NCAA Basketball: 25 most mesmerizing players of all time
player. 526. . . . Jason Williams.
The former Florida Gator, who was affectionately nicknamed “White Chocolate”, brought a risky, playground-style of basketball to Division 1 hardwood. His highlight reel passes, quick on the trigger jumpers and other aberrant plays were something college basketball fans hadn’t seen work in organized basketball in possibly the entire history of D1.
On top of that, he had an…abbrasive personality, bad tattoos (which were a topic at the time), and didn’t much care what anyone thought about any of it.
Before his time at Florida, Williams played at Marshall for a season, averaging 13.4 points and 6.4 assists along with 1.8 steals per game as a freshman. He would follow Thundering Herd head coach Billy Donovan to Gainesville after just one season.
Prior to college, Williams played at DuPont High in West Virginia with Hall of Fame NFL wide receiver Randy Moss. The duo paired up and won a state title together before Williams moved on to college basketball and Moss to college football. Their high school story has been the subject of sports trivia discussions for years.
In his only season at Florida, he averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.7 steals in 20 games played. He was suspended twice during his time in Gainesville, once for rumored drug issues. He even contemplated quitting school at one point.
Williams’ streetball style and recklessness were fresh, creative and awe-inspiring. The fact that he was a white kid from West Virginia only boggled traditional basketball minds even further. To the younger generation, watching him play was one of the most exciting brands of basketball they had ever had the pleasure of watching. He made a habit of throwing passes that shouldn’t be thrown and shooting threes that shortened coach’s lives, yet more often than not, everything worked out fine.
At the end of the day, he was drafted 7th overall in the 1998 NBA draft and played at a high level until his (second) retirement in 2011. Turnovers plagued his NBA career, but the highlights were more than worth it.