Mikey Williams' auspicious career at Memphis is over before it even started. The #19 recruit in the class of 2023 is transferring from the program before ever seeing the floor for the Tigers.
Williams was arrested in April 2023 in connection to a shooting from the previous month and faced five charges of assault with a deadly weapon. On November 30, 2023, Williams pled guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat and to a special allegation of using a firearm during the threat. That charge will become a misdemeanor once Williams completes special classes and he will not face jail time.
With his legal situation resolved, the freshman phenom is looking for a fresh start to his college basketball career. Many programs will be put off by his off-the-court issues, but a player of his talent will certainly have suitors pursuing him.
The high-profile recruit is a prolific scorer out of the backcourt, with an ability to create his own shot off the dribble and as a perimeter shooter. With Mikey Williams looking to make his next moves, here are two teams that are ideal fits for the Memphis transfer.
Southern Mississippi
After a 24-65 start in his first three seasons at Southern Miss, head coach Jay Ladner led the Golden Eagles to a 25-win season and a regular season conference title in the program's first year in the Sun Belt. That 2022-23 team was built around a pair of Power Conference transfers in Austin Crowley (Mississippi) and Felipe Haase (South Carolina). Both players averaged better than 15 points per game, with Crowley earning All-Sun Belt First Team and Newcomer of the Year honors and Haase being an All-Sun Belt Second Team nominee. Ladner also won Coach of the Year in the conference.
Ladner's success with transfers has continued this season with the talented Andre Curbelo — previously of St. John's and Illinois. Curbelo demonstrated promise at both schools but could never quite put it together on the court. Now, in his first season at Southern Miss, Curbelo is finally playing at an All-Conference level.
In the five games he's played since becoming eligible for the Golden Eagles, Curbelo is averaging 14.4 points per game and 6.0 assists per game. Against Georgia State, he had USM's first triple-double since 1980 with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Curbelo followed it up with 15 points and nine assists in an upset win over #19 James Madison to hand the Dukes their first loss of the year.
Coach Jay Ladner has turned the Golden Eagles into a perennial Sun Belt contender with high-level transfers, and Mikey Williams would be another strong addition to his squad.
New Mexico
Head coach Richard Pitino loves a good scoring guard, with Jamal Mashburn Jr. combining to form one of the best backcourt scoring duos in the country over the last three years. Both players started their college careers at power conference schools, with Mashburn beginning with Pitino at Minnesota while House played at Arizona State. Each player is also in their final year of collegiate eligibility.
Sophomore Donovan Dent is a more-than-worthy replacement. Dent is tied for the team lead with 16.6 PPG as he has assumed the brunt of the scoring load with Mashburn and House each missing considerable time with injury during nonconference play. With Mashburn and House graduating, Mikey Williams immediately fills the need for scoring on this New Mexico team.
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