The bad news that Texas Tech basketball fans found out Thursday afternoon is that star forward Darrion Williams won't be playing in Lubbock next season. The good news is that he also won't be playing in the Big 12.
According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the senior has committed to play for ACC program NC State. That's a massive win for the Wolfpack, who are in their first season under new head coach Will Wade.
Last season, the Wolfpack went just 12-19 overall and 5-15 in the ACC, one year after reaching the Final Four as a No. 12 seed. That led to the departure of former head coach Kevin Keatts after eight seasons at the helm.
Sources: Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams has committed to NC State.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 22, 2025
A seismic get for Will Wade and the Wolfpack.
Williams is a potential All-American in 2025-26.
While many Texas Tech fans hoped to see Williams return to the Red Raiders for one last season, that grew increasingly unlikely over the past few months, given that the program had already brought in Washington State transfer LeJuan Watts to man the small forward position.
Watts is reportedly being paid handsomely in NIL earnings to join the Red Raiders. Thus, it was unlikely that the program was going to invest another massive NIL deal in the small forward spot.
Also, given that Watts and Williams have essentially the same skillset, Tech might not be best served to have both on the roster at the same time. Each will expect to play a starting role next season, and accommodating both might have made the team less efficient as a whole.
The best news for Texas Tech fans is that Williams is not headed to a rival Big 12 school. For quite some time, many had surmised that he would land at Kansas and follow in the footsteps of another former Red Raider, Kevin McCullar Jr.
Following the 2021-22 season, McCullar Jr. transferred from Texas Tech to Kansas after three seasons in Lubbock. With the Jayhawks, he stepped up his game and averaged 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game for two seasons while earning third-team NABC All-American recognition in 2024.
The fear was that Williams would take up with Kansas as well and potentially come back to haunt the Red Raiders in the Big 12. That's not going to happen, though, and Texas Tech fans can root for Williams to do well in the ACC, where he likely won't cross paths with Tech as an opponent.
Sure, it would have been nice to see this fan-favorite close out his time in college with the Red Raiders. Tech will miss his versatility and his clutch playmaking for certain. But if he has to play somewhere else, NC State is about as good of a spot for him to land in as far as Texas Tech fans are concerned, because he likely won't do any damage to his former school there.