Colorado State University Athletics
Tori Williams Hangs it Up Amid Injuries
4/2/2021 3:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Colorado State Guard Calls it a Career
FORT COLLINS – She could just tell.
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As the season started to wear down, so did Tori Williams' surgically repaired left knee. It hurt. She couldn't count on a hard plant. It would buckle on her at time and give way.
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The last few games of the regular season and the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament, Williams gave what she could. What her knee would allow.
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"She would say, 'Coach, I'm trying to give you everything I've got,'" CSU women's basketball coach Ryun Williams said. "There were days you could tell where she was just in pain. She'd say, 'I'm trying, I'll give you everything I've got.' The last series at New Mexico, it was, 'Coach, we've got to go for this championship, I'll give you everything I've got. It isn't a lot, my knee's in bad shape.' But we knew she was going to gut it out. We really appreciate the toughness."
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The final four games of the year, Williams averaged 36 minutes a game, playing all 40 in the second game at Air Force. All the doctor did was confirm what Williams had figured.
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With one more year of eligibility, on the advice of her doctor, Williams is calling it a career.
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"It was more toward the end of the year. I had already had surgery on the knee, and I was just playing, but all the sudden, something felt off," she said. "When I would go to step, my knee would buckle. Or if I took the wrong cut, my knee would just give out. It was like knives were stabbing into my knee. It's kind of hard to explain. It was terrible.
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"It was hard, but I've played a lot of basketball throughout my life. I felt like it was God telling me is was time to hang up the shoes."
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She was with the Rams for three seasons after transferring from Utah after being named to the freshman All-Pac-12 team. She sat out due to NCAA transfer rules the first year, allowing her knee to heal from surgery. When she finally was able to suit up, she averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a Ram.
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This season, she led the team in minutes played and steals, while also sitting in the top three in scoring, rebounds and assists. Her production has her on a path to finish in the top 10 in program history for 3-pointers made and attempted if she remained steady for another year. She closes with 107 made on 319 CSU attempts.
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"She's been in our program for three years. She gutted out a redshirt year, then gave us two really good seasons and was a joy to coach," Coach Williams said. "She was very coachable, and an absolute joy to coach. And she competed. I'm really proud of her time here at Colorado State. She's a neat young lady, and we wish her nothing but the best."
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Her original plan was to play one more year and enter a sports management graduate program, but now she is moving to Texas and will pursue opportunities to be a graduate assistant with a program. She loves the game so much, she wants to be involved somehow, some way.
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While her closing chapter came a year sooner than she hoped, she appreciates what the game provided for her, as well as what Colorado State meant to her development and the relationship she built with her coach.
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"He really impacted my life. Not only was he a coach, but he was also a big father figure for me," she said. "Whenever I needed something, He'd be there. He was a really good coach, and he understood. Then the teammates I've played with for three years; they've changed my life. I'm going to miss that family bond."
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For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
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As the season started to wear down, so did Tori Williams' surgically repaired left knee. It hurt. She couldn't count on a hard plant. It would buckle on her at time and give way.
Â
The last few games of the regular season and the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament, Williams gave what she could. What her knee would allow.
Â
"She would say, 'Coach, I'm trying to give you everything I've got,'" CSU women's basketball coach Ryun Williams said. "There were days you could tell where she was just in pain. She'd say, 'I'm trying, I'll give you everything I've got.' The last series at New Mexico, it was, 'Coach, we've got to go for this championship, I'll give you everything I've got. It isn't a lot, my knee's in bad shape.' But we knew she was going to gut it out. We really appreciate the toughness."
Â
The final four games of the year, Williams averaged 36 minutes a game, playing all 40 in the second game at Air Force. All the doctor did was confirm what Williams had figured.
Â
With one more year of eligibility, on the advice of her doctor, Williams is calling it a career.
Â
"It was more toward the end of the year. I had already had surgery on the knee, and I was just playing, but all the sudden, something felt off," she said. "When I would go to step, my knee would buckle. Or if I took the wrong cut, my knee would just give out. It was like knives were stabbing into my knee. It's kind of hard to explain. It was terrible.
Â
"It was hard, but I've played a lot of basketball throughout my life. I felt like it was God telling me is was time to hang up the shoes."
Â
She was with the Rams for three seasons after transferring from Utah after being named to the freshman All-Pac-12 team. She sat out due to NCAA transfer rules the first year, allowing her knee to heal from surgery. When she finally was able to suit up, she averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a Ram.
Â
This season, she led the team in minutes played and steals, while also sitting in the top three in scoring, rebounds and assists. Her production has her on a path to finish in the top 10 in program history for 3-pointers made and attempted if she remained steady for another year. She closes with 107 made on 319 CSU attempts.
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"She's been in our program for three years. She gutted out a redshirt year, then gave us two really good seasons and was a joy to coach," Coach Williams said. "She was very coachable, and an absolute joy to coach. And she competed. I'm really proud of her time here at Colorado State. She's a neat young lady, and we wish her nothing but the best."
Â
Her original plan was to play one more year and enter a sports management graduate program, but now she is moving to Texas and will pursue opportunities to be a graduate assistant with a program. She loves the game so much, she wants to be involved somehow, some way.
Â
While her closing chapter came a year sooner than she hoped, she appreciates what the game provided for her, as well as what Colorado State meant to her development and the relationship she built with her coach.
Â
"He really impacted my life. Not only was he a coach, but he was also a big father figure for me," she said. "Whenever I needed something, He'd be there. He was a really good coach, and he understood. Then the teammates I've played with for three years; they've changed my life. I'm going to miss that family bond."
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For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
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Players Mentioned
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