College Beat: Bishop Ford’s Williams hopes for happy homecoming at Barclays Center
While the Nets rest up for the stretch run toward their first playoff berth in six years and the three-time Northeast Conference champions of LIU-Brooklyn await Selection Sunday, there is another notable local hoops story set to unfold at Downtown’s Barclays Center this weekend.
Nearly five years removed from leading Park Slope’s Bishop Ford High School to a CHSAA state title, Bushwick native Chaz Williams will be back on the block, so to speak, Thursday night when his UMass Minutemen take on George Washington University (NBC Sports Network, 9 p.m.) in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, which will make its debut on the corners of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.
Williams, who began his collegiate career at Hofstra before taking home First Team All-A-10 honors the past two years at UMass, is coming off his best season after leading the league in assists (7.6 per game) and averaging a career-best 15.4 points per contest. At 19-10 overall and 9-7 in conference play, the Minutemen enter the A-10 tourney as the No. 6 seed, but have won three of their last four games.