The Rigors of a Recruit : Cage Star Scott Williams Heads for North Carolina--and a Rest

It was after 11 in the morning when 6-10 Scott Williams dragged himself downstairs. The Hacienda Heights Wilson star center was still half-asleep after celebrating a 50-32 basketball victory over Brea-Olinda in the championship game of the Glendora Tournament the night earlier.

Scott’s mother, Rita, smiled as she watched her son, the tournament’s most valuable player, plop into a kitchen chair. After nearly four months of intensive college recruiting, which included sorting hundreds of pieces of mail, traveling across country, accepting late-night telephone calls and undergoing pressure from celebrities, it was good to see him finally able to relax.

The decision had been made. The pressure was off. Scott Williams was going to North Carolina.

When Williams selected the Tar Heels last November in the early signing period, it ended the top recruiting battle of the 1985-86 season for a Southern California basketball star. UCLA , North Carolina, Georgia Tech, DePaul and Villanova were the finalists.

UCLA Used Celebrities

Desperately in need of a big man to stabilize his front line, UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard wanted Williams. In the final weeks before the signing date, Williams received calls from Bill Cosby, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s office, Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda, UCLA’s legendary John Wooden and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, all pushing the virtues of UCLA. North Carolina countered with calls from NBA stars James Worthy, Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins, to whom Williams has often been compared.

Why did Williams select North Carolina?

The chance to play for a coach like North Carolina’s Dean Smith only comes around once in a lifetime, and Williams said he couldn’t pass it up.

But until last summer not many coaches, including Smith, were even interested in him.

Williams went from virtual obscurity to one of the nation’s top prep basketball prospects in three months.

Pressure Getting to Him

“Scott has handled the sudden notoriety pretty level-headedly,” said Al Williams, Scott’s father. “Basically, he’s the same Scott.”

But for a while, especially in the final days of recruitment, his parents were concerned. Although their soft-spoken son never complained, Al and Rita could tell the constant pressure was getting to him.

“The intensity level really peaked that last week,” said Al, a basketball All-American at Venice High School in 1961. “I could see a lot of stress in his face.”

Williams wasn’t alone--his parents also were feeling the pressure. Since the beginning of the summer when Williams drew the attention of major college scouts, he and his parents have sorted through the recruitment process together.

While their son was turning heads on the court, Al and Rita were researching colleges. By July, the family had narrowed Scott’s list of schools to 25. By August, it was down to 10. Finally, in September, Scott and his parents were down to the finalists.

Right to Be Tense

“When it got down to the final five schools, I could tell it was getting to him,” Rita said. “He was more on the edge.”

Scott had a right to be tense. Although he had narrowed his choices to five, the pressure mounted as he visited each school before choosing North Carolina.

“I think he was pleased to sign early and get it out of the way,” his father said. “After it was over, he was able to bring up his grades that had slipped a little bit. It’s hard to study geometry when you have people like Tommy Lasorda and Kareem call. That’s difficult for a 17-year-old.”

In the end, the chance for Williams to play for the legendary Smith won out. Williams is the first player Smith has recruited from the West Coast in 25 years at North Carolina.

“I feel it’s an honor to be the first player that Dean Smith has gotten from the coast,” Williams said. “He is one of the greatest coaches in the game. I have a very high respect for him as a coach. I’ve heard so much about him recently that it’s kind of overwhelming.”

May Play as Freshman

Another factor was that with North Carolina losing two big seniors, including All-American Brad Daugherty, Williams will have a good chance of getting playing time in his freshman year. He’s ready for the challenge.

“I feel I can fit in well at North Carolina,” he said. “They play together and that’s what we’ve stressed in our high school . . . play together and play pressure defense.

“I don’t think anybody’s an impact player that can come in and take their team to the final four as a freshman. But I think players have a chance of coming in and contributing. Everybody needs a couple of years to grow as a player. When you go in as a freshman, you’re playing against seniors that are bigger and stronger, and that’s kind of hard to go up against.”

But over the summer, Williams proved he is up to the challenge.

Although he averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds a game and was the Sierra League’s most valuable player in leading Wilson to a 21-5 record last year, the all-San Gabriel Valley selection went virtually unnoticed before the summer.

Time to Prove Himself

“It was definitely a time for me to go out there and prove that I was a better player than some people had thought. I just went out there in front of the best players and coaches in the nation and played especially well. It gave me a chance to be a bit more dominant, instead of just trying to play for fun.”

Aided by his AAU team coach, Dave Benezra, Williams began to work on his outside shooting over the summer, concentrating on the high post. Benezra also helped improve his ball handling and footwork.

Many scouts believed Williams outplayed J. R. Reid of Virginia Beach, Va., considered the nation’s top prospect, at the Nike All-American Camp in Princeton, N. J. At the Five-Star Camp he was voted the top big man and best rebounder. Williams also had impressive outings at the national AAU tournament and the Las Vegas Invitational Tourney.

“What happened with Scott is that he hadn’t played against that type of competition before,” said Benezra. “When he began, he didn’t have the confidence that he could do the types of things he did at Wilson. Further along, he got the confidence that he could do those things.

“He began to thrive on the competition. The better the players and challenge, the better he played. This was all new to Scott, but he just grabbed for the brass ring.”

A ‘Gawky’ Freshman

Wilson Coach Mike Lowe has witnessed Williams’ growth as a player since he started for Lowe’s JV squad as a “gawky” 6-3 1/2 freshman.

“I think his development this summer was due to a combination of a lot of things,” Lowe said. “One, he got to see what was out there. Secondly, I don’t think a lot of people were taking into consideration that he was finally starting to come into his body. He was very good before, but he was a little bit awkward. It’s very hard to get around when you’re 6-8 or 6-9 and only 16 years old.”

Thanks to the summer, Williams is playing with more confidence, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds a game this season for the Wilcats. At the start of the week, Wilson was tied with Nogales for the Sierra League lead with a 5-1 league record and a 19-3 record overall.

“He’s a lot quicker than last year and I think that’s because he is maturing,” Lowe said. “You can see he has more confidence in his abilities. Where he had doubts before, he has more self-assurance now.

“He plays a lot better in games than his statistics show. He just makes everybody around him better. He’s averaging 20 points a game, which is less than he’s capable of.

‘Complete Player’

“He’s come along extremely well. One of the things I’ve always stressed is being a complete player. His overall development has been outstanding. In one game he might have 20 points, 12 rebounds, he might have 4 or 5 blocked shots, 2 or 3 steals and assists and not make a turnover. He might hit a 20-footer, a hook shot and a couple of power moves. But then again, he’s the kind of player that might only score 5 or 6 points in a game but still be a factor.”

But Williams doesn’t just dominate offensively. He also takes great pride in his defense.

“I like to play a complete game and control both ends of the court,” he says. “Basketball just comes natural to me. I just try to go out in every game and win no matter if we’re playing against a team in the top 10 of the nation or someone not as well known. If I just do my best and if everyone contributes, it shows. It has shown this far.”

Said Lowe: “He’s just a shadow of the ballplayer he can be. Defensively, he has the knack of knowing what to do in a certain situation. He knows when to go for the block shot and when to go to the boards. He’s very intelligent (on) defense and has very good judgment.”