Kameron Williams starring on AAU circuit
Coming off a breakout sophomore season for Mount St. Joseph, Kameron Williams had reasonable expectations heading into the first weekend of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League earlier this month.
“I wanted to play well because Boo Williams [in Hampton, Va.] is a pretty prestigious arena,” said Williams, who plays for Nike Baltimore Elite's 16-and-under team. “And if you have a good showing there, people are going to talk about it. I just wanted to put my name in the mix by having a good weekend.” 
Williams accomplished that goal in a hurry. In NBE’s opening-round game against the Iowa Attackers on April 8, the 6-foot-2, 165-pound shooting guard scored 33 points. He followed that up with a 47-point outburst against the Atlanta Knicks the next morning, and 33 later that day in a matchup with the Alabama Challenge. His 47-point game tied Memphis swingman Will Barton’s single-game scoring record for Nike Baltimore Elite.
“I was really excited,” Williams said. “I didn’t expect it to happen so fast. I didn’t expect to be doing that well at this particular time.”
Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey received a couple of text messages shortly after Williams' 47-point game on April 9. The Gaels coach wasn't even a little bit surprised to hear so many favorable reviews. After a season in which Williams emerged as one of the best sophomores in the state, Clatchey would have believed almost anything positive about his young guard.
“He can put it in the basket, do it in a variety of ways,” Clatchey said. “I did his post-season player evaluation, and one thing I told him is that to become an elite-level player, he really needs to address his ability on the defensive end of the floor. He’s working on his ball handling and his passing. He takes all that stuff to heart. He not only takes it to heart, he’s willing to do something about it.”
Williams played for Mount St. Joseph’s JV team as a freshman and earned MVP honors. During the post-season meeting with Clatchey, Williams received some indication that he was ticketed for the varsity as a sophomore – provided he put in enough offseason work. Williams’ role, however, was undefined at that point in time.
“I thought I was just going to come off the bench, score about six or eight points, and that would be it,” Williams said. “But that wasn’t the case. At the middle of the year, he moved me to the starting role and I just kept producing and producing.”
Williams thrived in the Gaels’ starting lineup, scoring more than 500 points on the season. Clatchey said Williams, who scored nearly 19 points per game, had multiple 30-point games. His game was marked by high-quality, high-percentage shots taken “within the flow of the game.”
“He has an old-school mentality,” Clatchey said. “He has the work ethic, the approach and the attitude to do what’s necessary to reach his potential as a player. He goes above and beyond in terms of putting time and effort into improving himself as a player.”
For Williams’ efforts, he was the lone sophomore selected to the Baltimore Catholic League’s first team. Clatchey said that from an offensive standpoint, Williams – who “may have a little Juan Dixon in him” – might be the most talented player he’s coached at Mount St. Joseph.
“I think he’s a very good player now, but I don’t think he is satisfied by any stretch of the imagination,” Clatchey said. “I see how hard he works in the weight room, how hard he works in the gym. There’s no clowning around, no playing around. That guy is just strictly business. As a coach, it’s just a pleasure to see someone that talented. When you couple that talent with the kind of desire to get better, I think tremendous things are on the horizon for him. He’s a coach’s dream to me.”
Clatchey said Williams’ no-nonsense approach to basketball carries over to the classroom, where the 10th-grader carries better than a 3.2 grade-point average. Needless to say there will be no concerns about Williams meeting NCAA qualifying standards.
“You can be the best basketball player in the world, but if you don’t have the grades, you can’t play,” Williams said.
In the days after the Boo Williams tournament, Williams said he heard from Maryland, George Mason and Holy Cross. He has also received interest from Richmond, South Florida, VCU and Virginia.
“He’s on the radar,” Clatchey said, “but he should be on the radar a lot more than he is.”
Last weekend, Williams traveled with NBE to the Pitt Jam Fest, where he averaged around 20 points and helped lead his squad to the quarterfinals of the 72-team tournament. His plan for the rest of the spring and summer is already set.
“I want to become a better ball handler, a better decision-maker, and a better on-ball defender,” Williams said. “And [I want to] keep creating the buzz and keep getting interest from colleges. [I’ll] get right to work, no days off.”
