Deane Williams signs professional contract after leading Augusta to a conference championship and NCAA tournament sweet 16 run

Deane Williams forces overtime with a dunk against Georgia College.

Following a historic senior season in which he led Augusta University to a Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship and a spot in the sweet sixteen round of the NCAA Division II tournament, Deane Williams recently became the latest Jaguar to sign a professional contract. The 6-8 forward who earned PBC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and first team all conference honors, as well as spots on the DC2CCA All-Region and NACA All-District teams, inked a deal to play for the Keflavík Icelandic Basketball Club in Reykjanesbaer, Iceland.

In a recent interview Williams described to me what it meant to him to inspire so many Augusta fans, young and old, during last season’s run, which included a 15 game winning streak that survived for 50 calendar days and included a trio of conference tournament wins in front of thousands of fans in Augusta’s home gym during the PBC tournament:

"That means a lot to me. Basketball’s way bigger than me, so I just try to make it enjoyable to watch," Williams explained. "I hope sometime in the near future I can come back and play in an alumni game. That would be awesome."

Deane Williams and Keshun Sherrill at the Dip Metress Basketball Academy

Williams, who averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds last season, joins four more former Jaguars in the professional ranks: Keshun Sherrill (2017), KJ Sherrill (2014), Garret Siler (2009) and Ben Madgen (2010). Sherrill and Williams, who were teammates for two years, each led the Jaguars to conference championships during their senior seasons, and they each earned conference player of the year honors during their final season. The duo recently worked together as counselors at the Dip Metress Basketball Academy, and Sherrill had kind words, wrapped in some sarcastic humor, for his slightly younger friend:

"When I first saw them earlier this week, I told Deane and Miguel (Arnold), who won freshman of the year last season, like I once did, ‘welcome to the club,’" Sherrill joked. "When I watched the team last season from the Netherlands, I really didn’t enjoy the fact that Deane seemed to block all the shots, finish all the spectacular dunks and and win defensive player of the year in the conference."

Next season Augusta will return several players from last year’s championship team. Jags fans will look forward to cheering on the future Jaguar seniors who will try to hang championship banners and possibly reach the professional ranks as well.