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, 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. He attended White Oak High School in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...

, where he graduated in 1996.

College

Tarvis Williams played college basketball at Hampton University in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

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 school, post-secondary educatio ...

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 The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

(MEAC) Tournaments, Williams was selected to the All-Tournament team and named the MVP in 2001. After his final collegiate season he was selected to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament to try and impress

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

scouts, but his sub-par performance resulted in not being chosen in the 2001 NBA draft. 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 A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

, 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 The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

'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.

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 Kosovo 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 Shanghai Sharks players

Early life

College

Professional

See also

References