2024 Caleb Williams talks EYBL season and recruiting
As we enter the month of July, AAU takes a quick (and rare) backseat for a few weeks of the summer. The June Live Period is approaching quickly that allow college coaches to watch prospects compete with their high school…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAs we enter the month of July, AAU takes a quick (and rare) backseat for a few weeks of the summer. The June Live Period is approaching quickly that allow college coaches to watch prospects compete with their high school team.
The No. 2 ranked player in our 2024 MD/DC rankings, Caleb Williams Caleb Williams 6'7" | SF Sidwell Friends | 2024 State #93 Nation MD , is gearing up to prove himself once again on the June stage with Sidwell Friends at DC Live. Williams has won plenty of games no matter the setting, but this spring his Team Takeover 17U squad got off to a somewhat rocky start (to their standards) by losing two of their four games during EYBL S1.
What people failed to realize coming into that opening weekend of EYBL in Atlanta was this group hadn’t played together in any warm up events. No matter how good of a roster you have, playing together officially under the whistle for the first time in EYBL competition will have its share of obstacles.
“You know, a lot of people saw the 16s win it all last year and the 17s finish in second during Peach Jam and just figured it would be an easy transition. But in reality, our group hadn’t played with each other before. People have to remember that half of those guys were already on 17s and half of us were on 16s, so we needed the time to get the feel for each other,” Williams told Prep Hoops.
“After that first session where we got punched in the mouth, we really came together and bought in to the changes that the coaching staff put into place. We built trust in each other and now as you see, we’ve made a big jump and have momentum from the last session and looking forward to July and Peach Jam.”
Williams and his team responded to their underwhelming S1 showing by going 12-1 to sit atop of the A group with a 14-3 overall record.
“I think the turnaround came with just trusting each other more and being more unselfish. Also just realizing we have to give Pat [Ngongba] more touches because he’s a really good player and playmaker out of the post. Just playing inside out, it was able to open it up offensively and predicated our effort defensively. That’s what we did as we are now the the No. 1 defensive team in the country.”
As a team, Takeovers’ wealth is spread balanced throughout. Rarely do you see a box score of someone hanging a crooked number in the points column (although it has happened a few times in April and May). It’s more common to see 4-to-5 guys hovering around 8-12 points. Williams is averaging 6.1 points per contest thus far.
On the recruiting front, several high major programs are pursuing the 6-foot-7 wing. He recently locked in an official visit to Georgetown with new head coach Ed Cooley and is currently on campus for said visit.
“I think my relationship with Georgetown is going well. Coach Cooley has been reaching out a lot along with Coach Ivan [Johnson]. Even before I took the unofficial there recently, the relationship has been getting stronger.”
Williams told Prep Hoops that Villanova, Michigan, Indiana and Syracuse have been reaching out consistently. Virginia is another program that was included in his recruitment. Florida State is a newer name to the sweepstakes that Williams is forming a relationship with.
“There’s a chance I take one more official visit after Georgetown. I get five before July 1, so I might just take one more in June, but I’m not sure where yet.”
Regarding a timeframe for when Williams will make his final decision, there doesn’t seem to be a rush to have an answer before the summer is over.
“I’ll probably cut my list not too long after Peach Jam and then not look to make a decision until around the end of September or early October.”