Published Oct 12, 2011
Canadian big man thriving in new environment
Eric Bossi
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst
As the summer grew on, one of the more intriguing players on the circuit was Matt Willms.
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Originally from Canada, the near seven-footer had spent his junior season at Detroit (Mich.) Consortium and showed flashes with the Detroit Stars.
Now at Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, the three-star prospect is starting to take some steps from what the Findlay staff saw out of him during the summer.
"We watched him in AAU and one of the things that stuck out to me was that he ran and he played hard the entire game," said Findlay assistant Todd Simon. "Even when he wasn't touching the ball, he was throwing his body all over the place."
While Willms played plenty hard, showed great fluidity and above-average athleticism for a big guy, his skinny frame made it tough for him to convert and contribute at times.
So, the Findlay staff has been teaching him a new approach.
"He's kind of had to learn that if you hit the other guy first you control the ball," said Simon. "He loves being in the gym, he's very skilled. Most of the schools look at him as a seven-foot face-up four man.
"But, he's slippery in the post. You can throw it in there and he'll get you a bucket."
His size, ability to make a left foot jump hook or an 18-foot jumper have coaches coming in droves.
So far, Willms has taken visits to Texas A&M and St. Joseph's while a planned visit to San Diego State had to be put on hold due to a power outage of all things.
In addition to SDSU trying to re-set their visit date, Minnesota, Marquette and UNLV are trying to get him on campus while others like Kansas, UCLA and Arizona have started to express interest as well
So far, Willms hasn't tipped his hand one way or another as far as naming a leader. However, he should decide early.
"He just wants to play ball," said Simon. "He just kind of likes basketball and he's not into the hooplah of recruiting and being on the phone. My guess is he would take one or more two visits tops."