A D'Erryl Williams update

Mark Ziegler on D'Erryl Williams and San Diego State's most recent game:

"Jeremy Hemsley had 25 points and Trey Kell had 23. But the real hero Friday night?

The guy with three points. D’Erryl “Truck” Williams.

The Aztecs don’t win without the senior point guard, who had never played more than 18 minutes in a game and hadn’t made a 3-pointer in two years. But when Hemsley picked up his second foul less than three minutes into the game, Coach Steve Fisher didn’t hesitate. Truck trotted to the scorer’s table.

He would play 29 minutes, grab a career-high five rebounds and make a clutch 3-pointer early in the second half that started a 13-0 run and put away the Toreros. His biggest contribution, though, came on defense; he had a steal 30 seconds after entering the game and USD went six straight possessions without scoring.

Another number: SDSU outscored USD by 14 points with Williams on the floor. (The next highest Aztec was plus-seven.)

Here’s how Fisher put it in words:

“He is the ultimate teammate. To be honest with you, if you look over a career he probably has been the odd man out, not gotten quite the opportunity that others have, and could have looked for reasons to not compete quite as hard. He never, ever let that happen.

“D’Erryl is a pre-med major. He has a 2 o’clock class Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so he only will only practice those three days for a little over an hour. President (Elliot) Hirshman put him on the selection committee for the athletic director, the only student-athlete on it. He’s held in very high regard in our athletic community and throughout San Diego State.

“If you say, tell me what a student-athlete is supposed to look like, put up D’Erryl Williams’ face. And he can play. Whether he’ll play 29 minutes every game, I don’t know. But we’re going to need him.”