Austin Williams, Seton Hall Prep Point Guard

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

absolutely shocked he doesnt have any offers. This kid is supremely talented. Played very well against Jalen Carey whos one of the top 18 recruits in NJ/the country

Kid really wants to come to Rutgers too.

 

[RUsince52]

I can see why he wouldn't fit our scheme, he simply makes too many jump shots. We would have to find more guys to compliment him.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

It is criminal that we accept a commitment from Mensah from a god damn island whos a far inferior player when we have austin williams in our own back yard whos 10000c better and wants to come to RU. Complete insanity

 

[Mr_Twister]

Doesn't one of our assistant coaches have very strong ties to SHP?

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I don't doubt Williams may be a player, but to say he dominated Carey, a top 100 national recruit is over the top....by a lot....I don't think this is a situation where the entire planet in the tri-state area has missed on this type of player.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

I don't doubt Williams may be a player, but to say he dominated Carey, a top 100 national recruit is over the top....by a lot....I don't think this is a situation where the entire planet in the tri-state area has missed on this type of player.

well Jalen Carey had a tough time D'ing him. But keep in mind Austin had a late growth spurt. Grew about 4-5 inches between his junior and senior year and put on about 25 pounds.

 

[RUChoppin]

I don't doubt Williams may be a player, but to say he dominated Carey, a top 100 national recruit is over the top....by a lot....I don't think this is a situation where the entire planet in the tri-state area has missed on this type of player.

The entire planet and all rating agencies, it seems. Was able to find him on MaxPreps... listed as the 106th ranked player in NJ. Other than that one vid in the OP, really know nothing about this kid.

 

[BigLou]

Doesn't one of our assistant coaches have very strong ties to SHP?

I would think Coach Knight does considering he played there, his brother played there and his father played there.
So I have to assume there is a reason why we haven't offered. As SHP grad myself I would love to see us establish a pipeline there.

 

[bac2therac]

is this thread for real

 

[jellyman]

That tape does not show what you say it shows.
Yes, Williams seems quite (even very) athletic ... at times explosive. And yes, the tape shows 2 made 3's (we do not know how many attempts).

But the tape never shows Carey covering Williams, except once, in transition. So to argue that Carey could not cover Williams is completely false, based on that tape. However, the tape DID show Williams covering Carey at times (when SHP was not in a zone. And getting schooled.

I thought that despite 2-3 steals shown, Williams' defense was both lackadaisical, and showed really poor fundamentals. True, you can change that with practice and training, but it does not happen overnight. Based on that ONE, probably unrepresentative clip, I did not see that Williams was ready defensively for Big Ten level basketball.

Also, based on that limited clip, Carey looked MUCH more impressive to me than did Williams. Now if Pikiell and staff think otherwise in the end, I will fully support their judgment.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Agree with Jelly...doesn't have lateral quickness to defend (or he isn't trying).

 

[MadRU]

Sometimes in HS top players are not taught to defend properly. A player with his athletic ability can be instructed to be a good defender, especially if playing time at the next level depended on it.

Lets see who the staff reaches out to and can pull in.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Agree with Jelly...doesn't have lateral quickness to defend (or he isn't trying).

he gets to the rim better than almost any player in the state. Seton Hall plays a ton of zone. But I will agree I think his effort does lack on the D end of the floor at times. But again, effort can be taught if that's the culture at the school/coach he's going to.

 

[RUChoppin]

Some more info on Williams from MaxPreps 11 games into this season: 12.7 ppg, 4.3 ast, 4.1 reb, 2.2 stl, 1.5 blk

52 made FG, of which just 9 were threes. 61% from the FT line (27/44), which works out to 2.5/4 per game (he gets to the line more often than Sanders or Johnson). That's roughly 3 or 4 layups/jumpers (likely more layups given his trips to the line), 0 or 1 trey, and 2 to 3 FTs per game

So, it looks like he's another slasher without much touch more than 5-10 feet from the basket... offensive rebounds leading to second chance points, drives leading to FTs that he doesn't make at a high clip, very few three pointers, and not much in the way of defense.

Compare to Mensah's numbers against JC competition instead of HS competition: 11.5 ppg, 4.3 ast, 6.0 reb, 0.7 stl, 0.1 blk. Also 61% from the FT line (1.9/3.4)

Not sure where the 1000ox better expectation comes form.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Sometimes in HS top players are not taught to defend properly. A player with his athletic ability can be instructed to be a good defender, especially if playing time at the next level depended on it.

Lets see who the staff reaches out to and can pull in.

maybe, maybe not. You take the 2 guards on our team and think they both could be at worst average defenders. One is and one isn't.

 

[MadRU]

maybe, maybe not. You take the 2 guards on our team and think they both could be at worst average defenders. One is and one isn't.

I think Nigel is a very good on ball defender when he doesn't let his offensive struggles get him down. Corey is when he really applies himself. The thing is, they both have the ability to be plus defenders because of their athletic ability. Its then up to the kids to buy into what the coach teaches.