Shammond Williams, a former college and NBA star, begins his first season as an assistant on The Hill for head coach Rick Stansbury in 2016-17.
Williams spent the previous three years as an assistant coach at Tulane.
He came to the Green Wave after spending one season as an assistant coach at Furman. The Greenville, S.C., native brings strong recruiting ties to WKU and has served as a counselor at the prestigious Nike Elite Youth Skill Academies.
Prior to coaching, Williams played basketball professionally for 13 years in the NBA and Europe. A second-round choice of the Chicago Bulls in the 1998 NBA Draft, Williams earned time with seven NBA franchises over his career, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics, New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic.
Williams played seven seasons overseas and helped Spanish club FC Barcelona to the EuroLeague Final Four in 2006. He also led Pamesa Valencia to two straight ULEB EuroCup Elite 8 appearances in 2008 and 2009 in Turin, Italy, as well as helped Montepaschi Siena to the 2010 Italian Championship.
A naturalized citizen of the Republic of Georgia, he has represented Georgia internationally and claimed Most Valuable Player honors at the 2005 Euro Challenge All-Star Game.
A four-year letterwinner at North Carolina, Williams helped guide the Tar Heels to three NCAA Final Four appearances in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Williams -- who played alongside Rasheed Wallace, Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter during his career at North Carolina -- competed under the guidance of Hall of Famer Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge.
Williams averaged 16.8 points and 4.2 assists per game as a senior in 1998 to propel the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and his third NCAA Final Four appearance. He averaged 10.7 points and 3.0 assists per game over his four seasons in Chapel Hill, N.C., while setting single-season school records for free-throw percentage (91.1 percent) and 3-point baskets (95). He finished his college career with a school record 233 3-point baskets and 84.9 percent success rate at the foul line.
A prep standout at Greenville's Southside High School for head coach Mark Huff, Williams guided the Tigers to the 1992 AA state title before helping his school to the 1993 Upper State championship and a state runner-up finish. He also played one season at Fork Union Military Academy for legendary coach Fletcher Arritt.
Williams is the cousin of NBA star Kevin Garnett.
He and his wife Lynn have two children: Aniston and Shammond Jr.
