Memphis Tigers basketball signee Mikey Williams, a five-star recruit out of San Diego, has reportedly been arrested on multiple gun charges in California.
Williams, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, ranks as the 26th-best recruit in 247 Sports college basketball recruiting rankings. The San Ysidro High School star led the Cougars to an 18-13 record this past season, posting a 10-2 record in conference play.
- Mikey Williams stats (2022-’23): 23.8 PPG, 9.2 APG, 1 SPG
Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that an 18-year-old matching Williams’ description was arrested at being held at the San Diego Central Central Jail. He was being held on $50,000 bond, with his first court appearance scheduled for April 20.
According to Jackson Brown of ABC 24 Memphis, the suspect has been identified by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department as Mikey Williams. Police did not make any additional information available on what led to Williams’ arrest after being booked at 3:30 p.m. local time on five charges of assault with a firearm.
Williams was rated as the sixth-best guard in the 2023 recruiting class and the fifth-best player in California. As described by Eric Bossi of 247 Sports, Williams is “an offensive minded player who understands how to use his athleticism and burst off of the dribble. He is a good ball handler with wiggle off the dribble who finds and exploits cracks in the defense to get to the rim and finish or draw fouls.”
Lt. Matt Carpenter of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department told reports on Friday that Michael Anthony Williams, known as Mikey, was being charged with the five felony counts of assault with a firearm on a person. He then referred further questions to the arresting detective from the Pine Valley substation of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Williams held offers from Memphis, Kansas, Arizona State, LSU, Oregon, San Diego State and more than a dozen other Division 1 college basketball programs. He is also one of the most well-known high school basketball players in the country with millions of followers on social media. However, Williams’ Instagram account has been deactivated.
With the work of coach Penny Hardaway, Memphis landed seventh in 247 Sports’ 2023 team recruiting rankings for basketball. J.J. Taylor, a 6-foot-7 forward and Williams’ teammate at San Ysidro, is also committed to Memphis along with fellow four-star recruit Ashton Hardaway.
As of Friday afternoon, law enforcement has still not disclosed how authorities were alerted to the alleged incident, what led to Williams being charged nor how the arrest occurred.