Alabama basketball great Mo Williams returns to Coleman Coliseum with Jackson State

It will be quite the homecoming for former Alabama basketball great Mo Williams, and for his son, as well.

Williams is in his first season as head coach at Jackson State, which travels to Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network) to take on his former school. His son Kydarrius Williams, who also attended Alabama, returns as a Jackson State graduate assistant.

"His son was a manager for us when we first got here, and stayed on with us," said Alabama coach Nate Oats. "(Mo Williams) is a guy whose picture is on the wall here. He's remembered as one of the better players around here, so he's been very supportive, congratulatory in comments and texts and calls on what we're doing here. He's happy that Alabama basketball is getting back to being good, but he's also a coach with his own team trying to get themselves right."

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Williams was a two-time All-SEC selection at Alabama, and averaged 16.4 points on the 2002-03 Crimson Tide team that lost to Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He was also one of Alabama's top performers as a freshman in 2001-02, averaging 10.4 points and nearly five assists per game on the way to a second-round NCAA Tournament finish.

He went on to be selected in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. The Jackson, Miss., native played 13 pro seasons, was an NBA All-Star in 2008-09, and won an NBA title in his last year in the league while with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Crimson Tide (9-2) is coming off a loss to Gonzaga on a neutral floor in Birmingham, and Oats said he'll be looking for his defense to improve after what he called the worst defensive half his team's played this season in the second half against the Bulldogs.

Jackson State (1-10) has been battle-tested this season, having already faced Michigan, Indiana, TCU, Mississippi State and Texas Tech. Its lone win came over SMU, but Oats sees a far more challenging opponent, despite JSU's struggles.

And despite Williams' continued interest in Alabama's success, he'd like nothing more than for the Tigers to turn their season around with a victory over a top-10 team.

"He's coming back home. He's going to have his guys ready to go," Oats said.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball great Mo Williams returns with Jackson State