Tarvis Devar Williams (born January 22, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He is best known, however, for making the game-winning shot with 6.9 seconds left that propelled 15th-seeded
Hampton past 2nd-seeded
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, 58–57, in the first round of the
2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
It was only the fourth time since 1985 that a #15 defeated a #2 seed.
[ Williams was also a two-time NCAA season blocks champion in 1998–99 and 2000–01.]
Early life
Williams was born in Maysville, North Carolina
Maysville is a town in Jones County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,019 at the 2010 census. It is part of the New Bern, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. This town was home to former MLB left fielder Louie Meado ...
.[
]
College
Tarvis Williams played college basketball at Hampton University
Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...
in Hampton, Virginia
Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...
from 1997–98 to 2000–01. He played in 114 games and averaged 15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game for his career. As a sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
in 1998–99 he led the nation in blocks per game with 5.00.[ He repeated the achievement two years later as a ]senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
when he averaged 4.59 per game.[ He was only the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the country in blocks for two seasons since the statistic became official in 1985–86 ( Hall of Famer David Robinson was the first, who accomplished the feat in 1986 and 1987.)][ For his career, Williams blocked 452 shots, which through the 2021–22 season ranks seventh-most in Division I history.][ In the 2000 and 2001 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournaments, Williams was selected to the All-Tournament team and named the MVP in 2001.]NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
scouts, but his sub-par performance resulted in not being chosen in the 2001 NBA draft
The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, ...
. Williams finished his career at Hampton with 1,754 points and owns school records in every single blocked shot category: single game (12), single season (147), career, season average (4.59 bpg), and career average (3.8 bpg).
Professional
After being passed up by NBA teams, Williams left the United States to play professional basketball. Since his career began in 2001 he has been a journeyman, playing for 11 different teams in seven countries.[ His most successful season to date was in 2004–05 while playing for BK Děčín in the Czech Republic's National Basketball League. In 37 games, Williams averaged 16.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.][ He was third in the league in rebounding average while also tops in blocks.][
]
See also
* List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leaders
* List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Tarvis
1978 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in China
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Germany
American expatriate basketball people in Serbia
American expatriate basketball people in Slovakia
American expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from North Carolina
BC Prievidza players
BG Karlsruhe players
BK Děčín players
Centers (basketball)
Fayetteville Patriots players
FC Bayern Munich basketball players
Hampton Pirates basketball players
JSA Bordeaux Basket players
KB Prishtina players
Mitteldeutscher BC players
Olympique Antibes basketball players
People from Jones County, North Carolina
Power forwards (basketball)
Shanghai Sharks players