NCAA denies DeAndre Williams’ eligibility waiver. Williams’ college career ends after three seasons at Memphis.

Memphis basketball will have to carry on without DeAndre Williams for the 2023-24 season.

The NCAA denied Williams’ extension of eligibility waiver request for a third time, Memphis Athletics announced in a statement Friday afternoon.

“We are extremely disappointed a waiver for an additional year of eligibility for DeAndre Williams was denied, which came following a request for reconsideration of the initial denial and then an appeal,” the statement reads in part. “We felt the evidence about academic misadvisement prior to his initial collegiate enrollment that was uncovered and provided to the NCAA was sufficient to grant this waiver, and we also strongly believed the depth of additional information shared with the NCAA on an ongoing basis would be on DeAndre’s side. Unfortunately, after multiple months of back-and-forth, the NCAA arrived at a different conclusion. We appreciate DeAndre’s contributions to our men’s basketball program over the past two-and-a-half years, and he will always be a Memphis Tiger. Nevertheless, we are very much looking forward to an exciting season on the court for our men’s basketball team.” 

The All-AAC forward announced his intentions to pursue a waiver on May 31. His attorney, Don Jackson, submitted evidence for Williams’ initial appeal in July. Jackson then provided additional information for a second appeal in September once the NCAA denied Memphis’ first one.

The application stemmed from the 2018-19 season, in which he was enrolled at Evansville but didn’t play due to being academically ineligible. The NCAA still counted that year of eligibility against him, however, citing a “delayed enrollment” violation. Williams and his legal team alleged that he received bad advice from people in positions of authority while in high school, which includes having him enroll in an online institution that wasn’t NCAA accredited, and that the violation would’ve never happened without that poor advisement.

Needless to say, Williams’ case wasn’t enough. The 27-year-old’s college career now ends after four played seasons, including three with the Tigers. In that span, he helped lead the Tigers to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances since 2014 in 2022 and 2023, an NIT championship in 2021 and an AAC Tournament title in a win versus No. 1 Houston in 2023.

Williams also averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game throughout his time with Memphis. The 6-foot-9 forward was revered for more than just his statistical production, though. He also received high praise for the energy, tenacity and leadership he brought to the table. Williams became the proverbial backbone of the Tigers’ program, and will be a permanent fixture in Tigers basketball lore.

Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway maintained a very upbeat tone regarding Williams’ chances to become eligible during the five-month ordeal, even to the very end. In fact, he sounded about as optimistic as ever when speaking to reporters after Memphis’ exhibition win over LeMoyne-Owen Thursday night. But he also admitted that his enthusiasm may have been a bit manufactured.

“I’m really just trying to speak it into existence, to be very honest,” he said. “I’m staying very positive because I want DeAndre to stay very positive as well…As long as we have that hope, I’m gonna stay excited.”

The hope, however, is now gone. Williams’ fate has been finalized, and Memphis must move on. The good news is the Tigers still have tons of hope for what this season can bring. Hardaway recruited one of the top transfer classes in the country to form a group that’s largely recognized as a top 35-ish team in the country, which includes the likes of Jahvon Quinerly (Alabama), Jordan Brown (Louisiana), David Jones (St. John’s), Jaykwon Walton (Wichita State) and Caleb Mills (Florida State).

Quinerly and Brown are on the watchlists for the Bob Cousy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar awards respectively, and both received All-AAC preseason honors last month. Quinerly made the preseason first-team, and Brown made the second-team.

Jones has looked ultra impressive in his first two appearances in a Tigers uniform. The Domincan Republic native finished both of Memphis’ exhibition contest with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Fans and media alike are already beginning to pin him as Memphis’ alpha.

Even without Williams, the Tigers still have a chance to do everything they aspire to do this season. They can still win the AAC, earn a high seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and even make a deep run in said tournament. The realm of possibilities is still wide-open for Memphis, and it has the talent to reach for any of them.

The Tigers tip off their regular season campaign on Monday versus Jackson State inside FedExForum.