Cecil Williams Signs To Play In France

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Former Central Michigan basketball player Cecil Williams is headed to France to play professionally.

Williams, a 6-foot-6 forward who completed his college eligibility in 2017-18, has signed with Sorgues BC in the French Nationale Masculine 1 League.

Williams transferred to CMU from Moberly Area (Mo.) Community College. In his two seasons as a Chippewa, he started all 68 games in which he appeared, developing a reputation as a dependable, unselfish and hard-nosed player.

"I am excited to get my professional career started in France," Williams said. "I appreciate all of the support I've received along this journey, support from my family, my teammates, and my coaches. I especially thank (assistant) coach (Kyle) Gerdeman for recruiting me to CMU. During my two years here I grew as a player and as a person. I'm looking forward to the challenges and the opportunites that await me."

Williams led CMU and ranked 15^th in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 14.9 points per game as a senior in '17-18. He also ranked second on the team and 11^th in the league with 6.5 rebounds per game.

"Cecil was an undervalued player in the recruiting process," said Keno Davis, who is headed into his seventh year as the head coach of the CMU program. "He worked extremely hard to continue to develop as a player. He is a great talent who was willing to do whatever was necessary for the team, whether it was playing out of position, defending the other team's best player, or coming up with key rebounds."

Williams helped lead CMU to a 21-15 finish in 2017-18 and a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Chippewas won two road games in the tournament before bowing, on the road, to Liberty. The tournament victories at Fort Wayne and then at Wofford marked a first for CMU men's basketball: back-to-back postseason wins on the road.

The 21 victories marked the Chippewas' second-highest single-season win total since 2002-03, and it marked the fourth consecutive season in which CMU finished .500 or better, the first time the program has accomplished such a feat since the early 1970s.

"It's very rewarding to see a player like Cecil get rewarded for his hard work, his unselfishness," Davis said. "He has realized a long-term goal and we're very happy for him and very proud of him. I know a lot of CMU fans will look forward to hearing updates about Cecil and his career, as we will in and around the Chippewa program."

Williams is the latest in a long line of Chippewas who have come through the program since Davis took over before the 2012-13 season to go on to a pro career. The others are Chris Fowler, Kyle Randall, Braylon Rayson, Marcus Keene and Rayshawn Simmons.

Players Mentioned

Cecil Williams

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