Minnesota Timberwolves sign Derrick Williams

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed 2011 first-round draft choice Derrick Williams.

Williams, a 6-8 forward from Arizona, was the second overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Wildcats during the 2010-11 season en route to earning Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. In addition to his Pac-10 Player of the Year Award, Williams was also a first-team All-American pick by Sports Illustrated and a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and John R. Wooden Award. Williams' 56.8 percent mark from behind the arc also ranked as the second-most prolific three-point shooting season in Arizona history.

For his collegiate career, Williams averaged 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 51.1 percent from three in 69 games, and his 1,227 total points is the most ever by a Wildcat in his first two seasons. Williams is also just the fifth player in conference history to earn Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year Awards in consecutive seasons or less, joining Jason Kidd, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Mike Bibby and Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love.

Courtesy: Minnesota Timberwolves Public Relations