University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg appears to be putting a higher premium on speed than size when it comes to point guards as the Minutemen got a commitment from another quick sub-6-footer on Friday.

Former Hofstra point guard Chazz Williams, who is listed at 5-foot-9, gave the Minutemen a verbal commitment after visiting campus earlier this week.

"I love Coach Kellogg and the coaching staff and it was a great group of guys," said Williams who visited Seton Hall and was scheduled to visit Rutgers but canceled the trip after visiting UMass. "It feels good to have the decision out of the way."

Williams, who averaged 9.8 points and 4.2 rebounds as a freshman, will sit out the 2010-11 season and have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

He will join Daryl Traynham among UMass point guards. Traynham, who will be a freshman in the fall, is also listed at 5-9.

"My strength is my play-making ability. I'm a pass-first point guard and I really try to get my team involved," Williams said. "I want to do the best I can. I'm very passionate about the game."

Williams will join Jesse Morgan on the Minuteman sideline. Morgan, who enrolled in January and is sitting out the first semester as an academic nonqualifier, will be eligible in late December.

"Jesse and I played on the same AAU team (the Jersey Shore Shots) so I'm friends with Jesse," Williams said. "I didn't know he was there until I came on my visit. It's going to be good."

Williams added, "I'm going to try to use the year as best as possible. Every day I'm going to get in the gym and work on my game and hopefully my game will improve over this year.

Williams, a New York City native, averaged 25.9 points per game at Bishop Ford High School.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.