Corliss Williamson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Corliss Mondari Williamson

Williamson in 2021
Minnesota Timberwolves
Assistant coach
Personal information
Born	(1973-12-04) December 4, 1973 (age 51) Russellville, Arkansas, U.S.
High school	Russellville (Russellville, Arkansas)
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College	Arkansas (1992–1995)
NBA Draft	1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career	1995–2007
Coaching career	2007–present
League	NBA
Career history
As player:
1995–2000	Sacramento Kings
2000–2001	Toronto Raptors
2001–2004	Detroit Pistons
2004–2005	Philadelphia 76ers
2005–2007	Sacramento Kings
As coach:
2007–2009	Arkansas Baptist (assistant)
2009–2010	Arkansas Baptist
2010–2013	Central Arkansas
2013–2016	Sacramento Kings (assistant)
2016–2018	Orlando Magic (assistant)
2018–2019	Phoenix Suns (assistant)
2023–present	Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2004) NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2002) NCAA champion (1994) NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1994) 2× Consensus second-team All-American (1994, 1995) SEC Male Athlete of the Year (1994) 2× SEC Player of the Year (1994, 1995) Gatorade National Player of the Year (1992) First-team Parade All-American (1992) Third-team Parade All-American (1991)
Career NBA statistics
Points	9,147 (11.1 ppg)
Rebounds	3,183 (3.9 rpg)
Assists	972 (1.2 apg)
Medals Men's Basketball Representing  United States FIBA U21 World Championship Gold 1993 Valladolid National team

Corliss Mondari Williamson (born December 4, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently works as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before becoming a coach, he played for 12 years in the NBA.

Corliss is known by his nickname, "Big Nasty". He got this name from his coach when he was just 13 years old. In college, he was a very strong power forward. In the NBA, he often played as a small forward.

Corliss Williamson's Basketball Journey

High School Years

Corliss Williamson played basketball at Russellville High School in Arkansas. He was a star player there. He was chosen for the all-conference and all-state teams three times. In 1992, he was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, which is a huge honor for a high school athlete.

Before his last year of high school, Corliss played in an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship game. He scored 37 points against future NBA star Chris Webber, who scored 38 points. In his senior year, Corliss averaged 28 points and 9 rebounds per game. He led his team to win the King Cotton Classic championship. In the final game, Russellville beat a team led by Jason Kidd. Corliss blocked Jason Kidd's shot at the very end to win the game!

Corliss was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). But he gave his medal to his teammate, Marcus Thompson, showing his great sportsmanship. He finished his high school career by playing in the 1992 McDonald's All-American Game. His #34 jersey has been retired by Russellville High School.

College Years

Corliss went on to play basketball at the University of Arkansas from 1992 to 1995. In his first year (1992–93), he helped Arkansas reach the "Sweet 16" in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 14.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

In the 1993–94 season, Corliss led the Arkansas Razorbacks to win the NCAA National Championship! He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. They beat the Duke Blue Devils 76-72 in the final game. The next year, in 1995, he led his team back to the championship game, but they lost to UCLA.

During his three years at Arkansas, Corliss was a First Team All-SEC player every year. He was also named the SEC Player of the Year twice (1994 and 1995). He helped the Razorbacks win the SEC West Division title all three seasons. Corliss finished his college career with 1,728 points, which is one of the highest scores in school history. In 2009, he was added to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. His jersey (#34) is one of only two retired by the University of Arkansas.

NBA Career

Williamson playing in 2005

After his junior year in college, Corliss decided to join the NBA draft. He was picked 13th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1995 NBA draft.

His best year as a player was during the 1997–98 season. He played 79 games for the Kings and averaged 17.7 points per game. Later, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors and then to the Detroit Pistons.

With the Detroit Pistons, Corliss had a very successful time. In the 2001–02 season, he won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award. This award goes to the best player who usually comes off the bench instead of starting the game. He was also a key player on the Pistons team that won the NBA Championship in 2004. Even though he often came off the bench, his coaches relied on him to score when the team needed it. He was a tough player for opponents to guard because he was strong and quick.

Corliss Williamson is one of the few basketball players who have won championships at three different levels:

• AAU (Amateur Athletic Union)
• NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) with Arkansas
• NBA (National Basketball Association) with Detroit

Coaching Career

In September 2007, Corliss Williamson announced he was retiring from playing basketball. He decided to become an assistant coach at Arkansas Baptist College. He worked there as a volunteer coach for three years. For his last season at the school, he became the head coach.

On March 12, 2010, Corliss was named the head men's basketball coach at the University of Central Arkansas. He promised his teams would play an exciting style of basketball. His teams improved each season, but they never won more than half of their games.

On August 2, 2013, Corliss left Central Arkansas to become an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, the team that first drafted him.

Later, on June 29, 2016, he was hired as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic. He worked with Frank Vogel, who had been an assistant coach to Corliss when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers. However, when Frank Vogel was fired in 2018, Corliss was also let go.

On June 27, 2018, Corliss became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns. He had previously worked with the Suns' head coach, Igor Kokoškov, when Kokoškov was an assistant for the Detroit Pistons during their 2004 championship season. But when Kokoškov was fired after one season, Corliss and the rest of the coaching staff were also fired.

Most recently, on June 30, 2023, Corliss Williamson was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves as an assistant coach.

NBA Career Statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

In Spanish: Corliss Williamson para niños