Huntington's Jamaal Williams chooses UC
“The opportunity to play at UC for Coach White and stay close to home was one that I could not pass up,” said Williams. “I am very excited to get my college career started and continue my education at the
Williams is a 6-foot, 175-pound senior at Huntington, winner of three straight West Virginia Class AAA state championships.
“I’m ecstatic to have Jamaal joining our squad here at the
Williams scored in double figures in 21 contests, and was the third leading scorer on the HHS team behind All-Americans O.J. Mayo and Patrick Patterson. He was a first team Class AAA All-state selection by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as a senior and a second team choice as a junior. He was also selected to All-State Tournament team as a junior and a senior.
“Jamaal was my No. 1 targeted recruit all year and is a perfect fit to our situation,” White added. “He comes from an awesome family and has tremendous character along with terrific basketball skills.”
Williams tallied 400 points in 27 contests, for a 14.8 points per game average in 2006-07. He was a dangerous outside shooting threat, nailing 50 three-pointers during his senior campaign. Williams proved to be an all-around player, contributing 38 offensive rebounds and 39 defensive boards (2.85 rebounds per game), 59 assists (2.19 assists per game) and 11 blocks while connecting on 54-of-63 free throws (85 percent).
“Jamaal has the potential to be one of the all time greats at UC,” White said. “He is a natural leader and we expect him to impact our program immediately.”
The Golden Eagles, who compete in the NCAA Division II West Virginia Intercollegiate Conference, will return four starters from last season’s squad.
Jamaal Williams
Photo: HDonline.com
VIDEO: For a WOWK-TV Sportscast on April 12, 2007 with an interview and video of Jamaal Williams, click here.
Williams signs with Charleston
By Travis Hubbard
Huntington Herald Dispatch
HUNTINGTON Distance and security won out over Jamaal Williams' NCAA Division I basketball dreams.
The Huntington High senior guard signed with the University of Charleston for a full basketball scholarship Thursday morning, finalizing a recruitment that included several Division I schools.
"Hopefully, people will still look at me as the same player even though I'm not going to a Division I school," he said. "But I'm not really concerned. I'm just glad my schooling is paid for and I get to play basketball in college."
Charleston plays NCAA Division II basketball as a member of the West Virginia Conference.
Williams averaged 14.8 points per game last season and made Class AAA first team all-state with three Huntington teammates. The 6-foot guard was third on the team in scoring behind McDonald's All-Americans O.J. Mayo and Patrick Patterson. Huntington won its third consecutive Class AAA state title and finished in the Top 10 of most national prep polls.
Williams said at least six Division I schools showed varying degrees of interest Florida, UNC-Wilmington, Penn State, San Diego State, Virginia Commonwealth and William & Mary but never made scholarship offers.
"They were all pretty serious, but they all pretty much said the same thing," Williams said. "They had already signed players and wanted to keep me in mind in case something happened."
Williams hoped he would hear back from West Virginia University and Ohio University.
And the one school Williams most wanted to play for never showed much interest. Williams wanted to play Division I basketball and also play close to home, so Marshall was a logical choice.
But Marshall showed only limited interest, and Williams hoped a coaching change at the school might help his prospects with his hometown school. Ron Jirsa was fired after the season, and Florida assistant coach Donnie Jones was hired last week.
"That was my first plan," Williams said. "We talked, and (Jones) said he already had some guards in mind that he wanted to sign. He's a good fella, and I hope he does well. ... I really wanted to go to Marshall, but things just didn't work out.
"I just couldn't sit around and wait and let this offer slide from UC."
Williams also had offers from Division II West Virginia State and St. Francis (Pa.), a Division" I school in the Northeast Conference.
UC could end up with the top in-state senior to stay in state, depending on Patterson's decision. Patterson still lists West Virginia with Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia and Wake Forest. Mayo signed with Southern Cal, and Huntington forward Chris Early signed with Oklahoma.
"He was my No. 1 target all year, and he obviously had a lot of other opportunities, but I think it's a great fit for us," said Charleston coach Greg White. "Sometimes when a kid's on a team like that they might operate under the radar, and I think that was the case with Jamaal.
"I loved him from the first time I saw him this year at the first game of the season at our place against Nitro. I really feel he's the best player in the state behind Patrick and O.J."
It didn't hurt that Williams grew up attending basketball camps at Marshall when White was the Thundering Herd head coach.
Williams said he always wanted to play Division I basketball, and he still believes he has the ability. But he couldn't wait any longer and wasn't sure if he wanted to leave home.
"It was pretty important to be a distance where my family could come see me play," Williams said. "I wanted to be close enough that my family and all the people who watched me in high school could come see me play any time they wanted.