For 2013 basketball prospects, the early signing period for NCAA programs is coming up in mid November. As a result, the onsite visits become important as these hardcourt prospects determine their college destinations. One recruit with a busy autumn travel schedule is Sheldon High point guard D'Erryl Williams II.
The NorCalPreps.com Division I Player of the Year as a junior has offers from Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, Long Beach State, Marquette, San Diego, San Diego State, San Francisco, and USC. His confirmed official visits comprise San Jose State (September 14), San Diego State (October 12), and Loyola Marymount (October 18).
Sheldon won the Sac-Joaquin Section title for the third consecutive year and made a trip to the state finals. At 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, Williams II will be looking to man the point guard as a starter for all four years of his prep career. He will have the services of fellow four year starter wing, Dakarai Allen, and Franklin shooting guard transfer, Darin Johnson.
Williams II took his visit to San Jose State last month as his mother is a Spartan alum. He had a pleasant visit with the entire staff and roster. He saw himself fitting in the Spartans' basketball schemes.
The San Diego State coaching staff has been recruiting his Sheldon teammates with Allen committing last month. The Aztecs have a guard oriented set that would benefit a playmaker such as Williams in addition to the prospect of playing with one or more of his high school teammates as he has been playing basketball with Allen on every team together since the seventh grade. Another factor is that Williams is good friends with current Aztec, Xavier Thames. And the prospect of going to a football school that has its next two year's of basketball home games sold out is also a big plus. Aztec Coach Steve Fisher is a legendary coach who played five fab freshmen while at Michigan. As a result, the possibility of playing as a freshman is feasible for Williams if he were to attend SDSU.
Loyola Marymount recognized Williams' talent early on and felt that he was a perfect fit. He really likes the entire coaching staff. Chris Farr, who is the team trainer that trained Damion Lillard, is an x-factor as he could help mold DII into a prototypical point guard. The style of play is guard oriented which fits Williams' preference. Head Coach Max Good and Associate Head Coach Myke Scholl have elaborated their vision and game plan of what they would use with Williams as their combination guard. They like his ability to play/defend multiple positions and score in various ways. Despite current Lions guard Anthony Ireland being the starting point guard the next two seasons, Williams will have an opportunity as an incoming freshman due to his versatility.
Marquette is intriguing due to Buzz Williams and what he offers as a coach. Williams also likes their recent Sweet Sixteen success and ability to win despite being under the radar in Wisconsin and not having a football program. And the Golden Eagles have had a recent history of versatile guards that have been impactful.
At the end of the day, DII finds the aforementioned programs to have very similar styles of play. They are guard oriented systems, like to run the ball on the break, and play intense defense. When Williams takes his official trips and hosts in-house visits, he wants to make sure that he is able to bond with the coaching staff and the roster.
Williams' Sheldon teammates are ranked in many of the national polls. But certain intangibles he possesses cannot be computed in these subjective rankings. The will to win and one's internal fortitude are metrics that are hard to quantify and even to identify but college coaches have noted these attributes in Williams over the past summer. Sheldon's Allen has the length and Johnson has the scoring ability, but Williams' intangibles and leadership may put him over the top as the prime prospect on a loaded Sheldon team.
DII has received help from his father, D'Erryl Williams I, during the recruiting process. The elder Williams prepped in Detroit before attending Western Nebraska CC, which was the same junior college as current Sacramento Kings assistant coach Bobby Jackson. He then played as an athletic wing at Santa Clara where one of his highlight games was being the primary defender in limiting North Carolina Tar Heel Michael Jordan to only a game high 22 points in a 79-56 loss.
During the summer and into his senior year, Williams II has been working hard on his perimeter jump shot, being a leader by talking and motivating his teammates, improve his face up scoring, and managing the game. Coach Fisher was really impressed with this leadership aspect on a recent visit at an open gym in Sheldon. In addition, this point guard has an accurate perimeter game and is larger than most guards defending him. As a result, opposing teams will have matchup problems.
Highly touted high school teammates going to the same program is rare unless the pair are twin siblings. This Sheldon team has three prospects that are being nationally recruited by major programs. The possibility of two or even all three going to the same program could be intriguing and could shake up the college basketball recruiting landscape.
Williams likes the possibility of continuing play with his high school and Play Hard Play Smart clubmates as they all get along on and off the court. All three of the high profile recruits have no problem sharing the stage. In the end, they are just looking to win and can sacrifice for the team.
Ironically, one of the more high profile teammate signings was Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden of Lawrence North High in Indiana. The pair went on to Ohio State before being represented in the NBA by the agency run by Bill Duffy, who played at Santa Clara with Williams I.
Williams II plans to make his decision during the November early signing period. After that, the Sheldon guard will try to lead his Huskies to a fourth SJS title and another run at state. After that, DII will be getting ready for DI in the fall of 2013.
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