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Yorick Mortimer Williams (born 29 July 1975 inManchester,England) is a British professionalbasketball player,[1] and is currently playing for theManchester Giants in theBritish Basketball League. He had a two season stint as player coach for the Giants from 2015-2017.
Williams was one of the most prolific players from British hoops scene, having played over 5600 minutes in theBBL, and scoring over 6200 points for six different teams. The 6ft5Guard has represented his country with both theEngland national team and theGreat Britain team in his career.
His career started with his hometown team, theManchester Giants when he was signed professionally in 1994 from their junior teams, making his senior debut against theGreater London Leopards on 25 September 1994. In his first season (1994-95), he helped his team reach the final of the BBL Championship Play-off's and also won the Slam Dunk contest in 1995.
Yorick stayed with the Giants for two more seasons before signing forDerby Storm in 1998. Although only staying with Storm for the1998-99 season, Williams averaged 17.33 PPG in 24 appearances. In 1999, he signed for theBirmingham Bullets, the first of two spells with the Midlanders. The Guard's impressive form continued over two seasons and in 2001, he earned a lucrative move toAris Thessaloniki in the prestigious GreekA1 Ethniki league.
However, after just one season in the Mediterranean, Williams returned toEngland and signed for theEssex Leopards, the same franchise he made his BBL debut against in 1994.
While Yorick had an impressive career up to this point, there was a severe lack of honours won, and he was desperate for success. The Leopards were one of the best teams to grace the league in the 1990s, but following the end of his first season (2002-03) when he averaged 15.22 PPG, the Leopards franchise withdrew from the league and yet again the journeyman was forced to find another club.
Brighton Bears came calling and Williams signed for the South-coaster's in what would be his most successful spell to date. The2003-04 season saw Brighton, with the help of Yorick's average of 14.16 PPG, dominate the domestic scene, winning the BBL Championship and finishing runners-up in the BBL Trophy, losing by 2 points (66-68) against theChester Jets. This season also saw the Bears compete in theULEB Cup, and for Yorrick a return to playing basketball against European opposition. Brighton took 3rd place in Group F, with a 4-6 record.
The2004-05 season saw Brighton again finish runner-up in the BBL Trophy, and although they could not retain their Championship crown, they did find triumph in the BBL Cup, beating theScottish Rocks 90-74. For Yorrick it was a season of mixed emotions as the triumph's were tarnished by injury that restricted him to just 19 games, averaging 17.26 PPG.
The summer of 2005 brought wholesale changes atBrighton, and after only two games into the2005-06 season, Williams was transferred back to theBirmingham Bullets. In 29 games for the struggling Bullets, rooted to the foot of the table for the season's duration, Williams posted a career high 23.90 points-per-game, the highest in the league. Birmingham's financial pressures were too much to handle however, and the franchise went intoliquidation in 2006. For the2006-07 season, Williams signed with East Midlander's theLeicester Riders, but after a dire season blighted by off-court difficulties, including unpaid wages, Williams departed the troubled club and headed south to sign for theMilton Keynes Lions for the2007–08 season.
Manchester GiantsLeicester RidersManchester GiantsLeicester RidersMilton Keynes LionsLeicester RidersBirmingham BulletsBrighton BearsEssex Leopards
Aris ThessalonikiBirmingham BulletsDerby StormManchester Giants