Basketball: Taft’s Williams tired of waiting in the wings

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Michael Williams has patiently waited for his opportunity to contribute on a significant basis over at Taft in the Valley. In fact, he’s been paying his dues for three-plus years now, first learning the ropes as a freshman, followed by a brief stint on the varsity as a sophomore and then a key role last season as the Toreadors’ sixth man.

Things, however, promise to be different once the coming season starts, considering Williams played well during the spring and summer. The 5-foot-10 guard played so well, in fact, he earned himself a spot as a starter in the backcourt, essentially replacing the irreplaceable Larry Drew Jr., who moved on to North Carolina.

‘Michael won’t make any of our fans forget Larry, but he’s a pretty darn good playmaker in his own right,’’ Coach Derrick Taylor said. ‘Best thing about him is, he’s hungry. He’s always been hungry. He wants to prove he belongs. Honestly, this kid could have been starting for any team in the City last year, no doubt about it.’’

Rumors began to circulate this summer about David Shepherd-Dykes transferring from Oxnard to Taft, but Taylor quickly put an end to all the talk: ‘Haven’t seen the kid around here, so that’s news to me. He hasn’t enrolled here.’’

Besides, with Williams around, and playing the way he is, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to go to Taft and sit behind him on the bench. But that’s just my humble opinion.

‘I’m telling your right now, mark my words, Michael is going to have a breakout year,’’ Taylor added. ‘I’ve been getting calls from a lot of the mid-major colleges about him, schools like Montana State, Santa Clara and Southern Utah. This kid can play, flat out play, and he’s going to prove it to everyone out there this season.’’

-- Sean Ceglinsky