New Staff: Nathan Williams

By: Reeve Ashcraft

Nathan Williams stood on the outskirts of the 3-point line at his Amateur Athletic Union practice court waiting for his coach to pass him the ball. He was preparing to conquer a feat that that he had always dreamed of – dunking. When the coach passed him the ball, he accelerated quickly, leaped off his left foot, and with excitement and pride, slammed the ball down the basket.

Since the age of ten, Junior Nathan “Nate” Williams aspired to be like the superstars of the NBA. What first inspired him to start playing was watching the other players on TV.

“I was 10 years old, and I never really liked playing until I saw the players on TV and told my mom I wanted to be just like them,” Williams said.

Moving further into the future, Williams is a catalyst for his high-school basketball team and on his AAU team.

Starting from the bottom, Williams strove to become a better basketball player. Whether he’s moving from the sixth-man spot to a starter, he enjoys practicing to get better.

Motivated by the movie Coach Carter, Williams noted that the power he had to motivate his players was really impressive.

“The way he coaches the players with his actions and his words definitely motivates me. I can also relate to his relationship with his players with my relationship with my coach and how he inspires me,” Williams said.

Williams is hoping for a college career.

“On the off chance that a professional or collegiate career doesn’t happen, I have a career in sports marketing to fall back on,” Williams said.

Williams is excited for the upcoming basketball season and has very high expectations.

“We have one of the best teams and we’re going to take over this year,” Williams said.