Junior power forward Darrion Williams of Texas Tech has announced he’s transferring to NC State.
The 6-foot-4 1/2, 236-pound Williams averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for the Red Raiders. He played his best ball at the end of the season. Williams averaged 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and shot 42.9 percent from the field and 23.1 percent on three-pointers.
Williams nearly led Texas Tech to an upset win over Florida in the Elite Eight, but fell 84-79. Williams last game in a TTU uniform proved bittersweet. He was terrific in the first 35 minutes of the game, and the Red Raiders eventually built a 71-61 lead with 5:26 left. Over the last five minutes, he went 1 of 4 from the field and missed the front end of a 1-and-1, opening the door for the Gators to rally for the win.
Williams finished with 20-plus points in nine games, including three in the postseason. Williams had a season-high 28 points and five assists in a 77-64 win over Drake on March 22 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Williams scored a Big-12 best 27 points and grabbed five rebounds in a 111-106 double-overtime win over Arizona State on Feb. 12.
Williams helped lead Texas Tech to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, but he and the Red Raiders struggled in the 80-67 loss against NC State in the first round. He went 4 off 11 from the field and 2 of 6 on three-pointers en route to 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Williams averaged 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game his junior year, and shot 45.8 percent on three-pointers.
Williams was much more active as a rebounder in 2023-24, with nine double-doubles for points and rebounds. He had a season-high 30 points and 11 rebounds and went 4 of 4 on three-pointers in a 79-50 win over Kansas on Feb. 12, 2024.
Williams transferred to Texas Tech from Nevada, where he averaged 7.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per gam this freshman year. He shot 41.4 percent from the field and 35.7 percent on three-pointers.
The Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman High product picked Nevada over offers from Eastern Washington, Long Beach State, Montana and Weber State.
Williams had entered the NBA Draft, but recently withdrew. He joins transfers Quadir Copeland and Alyn Breed of McNeese State, Michigan State’s Tre Holloman, Houston’s Terrance Arceneaux, Florida State’s Jerry Deng and Butler’s Colt Langdon.
The Wolfpack will await the decision of Memphis star redshirt sophomore guard P.J. Haggerty, who has until May 28 to make his own NBA Draft decision.
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