Australian Indigenous team goes 1-0 against NZ Maori squad
September 16, 2016
Kerry Williams
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 8/07/87
- Place of Birth: Cairns (QLD)
- Position: PG
- Height (CM): 180
- Weight (KG): 95
- Junior Assoc: QLD - Cairns
- College: None
- NBL DEBUT: 13/09/08
- AGE AT DEBUT: 21
- LAST NBL GAME: 22/03/13
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 25
- NBL History: Cairns 2009-11, 2013
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Kerry Williams was born in Cairns (QLD) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Cairns basketball program.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Kerry Williams made his NBL debut with the Cairns Taipans at 21 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.
Cairns would see Nathan Jawai (to Toronto), Jared Newson and Rashad Tucker all exit the team after the Taipans had made the playoffs for the third straight year.
Martin Cattalini, Stephen Black, Larry Abney, Gary Boodnikoff, Darnell Mee, Aaron Grabau, Scott Cook, Dwayne Vale, Matt Smith and Dean Brebner returned from the previous season’s group, while Alan Black added Ian Crosswhite (via Sydney), Dave Thomas (via Melbourne) and rookie Kerry Williams to replace the gaps.
Cairns opened the season with a 98-92 home win over South, then backed it up six days later with a 85-75 road win over Gold Coast. Williams (6.2 points and 1.3 steals) stepped into the NBL after coming through the Cairns Marlins program, giving the Taipans a local guard who could provide defensive pressure and backcourt depth.
The season changed dramatically in December when Cairns entered voluntary administration, leading to Black being sacked and Mark Beecroft taking over as head coach. Abney (15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds) and Thomas (11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals) were both let go as part of the club’s cost-cutting, while Stephen Black (16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals across 6 games) also had his final NBL season cut short by a back injury.
Cattalini (15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds) remained Cairns’ leading full-season scorer and club MVP, while Crosswhite (11 points and 6.1 rebounds) gave the Taipans a strong interior presence in his first season with the club. Boodnikoff (9.1 points and 3 rebounds), Grabau (7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists), Cook (5.8 points), and Vale (5.3 points) rounded out the rotation as the Taipans tried to finish the season with a reduced roster.
The Taipans finished the regular season with three straight losses, falling to Gold Coast 88-93, New Zealand 69-103 and South 80-82, missing the playoffs (11-19) and after finishing behind Wollongong and Sydney in a three-way head-to-head tiebreaker, ended the season in ninth place.
Kerry Williams played four seasons the Cairns Taipans. He averaged 4.1 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 105 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 25 | Cairns | 11-17 (6) | 24 | 265.0 | 42 | 28 | 30 | 3 | 25 | 19 | 1 | 24 | 35 | 16 | 54 | 30% | 7 | 29 | 24% | 3 | 6 | 50% | 37% | 36% | 6 |
| 2011-12 | 24 | Cairns | 15-13 (5) | 28 | 349.0 | 70 | 36 | 28 | 12 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 24 | 37 | 28 | 91 | 31% | 9 | 36 | 25% | 5 | 12 | 42% | 36% | 36% | 8 |
| 2009-10 | 22 | Cairns | 11-17 (7) | 28 | 622.0 | 174 | 65 | 57 | 17 | 48 | 12 | 3 | 36 | 53 | 67 | 175 | 38% | 16 | 63 | 25% | 24 | 41 | 59% | 45% | 43% | 15 |
| 2008-09 | 21 | Cairns | 11-19 (9) | 25 | 442.0 | 154 | 47 | 54 | 15 | 32 | 33 | 3 | 49 | 27 | 46 | 134 | 34% | 16 | 44 | 36% | 46 | 67 | 69% | 46% | 40% | 16 | Totals | 105 | 1678 | 440 | 176 | 169 | 47 | 129 | 88 | 9 | 133 | 152 | 157 | 454 | 34.6% | 48 | 172 | 27.9% | 78 | 126 | 61.9% | 43% | 40% | 16 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 25 | Cairns | 11-17 (6) | 24 | 11.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 30% | 0.3 | 1.2 | 24% | 0.1 | 0.3 | 50% | 37% | 36% | 6 |
| 2011-12 | 24 | Cairns | 15-13 (5) | 28 | 12.5 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 31% | 0.3 | 1.3 | 25% | 0.2 | 0.4 | 42% | 36% | 36% | 8 |
| 2009-10 | 22 | Cairns | 11-17 (7) | 28 | 22.2 | 6.2 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 6.3 | 38% | 0.6 | 2.3 | 25% | 0.9 | 1.5 | 59% | 45% | 43% | 15 |
| 2008-09 | 21 | Cairns | 11-19 (9) | 25 | 17.7 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 5.4 | 34% | 0.6 | 1.8 | 36% | 1.8 | 2.7 | 69% | 46% | 40% | 16 | Total | 105 | 16.0 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 34.6% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.9% | 0.5 | 1.6 | 61.9% | 43% | 40% | 16 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 16 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Cairns (2004, 2007, 2009, 2018)
Williams joined Cairns for the 2004 Queensland Basketball League season, helping the Marlins win the QBL championship and the Australian Basketball Association championship as part of a roster that included Aron Baynes, Aaron Grabau, Aaron Fearne, Curt Ahwang and Nathan Jawai under head coach Mark Beecroft.
Cairns won the 2004 QBL title game against Townsville, 103–94, then won the 2004 ABA national championship game against North-West Tasmania, 104–100, with Williams part of the Marlins group later regarded among the strongest teams in club history.
Williams remained tied to Cairns in the 2007 Queensland Australian Basketball League season, when the Marlins won another state championship by defeating Gold Coast, 135–94, and then added the ABA national championship with a 110–98 win over Dandenong.
Williams joined Cairns for the 2009 Queensland Basketball League season, with the Marlins finishing as minor premiers in the 14-team competition before winning the club’s seventh league championship.
Cairns advanced through the 2009 finals with a 115–78 semi-final win over South West Metro, then defeated Rockhampton, 113–81, in the QBL Grand Final, where Williams was named Grand Final MVP.
Williams returned to Cairns for the 2018 QBL season, when the Marlins finished sixth with a 10–8 record and reached the Grand Final series before losing to Townsville, 2–0.
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Williams joined the Apunipima Australian Indigenous All Stars for the 2016 Trans-Tasman Basketball Clash in New Zealand, with Game 1 ending in an 87-82 win over the New Zealand Maori National Team at Gisborne YMCA.
Williams remained with the Apunipima Australian Indigenous All Stars for Game 2 in Te Awamutu, where the New Zealand Maori National Team won 99-93 to level the three-game series.
Williams stayed in the Apunipima Australian Indigenous All Stars squad for Game 3 in Tauranga, where the series reached a deciding match after the teams split the first two games.
COACHING HISTORY
In 2025, Williams joined the Adelaide 6ers as an assistant coach.
Related
HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PLAYER?
Whilst we try to source as much information as we can for every player who has ever played in the NBL some information on a player profile may be missing. If you have additional information on a player you'd like us to add to a profile, please send it to us using the enquiry form below.
Submissions are then sent to info@aussiehoopla.com