Gaze pays tribute to Corey Williams

The commentary duo of Corey Williams and Andrew Gaze became a near inseparable duo in recent years.

They seem to have been there to call almost all the league's biggest moments and only enhance the inimitable, titanic marks they have respectively left on the competition, so much so Williams once stated, "the only way I can be great is with Gaze."

It's with heavy hearts the duo will no longer sit side by side for the NBL's biggest moments following Williams' passing last week, after which his family issued a statement saying he “never stopped fighting”, and that his “passion, energy, perseverance, and endurance shined through all the way to the end”.

Aside from their colossal partnership as two of the premier voices of the league, 'Homicide' was a frequent guest on Gaze's SEN show alongside co-host Andy Maher, where he opened the world of NBL hoops to the ravenous sports fans who tuned in to listen to the program.

Gaze and Maher paid tribute to their long-time friend and colleague, and the former said the NBL landscape has been irreparably changed by the passing of Williams, who was one of the league's biggest advocates since arriving in 2007.

“When we talk about his personality and how he can light up a room, I think that encapsulated that sentiment people had about Corey and the impact he had on so many people, the joy he brought, his love of life, and the frankness he brought,” Gaze said.

“When he crossed over into the media, he was the perfect guy for it because, one, he was prepared to put himself out there, and he was prepared to wear the criticism that went along with it. What he was able to do was recognise a story that, if presented in the right way, would provide attention to the game.

“Even when it was supposedly a little heated from time to time – and I was on the end of it – when I was coaching the Sydney Kings we played the Adelaide 36ers and after the game, ‘the entire team should be fired’. That’s what he said. ‘The entire team should be fired’.

“I remember at the time, you get, angry is the wrong word, but you get concerned, but in the cool light of day you understood there was a bigger picture and a bigger agenda as to why he was doing it.

“Whether it was his personal issues or dealing with the goings on in the NBL or the NBA he was prepared to be very forthright in his opinions.

“Absolutely some of the time it came with calling out a team or an individual, but it was done in a way where his overwhelming desire was the promotion of the game, and that was clearly an agenda that was put to him by Larry (Kestelman) – there’s a reason why he got involved – and he was able to fulfil what Larry was looking for in this larger than life character that would be able to do it in a way where you still felt there was a bit of fun to it.

Williams’ evolution from a superstar of the New York streetball scene to and immense, globe-trotting professional player means his passing has been mourned all over the world.

He notoriously dropped 27 points on NBA defensive star, 2004 Defensive Player of the Year and notorious hothead Ron Artest at Rucker Park en route to being named EBC MVP, which earned him a trial at the Toronto Raptors - where he was one of the last players cut - while juggling playing stints all over the globe.

Williams ended up just a hair's breadth away the unheard-of achievement of progressing from the streetball scene to the NBA within the same sentence.

His playing career saw him play professionally in 12 countries, from the United States and Canada to Sweden and Germany, Lebanon and Venezuela, and almost everywhere in between.

There is perhaps nowhere - aside from New York - where his playing talents became more appreciated that Townsville and the NBL, but such was his larger-than-life personality in the media that the true quality of his game as a player often comes second to his voice as a commentator and believer in the competition he dominated for four remarkable seasons.

His four All-NBL selections and 2010 MVP award in those four seasons speak for themselves though, and Gaze believes Williams brought an element of ‘razzle dazzle’ to the competition when it was in dire need of an injection of a player just like ‘Homicide’.

“We talk about his contributions behind the microphone, and because he was so good at that we forget what an elite player he was. He came in and everything we see in his personality as a broadcaster, he had that when he was playing for the Crocs,” Gaze said.

“He had this personality where he never seemed to get tired. He’d come out and play this real New York way. He played at Rucker Park and he would be more famous on the streets of New York – and he didn’t even play in the NBA – because of what he did on the streets of New York. You’d be with him in New York, and it would be ‘Homicide, Homicide, Homicide’.

“Because you play outdoors, perimeter shooting is hard because of the wind. He grew up getting to the rack and he brought that to the Townsville Crocs playing for Trevor Gleeson, and he was able to have these razzle dazzle moves where he could get to the rim and put more emphasis on that part of the game, similar to what Daryl McDonald did.

“One of the more iconic things is he beat the Perth Wildcats in a Playoff game he was running around, pulled his jersey off, and he was happy to stick it up to one of the most intimidating crowds you would want to go up against. He looked them in the eye and said it was about having fun, and he was prepared to express himself when he got the result.”

Maher echoed Gaze’s sentiments, and believes the loss of the energetic, divisive, but much-loved member of the basketball community will be felt for the foreseeable future.

“The world is a quieter and poorer place with his passing on Friday. If you were a purveyor of a whole lot of the stuff that was on social media over the weekend you got a sense of the impact he had on many people’s lives, and it was a profoundly important and much loved one,” Maher said.

“He loved the game of basketball, but he loved the NBL. He really found his home here and you saw that.

“That was the thing about him, whenever he’d walk in here – and he’d be late sometimes – he would come in all style, all fun, he was never lost for a word, he was always passionate about something.”