Mo Williams expected to be top target for Division I college basketball coaching job

Jackson State could soon add another former pro to its roster of coaches. Current men’s head basketball coach Wayne Brent is headed for retirement following this season, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, and a top candidate for his replacement is reportedly former Alabama hoops star Mo Williams.

Williams, who played for the Jazz, Cavaliers, Bucks, Clippers and more, is currently the head coach at Alabama State. Not so coincidentally, the Hornets head coach is a Jackson, Miss., native.

His 14-year pro career that included an NBA Championship with the Cavs in 2016 is a huge lure for high school prospects. Deion Sanders has already proven it can be done in his short time with the Hornets.

If Wayne Brent does indeed retire after the 2021-22 season, he leaves behind a Jackson State program that has struggled over the past five years. His overall record with the Tigers since 2013 is 117-155. This season, Jackson State is 9-18 and 8th in the SWAC.

Alabama State basketball is 10th in the SWAC in Mo Williams’ second season. Prior to ASU, he spent two seasons at California State University at Northridge under his former Bama coach Mark Gottfried.

Mo Williams took off at Alabama

Prior to his success in the NBA, Mo Williams splashed into the SEC as Freshman of the Year in 2002.

He helped lead the Crimson Tide to the SEC regular-season title and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He posted a career-best 16.4 points per game during his sophomore season before entering the 2003 NBA Draft.

Williams went No. 47 overall to the Utah Jazz where he’d play just one season before heading to Milwaukee. In his final season in the NBA, Williams and the Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in seven games to win the 2016 NBA Finals.