Cal Basketball: Coastal Carolina's Rudi Williams Lists Bears Among 8 Possible Destinations
Cal, losing its top three scorers from this season’s team, is making a recruiting run at Rueadale “Rudi” Williams, a combo guard from Coastal Carolina.
Williams announced via social media on Sunday that the Bears are among his eight finalists. He will be a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility.
A 6-foot-2 native of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, Williams averaged 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Chanticleers of the Sun Belt Conference this season. He shot 50.9 percent from the field and 44.7 percent (51-for-114) from the 3-point arc.
His other finalists are Xavier, Butler, Wichita State, San Diego State, George Mason, BYU and UConn.
Williams told 247Sports he hopes to make a decision sooner than later, well before the academic year ends near June.
Cal is the only Power 5 conference school on Williams’ final list, and the Bears' program features two players — Joel Brown and Jalen Celestine — who also are front Ontario.
But the Bears’ lack of recent success could work against them. The Bears 12-20 this season and have suffered five straight losing campaigns.
Here’s what Williams told The Portal Report:
“Really what I’m looking for in my next destination, I would just say somewhere with a winning culture. Winning is a must over there. I want to go somewhere I have a chance to play in the March Madness Tournament and somewhere I can get ready to become a pro and win a lot of ball games. That’s pretty much it and that was my reasoning behind wanting to transfer.”
And these were his remarks to 247Sports on Thursday:
“It's my last year of college so I want to go to a school where I can be an impact guy right away, have a huge contribution to a winning team, make March Madness, and set myself up to be a professional after. That's why making the jump to a higher level makes sense.”
Neither of those comments sound terribly optimistic for Cal fans. But coach Mark Fox is sure to try selling Williams on his opportunity to play a major role in a Pac-12 program while attending one of the nation’s elite academic schools.
Certainly the Bears have need for scorers. Gone from this past season are guard Jordan Shepherd (14.6 points) and forward Grant Anticevich (9.7 points), both having completed their college eligibility, and forward Andre Kelly (13.4 points), who last week declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal.
Celestine, who produced 7.5 points per game while becoming a starter at midseason, is the squad’s top returning scorer.
Williams scored double digits 24 times in 33 games, had eight games of 20-plus points, and a career-high 31 vs. Arkansas State with 30 vs. Winthrop. He was the team’s top scorer in all four games in the postseason, averaging 20.8 points while leading the Chanticleers to the championship game of The Basketball Classic.
Williams is not mentioned by Jeff Goodman of Stadium on his list of the nation's top 75 transfer prospects. But Bryan Mauro of Fansided ranks Williams at No. 39 on his list of 100 players making a move.
Here is Mauro’s evaluation of Williams:
“It is hard not to gush about the offensive ability of the senior guard. He spent one year at Kansas State and then transferred to Coastal Carolina where he thrived. Anyone who has not watched the Chanticleers play, they play at a high tempo and get us as many shots as possible. The senior guard was a great player in that system as he was extremely efficient. He shot 51% from the floor and 45% from deep. His shooting alone is going to get him a look for a power five school again.”
He played his junior season at Kansas State, averaging 4.8 points in 27 games.
Williams began his college career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college program, where he averaged 21 points as a sophomore but also set a school record with 492 assists in two seasons. He had six triple-doubles in two JC seasons.
He attended prep school at Forest Trail Academy in Kernersville, N.C. after high school at Sir Allan Macnab Secondary School in Hamilton.
Cover photo of Rudi Williams by Bob McCool, Coastal Carolina Athletics
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
