Have you ever seen teams looking for strong players who are struggling or looking to bounce back after disappointing years? Or when in your Football Manager career you get promoted to the top flight and then you hunt for big names on a free transfer? Well, if you wanted, you could compare these situations to what was done byUniversity of Central Florida in recent months.
Seeking the limelight, UCF He made two bets that, if correct, could bring excellent results: Mikey Williams e Dior Johnson. The first has always been talked about a lot and when he played in high school he was considered one of the best prospects in the nation, the second was also a five-star recruit, but less talked about than his future teammate. In addition to their recruiting grade, they also have something else in common: both have not played a minute in Division I due to problems with the American law.
Juco for redemption
Dior Johnson was a commit first to Syracuse, then to Oregon and finally to Pitt: three colleges and zero minutes played. The reason? A complaint with multiple charges that can be summarized as domestic violence against an acquaintance of his who had gone to visit him in Pittsburgh from California. After a few days spent in jail, Johnson pleaded guilty to two minor offenses – of the five charged – thus obtaining the possibility of returning to the field with Pitt. However, after debuting with the Panthers in the summer tour, the change in internal rules at the university made it impossible for him to remain. So he arrived at Clarendon College where he began to rebuild his career.
Among the ranks of the Bulldogs, Dior Johnson he managed to put basketball back at the center of his life and the results were there to see. He closed the season with an average of 29.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, including an impressive game against Howard where he scored 58 points. The year in the Juco circuit unfortunately ended without titles due to the loss against South Plains in the Region V final, a match in which he scored 40 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds with 45% from the field.
Fame goes to your head
A very similar path was also followed Mikey Williams. The former child prodigy from San Ysidro, Texas, was one of the first talents launched and supported in a significant way by social media and the media. Since his freshman year of high school he was talked about as one of the best players in the nation thus creating a very important fame that led him to sign a huge contract with Puma.
His fame, however, has been waning since 2021, when the poor effort shown and some gaps never really filled made him lose the consideration of many recruiters. Despite these aspects, he had received offers from the blue bloods of Division I – above all Kansas – before deciding to go to Memphis. It goes without sayingnever played a minute with the Tigers. Everything fell apart on March 27, 2023, when he grabbed a gun and fired shots at the car as it drove away, to get some kids off his property.
Mikey Williams
After the conviction, Williams was kicked out of Memphis and has chosen to settle, accepting 80 hours of community service and an obligation to attend anger management meetings, all in the hopes that the crimes will be downgraded to misdemeanors. And that’s no small matter, because it will determine whether the combo guard can play for UCF during this season. In fact, the Florida college rules state that it is impossible to have on the roster players accused of crimes, or those identified as felony in the United States.
A new backcourt for the Tournament
If everything goes according to plan, coach Johnny Dawkins could have a very respectable backcourt that, in fact, would have been top-notch two years ago. UCF finished 17-16 last year (7-11 in the Big 12) with a good defense – the 32nd in the nation – but a fairly sterile offense. The Knights have not been to March Madness since the 18-19 season, but who knows if the offensive boost provided by the duo Williams–Johnsonalso combined with the recruitment of Moustapha Thiamcan’t put them back on the college basketball map.