Mikey Williams’ Preliminary Court Hearing Postponed Again to Oct. 10

Memphis basketball signee Mikey Williams’ preliminary court hearing for his six gun-related felony charges has been postponed again to Oct. 10, per the San Diego Union-Tribune.

This is the third time Williams’ hearing has been postponed. It first got pushed back from June 29 to July 12, then from July 12 to Sept. 5, today, and finally from today to Oct. 10.

Williams’ attorney, Troy P. Owens, requested the delay earlier this morning. Williams did not appear in court.

“There is new information that needs to be released,” Owens said. “So, we need additional time to prep.”

The charges against Williams stem from an incident at his (San Diego, Calif.) home back in March. The 6-foot-3 guard allegedly shot at a moving car filled with five people—including three minors—as it was driving away from the house. If convicted, he could possibly spend up to 28 years in state prison.

Owens, however, doesn’t believe those details tell the whole story. He’s maintained this stance throughout the entire case.

“The initial characterization of what took place is still inaccurate,” he said. “The new evidence confirms that. But there are a lot of moving pieces in this case.”

The initial news release distributed to the public on April 12 states “there was a verbal argument about guests being asked to leave” and that Williams hit the car but nobody was hurt.

Can Williams Still be a Tiger this Season?

This news obviously puts Williams’ chances of playing for Memphis in even further doubt than before.

The 4-star recruit’s court hearing will now occur less than three weeks before the Tigers’ first preseason game against Lane College on Oct. 29. And that’s assuming it doesn’t get postponed again.

The reality is that Williams’ legal proceedings won’t adhere to his hopes of being a college basketball player. His in-season timeline is simply irrelevant in this case. Owens even acknowledges as such.

“I’m not involved in those discussions,” he said. “I’m just tasked with the criminal case, and then I update his agents and everyone else.”

Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway, who’s defended the 19-year-old freshman throughout this whole process, still has something of a bright outlook on the situation. He most recently spoke on Williams’ case during Friday’s reopening of Tom Lee Park.

“We don’t know what’s gonna happen with the trial,” Hardaway said. “That’s out of our hands. But he’s still our guy.”