Former Kentucky Mr. Basketball winner transfers to WKU

Former Mr. Basketball winner and Northern Kentucky University standout Carson Williams has transferred to Western Kentucky University, the school's athletic department announced Wednesday.

Williams, who announced his transfer from NKU last month, will have two years of eligibility for the Hilltoppers after sitting out the 2018-19 season. He will be the second Mr. Basketball winner on WKU's current roster, joining former Paul Laurence Dunbar standout Taveion Hollingsworth.

"It's obvious that Carson has to sit out a year, but after watching his game films and finding more out about him, he's absolutely too good of a player and too good of a person to not have as part of our program," WKU Coach Rick Stansbury said in a news release. "He comes from a great family and is a great student, and this is the highest compliment I can give him – he reminds you of Justin Johnson."

Williams, who was a double-double machine at Owen County High School, averaged 12 points and 5.6 rebounds as a sophomore and started 61 games in two seasons at NKU. He was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team and helped lead the Norse to their first NCAA Tournament in the 2016-17 season.

WKU earlier Wednesday announced the transfer of Desean Murray, a former star for Auburn University, into its program. Murray will be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Former Kentucky Mr. Basketball winner transfers to WKU."