Corey Williams

Corey Paul "Homicide" Williams (born Carey Paul Williams; August 3, 1977 – May 10, 2024) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for MCC–Penn Valley and Alabama State before gaining notoriety as a streetball player in New York City. He played professionally for 17 years, including a four-year stint in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) between 2007 and 2011, where he earned NBL Most Valuable Player honors in 2010 with the Townsville Crocodiles.

Early life Williams was born at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in the Bronx, New York City. Born as Carey Williams, he changed his name to Corey in middle school after being teased in elementary school. Due to poor grades in middle school, his mother moved him to Rice High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Harlem.

College career Williams received no scholarship offers coming out of high school. He received an offer to play for MCC–Penn Valley Community College, a junior college in Kansas City. As a freshman in 1995–96, he helped Penn Valley win the NJCAA Division II men's basketball championship before being named a JUCO first-team All-American as a sophomore. He completed his degree in criminal justice in 2000, fulfilling a promise to his mother. In 2012, he was named in ESPN's "Elite 24: Rucker Park legends".

Professional career Williams made his professional debut during the 1999–2000 International Basketball Association season, where he had a brief stint with the Dakota Wizards. After a year touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, he played for Club San Carlos in the Dominican Republic and the Brooklyn Kings of the United States Basketball League during the 2000–01 season.

For the 2001–02 season, Williams played in Brazil with Minas.

After spending time with the Denver Nuggets during the 2004 off-season, Williams played for Yunnan Honghe of the Chinese Basketball Association during the 2004–05 season. He averaged 27 points per game with Yunnan. In May 2005, he had a one-game stint with the New Jersey Flyers and a three-game stint with the Westchester Wildfire, both of the United States Basketball League.

After spending his summer in 2005 working the competition on the streets of New York City, Williams was noticed by Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jim Todd. As a result, on October 3, 2005, Williams signed with the Raptors for training camp. Williams averaged 4.0 points and 1.0 assists in four pre-season games for the Raptors before being waived by the team on October 27.

On November 3, 2005, Williams was selected by the Austin Toros in the ninth round of the 2005 NBA Development League draft. He was waived by Austin on November 17 before appearing in a game for them. In December 2005, he signed with Sellbytel Baskets Nürnberg of the German Basketball Bundesliga, but left the team after appearing in just three games due to family problems. In January 2006, he joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the Continental Basketball Association. He was named to the CBA All-Defensive Team and All-League Second Team for the 2005–06 season. He had a league-high three triple-doubles, which tied the franchise record for triple-doubles in a season. He later had a one-game stint with Venezuelan team Guaiqueríes de Margarita. On January 1, 2007, he was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce, now playing in the NBA Development League. After being waived by the Skyforce on February 16, he was picked up by the Dakota Wizards a week later. He helped the Wizards win the D-League championship and averaged 14 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the 2006–07 season.

Williams had another Summer League stint in 2007, this time with the Golden State Warriors.

In November 2010, Williams joined the Melbourne Tigers for the rest of the 2010–11 NBL season. On January 2, 2011, he recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in an 87–66 win over the Adelaide 36ers.

In his four NBL seasons, Williams played 114 games (91 for Townsville and 23 for Melbourne) and averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest.

In January 2012, Williams joined Byblos Club in Lebanon.

In February 2015, Williams returned to Lebanon to play out the 2014–15 season with Tadamon Zouk. In 10 games, he averaged 23.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game. and then full time in 2017 with Fox Sports. He is credited with helping the NBL surge in the late 2010s and was one of the NBL's greatest ambassadors.

In December 2021, Williams was appointed the Creative Director of Basketball for Foot Locker Pacific.

Personal life Williams' ancestral home is Jamaica. As of 2012, he traveled with a Jamaican passport.

Williams had two daughters, Bella and Gabi.

Illness and death In August 2023, Williams was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He underwent chemotherapy in New York before returning to his adopted home of Australia. He continued to undergo treatment as recently as two weeks prior to his death. at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne.