Chaz Williams was among a number of guards invited to the Boston Celtics' practice facility in Wharham on Monday. A host of Boston-area media were on hand to watch the group, which also included Semaj Christon (Xavier), Bryce Cotton (Providence), Nick Johnson (Arizona), Russ Smith (Louisville) and Xavier Thames (San Diego State), among others.
NESN's Ben Watanabe (@BenjeeBallgame) posted a brief synopsis of the invitees - his words on Chaz are below...
Chaz Williams, UMass (PG, 5-9, 175) -- His intangibles are off the charts, but so is his stature -- as in, it doesn't reach high enough to make it onto the chart. In a workout filled with undersized players who will have difficulty breaking into the two-round draft, Williams was the smallest in attendance. But the diminutive Minuteman possesses point guard skills many of his competitors lack, averaging better than six assists per game in each of his three seasons in Amherst.
Watanabe also wrote a piece that shows Williams' drive to turn NBA doubters into believers.
Chaz Williams is in the midst of a whirlwind trek back and forth across the country, working out for any NBA teams that will allow him onto their court. And he cherishes every minute.
Whereas many of the top prospects in the 2014 NBA draft can't yank their names out of workouts fast enough, Williams would try out at the local playground if a professional scout were watching. The 5-foot-9 point guard out of UMass knows the odds are stacked against him, which is why he is doing everything he can to be seen.
"As much as possible," Williams said Monday after his latest workout, with the Boston Celtics. "It's 'Chaz Williams, the little guy,' so here's my opportunity to prove to everybody, well, I'm little, but I can compete with the best of them. I just want to get out here and show everybody as much as I can."
No player in college basketball last season was more tenacious than Williams, who averaged 15.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Minutemen, the first-round NCAA tournament victim of the Tennessee Volunteers.