(DANIEL EADE is a basketball fan, freelance journalist and BPL contributor.) 

Corey Williams, the dynamic and entertaining point-guard for the Melbourne Tigers, wants to return next season and will get Australian citizenship to extend his career in the NBL.

"I definitely look forward to trying to get my citizenship. That's something I'd love to do," he said in exclusive interview with BPL.

Two of the biggest names in Tigers' history, Lanard Copeland and Darryl McDonald, were American imports who arrived in Australia during basketball's explosion in the early 1990s, and have remained in Australia after getting their citizenship.

"That was something that when I came over here I started noticing a lot of players, imports, that have come over here and they never left," said Williams. "It's a beautiful place to play."

"I used to wonder to myself: how can these guys never go back home? But when you come here and see the love you get here, the lifestyle and the opportunities that are here for you because of basketball, it's hard to leave.

"If getting my citizenship is something I can do, then I'm all for it."

Williams, who became famous after making a name for himself on the playground basketball courts of New York, joined the Tigers after a disastrous start to the season left the team in an 0-5 hole with their playoff aspirations fading away faster than the sun slipping over the horizon.

The Tigers axed young import TJ Campbell in favor of Williams, and with Williams arriving in the country just 36 hours before his first game, it was always going to be an uphill battle for him to turn the season around and lead the Tigers into the playoffs.

The Tigers dropped their sixth consecutive game in Williams' debut.

"To start a 28-game season 0-6, that is extremely hard to catch up," said Williams.

It was hoped the presence of Williams, who won the 2010 NBL MVP last season while playing with the Townsville Crocodiles, would be enough to push the Tigers into another stratosphere, and a chance of sneaking into the playoffs.

In three seasons with the Crocodiles, Williams went to the playoffs every year, including back-to-back appearances in the NBL semi-finals in 2009 and 2010.

And last weekend, the Tigers crept up to seventh place on the NBL standings after victories over the Adelaide 36ers (86-83 in OT) and the Cairns Taipans (70-63), improving their record to 9-13 and remaining a mathematical chance for the playoffs - if they go undefeated over their final six games of the regular season.

With a point to prove to the naysayers, who would argue that Williams doesn't have what it takes to lead a team to a championship, the American is defiant, believing he is the right man to lead the Tigers into the future.

"If it's up to me, I have every intention of coming back," Williams said, of the 2011/12 season and beyond.

"I'm no quitter. I definitely want to have a go at this thing from the beginning, because I know the record wouldn't be this record if I was here from day one. That I know."

After the Tigers' and two-time championship winning coach Al Westover parted ways in early February, it was McDonald, an NBL legend who also made his mark playing in New York, who received a promotion to interim head coach.

Williams has great respect for D-Mac: "As far as careers are concerned, I wanted to be like D-Mac. He came out here and made this place home."

But it was a battle between the two on an NBL court in late 2007, while McDonald was playing with the Tigers and Williams was just starting his career with the Crocodiles, that got New York talking.

In a big Tigers victory, word got back to New York that the older McDonald had given Williams a lesson on the court. Williams, nicknamed 'Homicide' from his days playing streetball in New York, laughs at the story: "It just depends on your reputation in New York. He's a legend that killed it in New York City, he destroyed it in his own way and I continually destroy New York City in my own way.

"When two guys with life-size reputations on the playground, especially in New York City, match-up against one another, trust me, the streets will find out. The streets talk."

At the completion of the NBL season, Williams is planning on going to play in Puerto Rico, but is tight lipped on which team he will suit up for: "I'm going to Puerto Rico. I can't say where yet, because it's not official."

Then he wants to return to the Melbourne Tigers for next season. "Hopefully there is an opportunity for me to re-sign with this club, no questions asked, I'll be here."

In the near future, Williams, who is averaging 17.1ppg, 6.8rpg and a league leading 5.9apg, wants to conquer the NBL and win a championship. "Everybody wants to win. Everyone wants a championship. The ultimate competitor that I am, I need a championship. I'm going to do whatever I can to make it happen."