@ErutterTodaysU
Taking the court just under two weeks ago at the Reaching Higher top-100 camp, senior guard Eric Williams Jr., a player hailing from New Haven (Mich.) High School, played with a confident demeanor throughout the day. Teaming up with high school teammate Romeo Weems did not hurt matters, but Williams put together one of the top performances at the camp.
Showing an ability to find his own shot, Williams is a prototypical off guard in the sense that he has a natural scoring ability and touch around the rim. He has a quick release on his shot and it’s a smooth, fluid motion void of any hitches. At the camp, Williams excelled on offense with or without the basketball, and the talented senior prospect played trusty, stingy defense to boot.
Tedaro France, head coach at New Haven, has observed Williams over the past several seasons. Williams’ performance was the product of his hard work and effort to improve, acting as a smooth extension to a dominant junior campaign.
“Eric Williams Jr had a great season for us last year,” France said. “He lead our team in scoring and was second in steals and assist. He also lead our team in three point shots made with 48. A left handed shooting guard who at 6-foot-4 is versatile enough to play multiple positions. He plays point guard, shooting guard and small forward for us. The position he will most likely play in college is shooting guard.”
On the collegiate recruiting front, Williams is hearing from a number of schools, such as American University, Holy Cross, Boston University and wealth of Division-II schools. While Williams is a talented athlete and prolific scorer, what makes him such an intriguing prospect for many colleges is his character.
“Eric also has a very high basketball IQ on top of having a great skill set and work ethic,” France said. “He never misses a weight training session or basketball workout. Eric is a great shooter off the dribble or catch which makes he very dangerous combined with his ability to create with the ball in his hands. After a great high school season and great summer AAU season Eric is being recruited heavily by several Division-I colleges.”
During the 2015-16 season at New Haven, Williams racked up 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.5 assists per game as he led a talented team in scoring. This year, France expects Williams to add onto his high-scoring junior season as a piece on a deep team, one which includes sophomore sensation Romeo Weems.
“I think we have a good group back,” France said. “We had a very young team last year and we only lost 3 seniors. We will not be as big, but I think we have the potential to be better. The experience of last season and this summer will play great dividends for our team in the winter. We have had several kids step up during the summer, such as Tavares Oliver, Ashton Sherrell, Ronald Jeffery, William Moore and Alex Palajac.”
With those players helping to provide support for Williams and Weems, New Haven has the chance to make a deep run in the postseason during the winter.