Corey Williams (basketball, born 1977)
Corey "Homicide" Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Carey Paul Williams Template:Birth date Bronx, New York City, United States |
| Died | May 10, 2024 (aged 46) Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Professional basketball player, sports commentator |
| Years active | 1999–2016 (player), 2015–present (commentator) |
| Known for | NBL Most Valuable Player (2010), Townsville Crocodiles player |
Corey Paul "Homicide" Williams (originally named Carey Paul Williams; August 3, 1977 – May 10, 2024) was a professional basketball athlete from the United States. He played collegiate basketball at MCC–Penn Valley and Alabama State, later gaining prominence as a streetball competitor in New York City. His extensive 17-year career included a distinguished four-year tenure in Australia's NBL between 2007 and 2011, where he earned the NBL Most Valuable Player accolade in 2010 while playing for the Townsville Crocodiles.
Early life
Williams was born at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital located in the Bronx, New York City. Initially named Carey Williams, he adopted the name Corey during middle school to avoid teasing. Due to academic challenges, his mother enrolled him at Rice High School, an all-male Catholic institution situated in Harlem.
College career
Without receiving any scholarship offers from high schools, Williams enrolled at MCC–Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City. As a freshman during the 1995–96 season, he contributed to Penn Valley's NJCAA Division II men's basketball championship victory and earned JUCO first-team All-American recognition as a sophomore.
In 1997, Williams transferred to Alabama State Hornets, where over two seasons and 54 games he averaged 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He graduated with a criminal justice degree in 2000, honoring a commitment made to his mother. Lacking professional basketball connections from this smaller Division I program, Williams established himself in New York City's streetball scene, adopting the nickname "Homicide."
Professional career
Williams began his professional journey during the 1999–2000 season with the Dakota Wizards in the International Basketball Association. After touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, he competed for Club San Carlos in the Dominican Republic and also played for the Brooklyn Kings of the United States Basketball League (USBL) throughout 2000–01.
During the 2001–02 season, Williams played in Brazil with Minas Tênis Clube. Following another period with Brooklyn Kings in 2003, he joined Sweden's 08 Stockholm Human Rights for the 2003–04 campaign.
After participating with the Denver Nuggets during their 2004 off-season, Williams signed with Yunnan Honghe of China's Basketball Association for the 2004–05 season, where he averaged an impressive 27 points per game. In May 2005, he briefly appeared for New Jersey Flyers and Westchester Wildfire in the USBL.
His performances during summer streetball events caught the eye of Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jim Todd, leading to a training camp contract on October 3, 2005. Williams averaged four points and one assist over four pre-season games before being released on October 27.
Selected by Austin Toros in the ninth round of the November 3, 2005 NBA Development League draft, Williams was waived before playing any games. In December that year, he signed with Sellbytel Baskets Nürnberg of Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga but departed after three games due to family matters. In January 2006, he joined Sioux Falls Skyforce of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), earning All-Defensive Team and All-League Second Team honors while tying a franchise record with three triple-doubles. He also briefly played one game for Venezuela’s Guaiqueríes de Margarita.
Williams took part in NBA Summer League with Indiana Pacers and preseason action with Denver Nuggets before appearing in eight games for France’s Cholet Basket early in the 2006–07 season. On January 1, 2007, he returned to Sioux Falls Skyforce (now part of the NBA Development League), was waived mid-February, then signed by Dakota Wizards a week later. He played a key role in Dakota’s D-League championship run that season by averaging 14 points, four rebounds, and three-and-a-half assists per contest.
Following a Summer League stint with Golden State Warriors in 2007, Williams signed as an injury replacement for Rosell Ellis with Australia’s Townsville Crocodiles of the NBL on October 3. In his debut NBL season (2007–08), over 25 games he averaged 21.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while earning All-NBL Second Team honors. Afterward, he briefly joined Croatian club KK Cibona.
Williams returned to Townsville for the subsequent NBL season (2008–09), posting averages of 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists across 32 games; once again securing All-NBL Second Team recognition and helping guide the team to semi-finals. Post-season saw him undertake a short spell with Venezuela’s Trotamundos de Carabobo.
During the 2009–10 NBL campaign, Williams was honored as NBL Most Valuable Player after averaging 18.6 points, five rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 31 games while shooting an efficient field goal percentage of 50.6%.
In November 2010, Williams signed with Melbourne Tigers for the remainder of that NBL season; on January 2, 2011 he recorded a triple-double comprising twelve points, ten rebounds, and eleven assists. Across four NBL seasons totaling 114 games, he maintained averages of 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
In January of 2012, Williams joined Lebanon’s Byblos Club before moving on to Puerto Rico’s Piratas de Quebradillas later that year.
For the following season (2012–13), he competed with Bejje SC; subsequently continuing his career in Lebanon over two seasons playing for Hoops Club and Al Mouttahed Tripoli.
Williams returned to Lebanon’s Tadamon Zouk in February of 2015 for ten games where he posted strong all-around statistics: averaging twenty-three points, nearly eight rebounds, six assists and more than two steals per contest; he briefly rejoined Tadamon again early in 2016 for six games.
Post-playing career
Williams shifted into a leading role as an NBL commentator in Australia, beginning in 2015 and becoming a full-time presenter for Fox Sports by 2017. He significantly contributed to the NBL's expansion throughout the late 2010s and earned acclaim as one of the league’s most influential ambassadors. In December 2021, Williams took on the position of Creative Director of Basketball for Foot Locker Pacific.
Personal life
Williams' heritage is rooted in Jamaica, and by 2012 he was traveling with a Jamaican passport. He was a father to two daughters, Bella and Gabi.
Illness and death
In August 2023, Williams received a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer. He underwent chemotherapy treatment in New York before returning to Australia, where he continued therapy until shortly before his passing. Williams died on May 10, 2024, at the age of 46, at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne. His funeral service took place at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.