Christian Williams eyes competition at Iowa

NORTH LIBERTY - Christian Williams waited and waited for his opportunity to play Big Ten basketball.

For most of his senior season, Williams hoped for an Iowa scholarship offer. At Decatur (Ill.) St. Teresa High School, Williams dominated Class 2A. As a point guard, Williams led St. Teresa (27-5) to the Class 2A state title game. averaged 18.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 steals, and three assists. He was named first-team all-state by the Associated Press and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.

Yet Williams kept waiting. Finally, he got an offer he couldn't refuse.

'It was a real long year because I couldn't play for the first couple of games, then I was talking to (assistant coach Kirk) Speraw and Coach (Fran) McCaffery and they just said stay patient,” Williams said. 'After our championship game, Coach McCaffery called me and said I stayed patient like he wanted me to and that's what happened and the offer finally came.”

Williams looked hard at St. Louis, but he was sure the Iowa scholarship would come. Once it did, he pounced.

'I had no hesitation,” he said. 'I knew the first time I walked on the campus this was where I wanted to be.”

At 6-foot-6 and 195 pounds, Williams displays the tangibles McCaffery likes in his players. Williams is long, athletic and fast. He can also score in transition, something he displayed in Sunday's Prime Time League action.

Williams appeared hesitant early in the summer, partly because he lined up alongside Iowa senior point guard Mike Gesell and Northern Iowa sharpshooter Matt Bohannon. But Sunday, Williams was relentless, notching 26 points. He nailed 11 of 21 shots, including four of seven from 3-point range. He also grabbed 14 rebounds. In the second half alone, Williams scored 22 points and missed only four shots.

'It took me a little bit of time to get acclimated to everything,” Williams said. 'Once we got a couple of games into us, then I started to get more comfortable and play how I usually play.

'(Coaches are) telling me to play my game because they see I'm hesitant some times. So they tell me to stay aggressive and continue to do what I do, which is shoot the ball and get to the hole.”

Williams, who played AAU basketball for the Peoria Irish, finished his prep career as St. Teresa's all-time leading scorer with 1,587 points. Twice he was named all-state and three times he was a first-team all-league selection. He also was a talented quarterback and had looks from Big Ten schools. Williams stopped playing football after his junior year to concentrate on basketball, a move that continues to haunt him.

'It was real hard because football was the sport that I really loved, that's what I grew up playing,” Williams said. 'So it was really hard to let it go.”

He said if college basketball didn't work out for some reason, he'd consider playing football again. He even joked to some of Iowa's football players this summer that he 'might come out and try to walk on as a quarterback.”

But basketball is the reason Williams is at Iowa, and he's one of six newcomers on campus this fall. He'll have an opportunity to learn point guard responsibilities from Gesell and Anthony Clemmons - both seniors - and compete for time at shooting guard behind junior Peter Jok.

'Right now I just want to be a role player and learn from those guys and step in their shoes,” Williams said. 'I know we don't have any point guards next year except for me, so that will be a big stage for me.”

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