No Calls Inspire Williams For Spring

No player helped himself more at the Las Vegas Easter Classic last weekend than Terrence Williams, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound point forward from the famed Rainer Beach High School in Seattle, Wash. Why? His phone never rang once the live period began. That was enough to inspire him to a phenomenal tournament.

When coaches were allowed to talk to recruits during the live period last week, Williams was hoping to hear from a number of major programs. But he never did. Not one. So when the opportunity to play in the first live event came along, the No. 69 player in the class of 2005 decided to make the trip to Las Vegas and play with Rich Isaac’s H-Squad. He made the best of his time in front of the coaches.

“Nobody called me, its like I act like I don’t care but in the inside, I’m hurt. I’m upset,” Williams told RivalsHoops.com. “I’m like, man, what do I do? Do I need to work on my left? So I’ll go work on my left. Do I need to get stronger? So I’ll go to the weight room. When I see all of the coaches there, I know if I play good, they’ll call me. So I just wanted to go out there and play happy.”

As word spread on Williams’ strong showing on Friday night at the point guard spot, coaches made sure they saw the strong-bodied guard. Williams, who is built better than most of his peers, took advantage of the opportunity.

“I just wanted to go out and show all of the national recruits and all of the coaches that I could play,” Williams said. “Coach told me before I came down here that we were playing some tough teams and that he needed me to get to the basket, and if I saw my teammates open, I needed to get them the ball.”

Now that people know about him, he hopes to hear his phone ring. “It’s going to be fun to see what happens,” Williams said with a smile.

Williams’ list of favorite colleges is long, but for good reason. He said he wants to educate himself about the top hoops programs in the country. Several ACC schools have been added during the last couple of weeks.

“I like Georgia Tech. I like the way they play," Williams said. "I like the way Wake Forest plays. It’s every kid’s dream to go to North Carolina or a Duke for a visit. There is a lot of teams that don’t think I’m looking at them, but I’m checking them out.”

He was already considering Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, UCLA, USC, Stanford and Washington. Expect thet list to grow even more in the coming months.

“I think I’m going to take five officials and five unofficials," Williams said. "I want to go everywhere, to be honest with you. After watching the Pac-10 tournament, March Madness, all of this, there is so much to see. You have to juggle it all.”

With his powerful drives, crafty passing, solid rebounding and extreme athleticism, it’s no wonder coaches are beginning to take notice of Williams.

“Hopefully I can go higher,” the charismatic Williams said. “I haven’t even reached my peak yet. I just want to go from here and have fun.”