Derrick Williams tries to dribble part Houston’s James Harden (13) and Greg Smith. Photo by Greg Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Former Arizona Wildcat Derrick Williams is branching out into Tucson business.

Former Tucson Citizen reporter Teya Vitu, writing for DowntownTucson.org, has the story about Williams being the co-founder of VII Grand, described as a “sneaker and streetwear clothing and accessories shop.”

Williams is in his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here is the start of the story:

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Derrick Williams goes in for a dunk vs. Portland in a game in March. Photo by Greg Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats forward Derrick Williams, the second pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, was selected to the second-team All-Rookie team in voting of league coaches.

Williams averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds for Minnesota Timberwolves, and was the only player on the Timberwolves to play in all 66 games. Williams started 15 games.

He averaged 21.5 minutes per game and shot 41.2 percent from the field, including 26.8 percent from 3-point range (37 of 138).

Williams twice scored 27 points in a game and had two double-doubles.

Coaches voted for five players on the all-rookie first team and five players on the second team. Williams received two first-team votes (two points each) and 12 second-team votes (one point each).

Given ties, seven players were ultimately picked for the first team, with Williams tying for the 11th-most points overall.

Here is the NBA All-Rookie first team: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland; Ricky Rubio, Minnesota; Kenneth Faried, Denver; Klay Thompson, Golden State; Iman Shumpert, New York; Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio; Brandon Knight, Detroit.

And the second team: Chandler Parsons, Houston; Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento; Marshon Brooks, New Jersey; Williams; Tristan Thompson, Cleveland.

Derrick Williams dunks over Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko last month. Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

The NBA slam dunk contest isn’t what it used to be, and the potential biggest draws beg off the competition, but there are reasons for Arizona Wildcats fans to watch this year.

A pair of ex-Cats — Minnesota rookie forward Derrick Williams and Houston third-year forward Chase Budinger — make up half of the field for the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, which will be held Feb. 25 in Orlando.

Rounding out the fresh faces in the field are Indiana’s Paul George and Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks.

This link from NBA.com has highlight videos of each of the four competitors.

Williams will also compete in the Rising Stars Challenge, a game matching first- and second-year players. That game will be held Feb. 24 in Orlando.

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Derrick Williams salutes the student section after his game-saving block against Washington. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Coaches coming, going and staying. NCAA champions. Memorable games. Unforgettable players.

The year that was in Arizona Wildcats athletics was packed with storylines, good and bad, and we’ll be buzzing about some of it for decades to come.

The longest-standing sports bloggers at TucsonCitizen.com — myself included — voted for the biggest UA stories of the year, trying to sort out individual accomplishments from big games from off-field news … balancing big sports with those that don’t get as much coverage.

Here are the results. The top 12 Arizona Wildcats sports stories of the year:

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Former Arizona Wildcat All-American Derrick Williams is about the only reason why I’ll be paying attention to the NBA this season.

Photo from MinnesotaTimberwolves.com

Former Arizona Wildcat forward Derrick Williams is no longer No. 23.

The second pick in the NBA Draft was introduced today at a news conference in Minneapolis, where he was handed a jersey with the number 7.

“I wanted to keep a single digit number. I didn’t want to get number 23 anymore,” he said in a one-on-one interview with a member of the team’s official web site.

“I felt like that’s Jordan’s number. I just wanted to something different. I’m in a different league now and I just wanted to start fresh and start all over.”

In addition to a video (and transcript) of the one-on-one interview, this link to the official site also has video of part of Williams’ larger session with the media.

And here’s one more thing: NBA video has an all-access look at Williams on draft day.

Still want more on Derrick Williams? Here is a clip from part of his interview Wednesday as some of the top prospects were made available in New York City.

Washington State's Klay Thompson shoots over Arizona's Kyle Fogg last season at McKale Center. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Stealing this list from the Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller, eight players from the Pac-10 (going back to when the league was the Pac-8), have been selected within the top two picks of the NBA Draft.

They are:

Lew Alcindor (UCLA, 1969), Sidney Wicks (UCLA, 1971), Bill Walton (UCLA, 1974), David Meyers (UCLA, 1975), Dave Greenwood (UCLA, 1979), Gary Payton (Oregon State, 1990), Jason Kidd (California, 1994) and Mike Bibby (Arizona, 1998).

Arizona’s Derrick Williams is hoping to join that very fine list on Thursday.

Beyond Williams, it could be a decent draft for the Pac-10, with Washington State guard Klay Thompson and USC’s Nikola Vucevic potentially going in the top half of the first round.

A pair of UCLA players, wing Tyler Honeycutt and guard Malcolm Lee, are two draft wild-cards — talented, but not polished by any means. Washington point guard Isaiah Thomas, only 5-foot-10, figures to be second-round material.

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Worth shouting about: Derrick Williams is expected to be one of the top two picks in the NBA Draft. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Can Derrick Williams be a small forward in the NBA? Can he shoot the NBA 3-pointer? Can he defend?

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller says he has little doubt that Williams can, over time, do whatever he wants to on the basketball court. It’s when you add that skill to his personality and character that you really have something.

“My advice to him has always been, ‘Don’t change who you are,’” Miller said in an interview with TucsonCitizen.com on Wednesday.

“That’s his greatest gift. He’s a great teammate. People are going to love the fact that he’s part of their organization. That humble approach has worked for him, and Derrick is always going to follow that script.”

Miller’s advice to Williams applies now and always — because everything else around the 20-year-old is about to change. Money. Fame. Pressure. Business. Hangers-on who don’t have his best interests at heart.

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The NBA posted this video to YouTube on Tuesday, giving a behind-the-scenes glimpse as Arizona Wildcats forward Derrick Williams watched the draft lottery and went through workouts to get ready for Thursday’s draft.

If you’d prefer to read than watch (or if you wanted to do both), check out this profile of Williams from the Los Angeles Times’ Baxter Holmes.

In the feature he quotes an NBA scout as saying that Williams “is going to cause havoc on the offensive end.”

Baxter writes that Williams’ “defense and rebounding are potential weak spots. On average, Williams grabbed one rebound every 3.6 minutes last season. For his size, he should be closer to grabbing one every three minutes, the scout says.”

One more tidbit from that story: Ex-Cat Luke Walton recently offered this piece of advice via text message to the soon-to-be-millionaire: “Don’t spend your money.”