November 20, 2008
BURLINGTON FREE PRESS FROST HEAVES SIGNS JOHN WILLIAMS
November 19, 2008
(From Burlington Free Press)
SOUTH BURLINGTON -- John Williams, a 5-foot-10 point guard who last
played professionally in France, has signed to play with the
Vermont Frost Heaves in the Premier Basketball League this winter.
Williams averaged 13 points per game and shot 43 percent from the 3-point line for ESPE Chalons-en-Champagne Basket Pro, according to Vermont General Manager Michael Healey.
Williams finished his career as the school's all-time career three-point field goals leader with 323 and was the co-Player of the Year in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2006. Williams scored 1,754 career points, fourth-best in school history, while his 3.7 three-point field goals per game was the fifth-best in school history.
Healey said coach Will Voigt was impressed with Williams,
especially his quickness, during his recent private workout in
Vermont.
"John is an excellent shooter and brings a lot of quickness to his
position. What impressed me most about him was his desire to
improve. He is a young man that could develop into an outstanding
player in our league," Voigt said in a news release.
Williams said he was looking forward to playing with the Frost Heaves, who won back-to-back American Basketball Association titles and are moving to a new league.
"I feel it's a good move for my career as a basketball player. The Frost Heaves do a great job in developing players and I feel I will benefit greatly from this opportunity. They have a winning tradition and I hope I can continue that tradition along with becoming the best basketball player I can be," he said in a news release.
He is the sixth person to sign with the team, which is expected to carry a roster of 12. All players report to training camp on Dec. 1. The Frost Heaves kick off their season with the PBL Green Mountain Tip-off, a pre-season tournament in Barre on Dec. 27-28 in a round-robin format. Vermont's regular season when Montreal heads to Barre Auditorium at 7:05 p.m. Jan. 9.
