For Illinois State junior Dirk Williams, his basketball career came to a crashing halt Friday, after the Pekin, Ill., native decided to hang it up after suffering three concussions in the last eight months.
Dirk has undergone a series of medical tests to diagnose the extent of his injury, associate athletics trainer
John Munn said. Right now everything appears to be normal, but experts in the field have advised Dirk to avoid any further contact to prevent permanent damage.
The third and most recent concussion occurred during a pick-up game in early September. Williams sustained his second concussion in late June during the Redbirds practice for the Australian Tour. January 26, 2002 in a home game against Drake, was when the initial concussion occurred.
Head coach Tom Richardson, who has dealt with his share of injuries since becoming the head coach in 1999, understands Williams decision.
Right now, we are just concerned with Dirks well-being, Richardson said. We want what is best for his health and for his future. This whole situation has been really tough for Dirk and it was a difficult decision for him to make, but we will help him get through this.
Williams, who opted to leave the game, struggled with the decision.
This was not an easy decision for me to make, Williams said. Ive been playing basketball since I was five-years-old and to walk away from a game that I love is obviously hard. But I realize that there is more to life than basketball. I knew eventually the ball would stop bouncing, but for me it just came a couple years earlier than I expected. I had to think with my head and not my heart.
Williams missed the final 10 games of the 2001-02 season after breaking the first cuneiform bone in his left foot. He finished the season playing 21 games and starting eight. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while converting all 24 of his free throw attempts.
During his freshman season, Williams averaged 3.6 points per game in 29 contests. He started four games that year and averaged 3.1 boards per game.
