back early November to finish their paperwork with the Bureau.”