Oklahoma State University Athletics
Jimmy Williams Added To Oklahoma State Coaching Staff
June 14, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
Williams began his collegiate coaching career in 1971 as an assistant coach and the head freshman coach at Minnesota under Bill Musselman and later Jim Dutcher. During his 15-year tenure with the Golden Gophers, Minnesota won a pair of Big 10 titles and made eight postseason tournament appearances.
Williams spent the 1988-89 season as an assistant at Tulsa under J.D. Barnett, where he helped lead the Golden Hurricane to a second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference. From there, he spent the next three years as an assistant on Jim Brandenburg's San Diego State staff.
Williams joined Danny Nee at Nebraska in the fall of 1992, and spent seven seasons there as an assistant, including the last three as associate head coach.
During Williams' first stint at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys went 27-7 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. That year, he coached such players as Desmond Mason, Adrian Peterson, Joe Adkins and Fredrik Jönzén.
In all, he has coached more than 25 student-athletes who went on to play in the National Basketball Association, including 1998 first-round pick Tyronn Lue and 2000 first-round selection Desmond Mason.
Williams left the Cowboy coaching staff to accept a coaching position with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. In his two years with Minnesota, the T-Wolves were 97-67 and made the playoffs both seasons. Williams also spent one year as an advance scout with the Golden State Warriors before returning to the collegiate ranks.
Last year, he spent the 2003-04 season with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin' Cajuns went 20-9, won the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament titles, and made their first NCAA appearance in four years.
