By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin head men’s basketball coach Ryan Ridder has signed a pair of players for the upcoming 2022-23 season as Jalen Myers and Desmond Williams have joined the Skyhawk program.
Myers is a 6-8, 190-pound sophomore forward from Hinds Community College while Williams is a 6-1, 165-pound junior guard out of Troy University.
A Madison, Ala. native, Myers earned Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Most Valuable Player and first team accolades last season under head coach Jonathan Nevol. Myers ranked in the top-five in the nation in free throw percentage (.890, fourth) and rebounding (11.4 boards per contest, fifth) while also leading the Bulldogs in scoring (19.0 points per game) and blocked shots (1.1 per outing). He shot 48.8 percent (164-of-336) from the floor while adding 2.0 assists per game and 23 steals over 25 games played in 2021-22.
Myers was the NJCAA National Player of the Week on Feb. 16 and also brought home a pair of MACCC Player of the Week accolades last season.
Racking up 19 double-doubles last season, Myers also recorded a triple-double (20 points, career-high 22 rebounds, career-best 10 assists) against Jones on Feb. 14. He scored in double figures on 23 separate occasions, pumping in 20 or more points in 10 different contests. That included a pair of 30-plus point performances (career-best 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including a career-high seven trifectas against Delgado on Jan. 13 and 34 points on 12-for-18 shooting against East Mississippi on Feb. 7).
Myers’ season-high 75 percent field goal percentage (9-of-12) came on an efficient 28-point outing at Copiah-Lincoln on Feb. 3 while he sank double-digit free throws three times (including a season-high 11 makes in 13 tries at East Mississippi on Nov. 18). He provided five multi-block performances (including a career-high four swats at Delgado on Nov. 4) and four multi-steal efforts (career-best three swipes at Holmes on Feb. 10).
Myers began his collegiate career playing for head coach Willis Wilson at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, a member of the Southland Conference. Myers compiled 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 53 minutes over six games for the Islanders in 2020-21. He set season-highs in points (six) and rebounds (five) in only eight minutes against Our Lady of the Lake on Dec. 19 while also tying a season-high with five boards at New Orleans on Jan. 20.
Ranked as the best wing in the state and No. 3 overall prospect in the state of Alabama, Myers was a first team all-state honoree at Bob Jones High School. Playing under head coach Luther Tiggs, Myers collected Alabama 7A Defensive Player of the Year honors and was a second team All-Super State honoree. He joined the Patriots’ 1,000 Point Club and averaged 18.5 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per game as a senior.
“Jalen is a bigtime talent,” Ridder said. “With his size and skillset, he should make an immediate impact as a Skyhawk. His best basketball is ahead of him and we can’t wait to coach him.”
Hailing from Montgomery, Ala., Williams started 60 out of his 84 career games under head coach Scott Cross at Troy. Williams averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest while adding 66 steals and 10 blocks over three seasons, shooting 36 percent (132-of-367) from three-point range and 74.3 percent (81-for-109) from the charity stripe.
Williams was one of only two Trojans to play in all 32 games in 2021-22, logging a team-best 29 starts for a squad that went 20-12 overall and made an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational. He set season career-highs in free throw percentage (.792) and steals (32) while averaging 7.0 points per game. His season-high of 21 points came at Mercer on Dec. 22, which was one of his eight double-digit scoring efforts. He also made at least three 3-pointers on eight different occasions – including a career-best 6-of-9 performance on Feb. 10 against Arkansas State. He added nine multi-steal games.
During the 2020-21 campaign, Williams topped Troy in three-point field goals made (37) and three-point field goal percentage (.327) while averaging 6.5 points per contest. He produced five double-digit scoring performances, including a season-high 20 points (aided by a 6-for-9 effort from three-point range) and a career-best seven rebounds in the Sun Belt Conference Championship quarterfinals against UT Arlington on March 5, 2021.
Williams originally was slated to redshirt the 2019-20 campaign but played his way into a big role as a true freshman, leading the Trojans in three-point percentage (.389) while averaging career-bests of 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He was responsible for 11 double figure scoring games, including a career-best 23 points at Georgia State on Feb. 1, 2020. In that game, he swished five of his 10 three-point attempts while also established career-high in free throws made (eight) and free throws attempted (10). He distributed a career-best six assists on Feb. 13, 2020 against UL Monroe while swiping a career-high five steals against Louisiana on Feb. 15, 2020.
At the prep level, Williams accounted for a school record 2,500 career points at Brewbaker Tech High School under head coach Chauncey Shines. Williams was a finalist for 5A Alabama Player of the Year and was named all-state during his senior season. He was a second team all-state honoree as a junior and notched all-district honors in all four years in a Ram uniform. He participated in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game and the Alabama North/South All-Star Game. He displayed a knack for big games, once scoring 45 points while also accumulating a triple-double during his high school career.
“Desmond is a winner,” Ridder said. “He comes from a winning program and is a proven scorer at this level. His ability to put the ball in the bucket will be relied upon right away.”
These two join a Skyhawk program that is on the rise as UT Martin is coming off a season where it combined for seven Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week awards in Ridder’s first season at the helm.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information