“Kids wear number one and look up to
Derrick Rose Kevin Durant thirty five. I
want kids to wear zeroes for DJ Williams,” says the junior guard from Simeon
Career Academy.
The 6’7” tall 202 pound Williams is ranked as
the 29th best overall junior basketball player in the nation and second
in the state of Illinois according to ESPN.com.
On November 4th, Williams
verbally committed to play basketball under Coach John Groce as he will join
the University of Illinois Fighting Illini for the 2015-2016 season.
“I love [Illinois],” says an excited Williams,
“The whole environment, the coaching staff, the players, the Big Ten. I just
love everything about it.”
He adds, “My first major offer was from
Illinois. Once they offered me, I kind of wanted to take it then, but it was my
sophomore year, so I just had to wait it out.”
Williams looks forward to reuniting at U of
I with former Simeon standouts Kendrick Nunn (’13) and Jaylon Tate (’13) who,
along with current Duke star Jabari Parker (’13), helped lead the Simeon
Wolverines to four straight Illinois State Championships (of which Williams was
a part of two).
“They helped with my toughness and
competitiveness,” says Williams, “Playing behind Jabari, I had to compete
against him every day. It made me more versatile. I look up to Jabari. He’s one
of my favorite players right now. I look at his mix tapes all the time and try
to steal his moves. Kendrick was my boy. I think I was closest with him and
Jaylon on the team and can’t wait to play with them again in two years.”
Williams is also hoping to have close
friend, Charles Matthews, join him and the Fighting Illini in 2015. Matthews, a
6’5” 175 lb. junior guard from Saint Rita High School in Chicago, is the top
ranked recruit in Illinois for the class of 2015 and eleventh in the nation
according to ESPN.com.
“I’m working on him. I talk to him all the
time about coming to Illinois, but I try not to bother him because I know every
other school is bothering him right now. I just joke around and tell him to come
to Illinois with me. He says he likes them a lot, but he still doesn’t know
where he’s going yet.”
Williams says his relationship with
Matthews has helped them both develop into the elite players in the competitive
arena of Chicago high school basketball.
“Of course, I’m going to say I’m better
than Charles, and he’s going to say he’s better than me. We’re just
competitive. We just want to see the best out of both of us. We both want to
make it to the league (NBA). We both want to work hard. We’re just going to
keep pushing each other.”
Versatility is a quality that Williams
believes makes him a big threat to the other teams that he goes up against.
“I
can do pretty much anything [you ask of me], but I work for it,” he says, “It’s
a blessing to be this talented, but I have to keep working hard to get better.”
Adding, “I’m going to work hard every day
and try to make my teammates better here at Simeon and at Illinois.”
Having been evaluated with qualities
similar to standout NBA players Paul George and Rudy Gay, and also to his
former teammate Jabari Parker, Williams appreciates the comparisons but looks
to create a reputation on his own.
He says, “I just want to be my own player.
Of course I’m going to try to steal their moves, but I just want to be my own
player.”
At first thought, Williams looks to improve
his strength ever day. He then turns to
improving every aspect of his game.
“I just want to get better. Anything I can
improve on, I’ll do anything to do it.”
He adds that choosing to attend Simeon
Career Academy was one of the better basketball decisions he has made during
his career.
“I
was always pretty much under the radar coming up. In seventh grade, I started
working on my ball handling a lot. Eighth grade was my breakout year. That’s
when high schools started talking to me. Then I met Coach Rob, and decided to
come to Simeon. I think that was the best thing for me. I don’t think I could
be DJ Williams if I didn’t come to Simeon.”
According to Williams, anyone who has ever
coached him has had a great impact on his development as an elite basketball
player.
However, when asked for whom he would want
to play if he had the opportunity to be coached by any coach in the history of
basketball, Williams answers quickly, “I would want to play with Coach Rob
[Smith] for the rest of my life.”
Adding, “and Coach Groce, too.”
Like any star athlete, DJ Williams strives
to make it to the professional level sometime in the near future—a goal that is
within reach.
“Everybody wants to be in the league. If
I’m ready, I’ll go, but if I’m not I’ll just keep working on my game and
getting better.”
