Recruiting Report: Mike Williams (2023)

Every year it seems like we see a handful of teams who struggled the season prior because of their youth begin to turn the corner and show flashes of their potential. One team in the Baltimore area who fits this mold is Calvert Hall. The Cardinals took their fair share of beatings in the MIAA A Conference last year as the majority of their rotation was made up of underclassmen. Now with a year under their belts, the freshman class from 2019-20 knows what to expect and will lean heavily on 2023 guard Mike Williams Mike Williams 6'3" | CG Bishop Walsh | 2023 State #141 Nation MD to produce at a steady rate. 

"We just need to play together more," Williams told Prep Hoops in a recent interview. "Everyone has elevated their game this summer and us playing in this fall league has definitely brought us together more. We’ve had the chance to work out a couple times a week, so I just feel like as a group we’re better now."

The league that Williams referenced was the Baltimore Black Panther Fall League, which features over a dozen high schools from the area. Williams laced up against St. Frances this past weekend and logged a solid performance. There’s clear evidence of growth in his game over the calendar year.

"I’m just better with my change of pace. I’m getting to the basket easier and knocking down shots from mid-range and three sometimes. There’s still plenty of things in my game that I can polish still, but those are what I really worked on," Williams said.

The 6-foot-2 guard was the primary ball-handler throughout the course of the game, so it gave me a chance to see how comfortable he was getting his team into sets while also being aggressive when scoring opportunities presented themselves. 

There were one or two occasions when Williams got caught over dribbling and turned the ball over, but for the most part he handled ball pressure well and made his defender pay for gambling by converting on mid-range pull-ups.

Another prospect that caught my eye was Williams’ brother, Isaiah. He’s equipped with elite athleticism like Mike and should add plenty of energy and grit as he looks to play a role as a freshman in 2020-21.

"It means a lot to me that I get to play with my brother for the next three years," Mike said of Isaiah. "He plays defense very well and he’s probably the best on-ball defender I know. He can hit from mid-range and get to the basket whenever he wants. He does things well that I don’t do and vice versa, so I think it’s going to balance out on the floor when we’re together. "

Believe me when I say that the Williams duo will certainly be one to monitor closely for the coming years.

In terms of recruitment, a few programs have reached out to Williams, but he told me Elon and George Washington are the programs he or his coaches hear from most. I’d expect that list to grow significantly once Calvert Hall can churn out some wins and convince college coaches to make a trip to see some games. 

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