Prospect Watch: Shaun Williams (2018)
Class of 2018 guard Shaun Williams of Hazelwood Central had to step into a new role during his junior year with the Hawks.
The 6’3″ Williams spent the first two years of his varsity career as a support player as the Hawks were carried by its stellar 2016 class of Xavier Sneed, Dominique Dobbs and Steve Holloway, who are all excelling at the collegiate level.
Williams stepped into a bigger role and led the Hawks to a 17-10 record in what was a transition season for the Hawks. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.4. rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 47 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range.
Soon, he will be following his former teammates to the collegiate ranks. He has received offers from Ohio Valley Conference programs SIU-Edwardsville and Tennessee Tech. He has also received interest from Indiana State, South Dakota and Minnesota. He emerged as a point guard with the ability to put up some big scoring numbers as a junior with his size, athleticism and a real scorer’s mentality.
“It took some time for me to get used to my new role,” Williams said. “I just had to step up and be the leader on the new team we had and everyone was looking forward to that.”
Williams came through with some big scoring performances down the stretch of the 2017 season. He scored a career-high 36 points and against Class 5 Final Four participant Springfield Kickapoo. He scored 23 points against Class 4 state champion Vashon and 30 points in a victory over McCluer North in the Class 5 district semifinals. Williams finished the season with 23 points in a narrow loss to Pattonville in the district finals despite playing the game with two broken fingers.
Williams missed six weeks of action during the spring as he fingers healed, but he is now back and playing for the Brad Beal Elite 17U team in the Nike EYBL. He is playing several key reserve minutes on a BBE team that is currently 9-3 after three sessions of play.
“The EYBL has made me a better player,” Williams said. “The competition is great. I’ve learned that in the EYBL, you always have to play hard and you can’t take any plays off.”