PROVIDENCE -- New Bedford High basketball star Brian Rudolph won't be enrolling at Providence College next month, but the Friars may have filled that hole with an unexpected gem very late in the recruiting game.

Dwain Williams, a 6-foot-1 guard from Murieta, Calif., visited PC yesterday and will join the Friar program. Williams is regarded as a big-time scoring guard who can handle the ball or put points on the board from the wing position. As a high school freshman and sophomore, Williams was regarded as one of the top 50 recruits in the nation and the best guard on the West Coast. He averaged more than 28 points a game in each of his final three seasons playing at three different high schools in California and Florida. Williams returned home to Riverside County, Calif., this year but did not play basketball because his eligibility had expired.

Williams was slated to attend Miami (Ohio) and began summer school there in June but left "because it just wasn't a good situation for me." Providence contacted Williams soon after and saw him play extensively at the Big Time AAU Tournament in Las Vegas in July.

"I bounced around so much that a lot of colleges lost track of me," Williams said yesterday. "I'm excited about Providence. I want a fresh start and I want a chance to show I can still play with anyone and that I'm a good student athlete, too."

Rudolph, an All-State point guard at New Bedford, signed a letter-of-intent with PC last April. A few days after that, Rudolph was allegedly involved in an altercation in Acushnet where another man was stabbed. Rudolph was subsequently arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on May 3. He is awaiting trial on the charge in New Bedford District Court. A clerk at the court said Monday that the case is to be heard Aug. 29, but one source close to the case said it may be postponed until next month.

PC coach Tim Welsh said the school waited as long as it could to see if Rudolph's legal situation was resolved before making a decision on admitting him. If he is cleared, Rudolph is expected to attend a prep school in New England.

"At this point, Brian has to concentrate on his legal and family situation," Welsh said. "We're moving on for this year and he has to move on as well for the time being. We hope Brian can get back on his feet."

Welsh cannot comment on the addition of Williams until classes begin in two weeks but with Rudolph in limbo, adding another guard was a major issue for the Friars all summer. He will join a backcourt that's thin on experience with sophomores Sharaud Curry and Weyimni Efejuku the only returnees. Williams and two other incoming freshmen, Brian McKenzie and Jamal Barney, firm up the group but Curry and Williams are the only point guards in the program. Jeff Xavier, a Pawtucket native and transfer from Manhattan College, is another guard but he must sit out the 2006-07 season.

Curry, who averaged 11.9 points and made the Big East All-Rookie team, and Williams appear to be scoring point guards. Consider these comments made by Miami of Ohio coach Charlie Coles when Williams appeared headed to his school in May.

"Dwain Williams is a guy who can really, really score, and he's got a great reputation as a player and has strong ratings among numerous scouting services," Coles said. "Everywhere he's played, he's been a person who can score effectively. He can hit shots from the outside and he can score on the inside, and he's a guy who has the ability to play both guard positions. We are very happy to sign him as a scoring guard."

Williams began his high school career at San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno, Calif., where he averaged 18 points and 6 assists and had one national scouting service name him its national freshman of the year. He then moved to Chaparral High near his home in Temecula as a sophomore and averaged 28.6 points; he was ranked as high as the 16th best prospect in the nation in the class of 2005. At that time, Williams was listening to recruiting pitches from the likes of UCLA, Arizona, Louisville and North Carolina. Williams said that pressure from his father led to a transfer to IMG Academy, an exclusive sports camp in Bradenton, Fla. He stayed there for a season and a half before returning home to California after the death of his grandfather.

"I know now that I just should have stayed at San Joaquin. We had a good team there but I was young and my father was making the decisions," Williams said. "It's all worked out for the best now. Nothing is guaranteed for me at Providence but there is a good opportunity here."

kmcnamar@projo.com / (401) 277-7340