Elliot Williams Commits to Memphis

Elliot Williams, who transferred from the Duke Blue Devils, has decided to continue his basketball career with the Memphis Tigers.

Williams had listed Memphis, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt as possible destinations. A big part of his decision was likely so that he could be close to his family. An unspecified family problem is the reason he chose to leave Duke, according to his announcement.

"I'm a Memphis Tiger," Williams said in a text to The Commercial Appeal before expounding on his decision in a telephone interview.

Because of his mother's illness, Williams is seeking a waiver of the NCAA rule forcing student-athletes to sit out a year after transferring. Williams has declined to go into specifics about his mother's illness.

"The most important thing in this situation was coming closer to my family," Williams said today. "As far as basketball, I'm playing for a great coach in (Memphis head coach Josh) Pastner.

"I mean, I'm playing for my hometown in Memphis. What better thing is there, coming back and playing for Memphis?"

Article from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal