Within one week of the news that Wayne Brent would be retiring at the end of the 2021-2022 season, it’s been reported that Mo Williams has agreed to become Jackson State’s next head coach.
According to basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, Williams will be leaving Alabama State University to come back and coach in his hometown of Jackson.
Williams, 39, played 13 years in the NBA for seven different teams. He was named an All-Star during the 2008-2009 season while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then returned to Cleveland for the 2015-2016 season where he was a member of the team’s first-ever NBA Championship.
Prior to the NBA, Williams was named Mississippi’s Mr. Basketball at Murrah High School before heading off to Tuscaloosa to play under Mark Gottfried. At the University of Alabama, Williams was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year in 2002. In 2003, he earned third-team All-SEC honors.
In Williams’ two seasons at Alabama State, the Hornets went 14-35. Prior to accepting the job at Alabama State, Williams spent two seasons working under Gottfried as an assistant coach at California State University at Northridge, helping the Matadors finish second in the Big West Conference in 2019.
