'17 NY SG Keith Williams (Commit)

[JasonS]

Thanks so much Chad! I hope so! Sometimes players are productive because of their teammates are drawing a lot of attention. But it sounds like you watched him a lot, & I am very excited!

Can anyone with Insight tell us how we landed him. Was it because of the recruiter Savino, he likes the urban campus it reminds him of New York? Because we had Sean and Lance? I'm just curious what hit made him tick. I read someone reminded him of his dad I think. Was he referring to the head coach?

It was definitely Chad's article that you are thinking of. Williams said that he felt like the UC staff prioritized him and that Mick and Savino were at virtually all of his games and they were giving him things they wanted him to work on to be a better player. He also said Mick reminded him of his current head coach in HS and he felt comfortable with Mick, the staff and the players. You can find all that and more in Chad's article that he was kind enough to make free on Bearcat Journal.

 

[L-T]

Its okay, we just need to use our ignore button or report certain posters agenda for hijacking every single thread. Stinks clicking threads to think you're going to read something interesting or pertaining to the thread but then realize it's just the same crap.

Dude, my post discussed Keith Williams, unlike yours and most of the ones up this page, so make sure you report yourself and the 5 or 6 others who have only posted personal attacks and religious names that have "ZERO" to do with either recruiting or Keith Williams and are an absolute violation of the rules of this forum.

As I have said many times, I am happy that Keith Williams is a Bearcat, and I am very excited about this team and this season. I am "cautiously" optimistic about the years to come...for obvious reasons. Chad, Jason, Jacob, and others that follow recruiting more closely than me, have all made great points about Williams' talents and what he will bring to the program. I will trust their judgement until they are proven wrong.

Additionally, when one poster or multiple posters make comments or posts that you, me, or anyone else don't agree with, we should be able to respond with our view as well. I was responding to posts made above that did not mention Keith William at all, but I made sure mine did discuss Keith Williams. Therefore...carry on. And, Go Cats! And, Go Keith Williams!!

 

[UCalum08]

Dude, my post discussed Keith Williams, unlike yours and most of the ones up this page, so make sure you report yourself and the 5 or 6 others who have only posted personal attacks and religious names that have "ZERO" to do with either recruiting or Keith Williams and are an absolute violation of the rules of this forum.

As I have said many times, I am happy that Keith Williams is a Bearcat, and I am very excited about this team and this season. I am "cautiously" optimistic about the years to come...for obvious reasons. Chad, Jason, Jacob, and others that follow recruiting more closely than me, have all made great points about Williams' talents and what he will bring to the program. I will trust their judgement until they are proven wrong.

Additionally, when one poster or multiple posters make comments or posts that you, me, or anyone else don't agree with, we should be able to respond with our view as well. I was responding to posts made above that did not mention Keith William at all, but I made sure mine did discuss Keith Williams. Therefore...carry on. And, Go Cats! And, Go Keith Williams!!

This is comical. Your last post was 99% complaining about how poor UC has fallen (expectations) recruiting rankings and what other schools are doing that we aren't. Then you don't add anything about Williams except, yay we landed a mid ranked recruit who may turn out well lol. Don't kid yourself LT, call a spade a spade here. You literally just repeat yourself in every single thread.

I could care less if your opinion is different than mine. I'm glad we have differences. But don't keep repeating your same spin in threads where it doesn't belong. You might want to create your own threads to voice your disappointment in our coach and program.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Waite, nobody said what Mick has done is terrible. You make great points. However, no matter how positive you spin this, it is still a long way from our ceiling. Yes, it looks good. But, it can be so much better than this, and it has been. There are lots of teams with 4 and 5-star players sitting behind existing starters. That is what you want. That is better than 3-star players waiting behind existing starters. NTS is 100% correct. It's sad that we can now only get 3-star players with an occasional 4-star mixed in.

Take for example that basketball powerhouse to the south....Auburn. I don't think if you asked 1000 people who has the better program a few years ago that even 1 person would answer Auburn. They've had 7 straight losing seasons. They currently have the number 1 recruiting class in the nation per Rivals for 2017. They've signed a 5-star and (2) 4-stars to a program with 7 consecutive losing seasons. Why? It's simple. They hired a decent coach who can recruit and who plays an exciting brand of basketball.

#2 on the Rivals list is another basketball powerhouse...Washington. Four straight non-20 win seasons. 5 straight seasons not making the NCAA.

How about #4 on the list....Western Kentucky in good old Conference USA. They've signed a 4 star and a 5-star. Western Kentucky hasn't been even ranked in the top 25 since 2003.

Then there's Illinois who had a losing season last year and hasn't made the tourney in 4 years.

Virginia Tech hasn't been ranked in 6 years and hasn't made the NCAA in 10 years and only once in 20 years.

These are all Rivals TOP 10 recruiting classes for 2017. Why don't all these so-called big changes in college basketball affect these pathetic programs? Why can these pathetic programs get blue chip signees and the University of Cincinnati can't? I am proud to be a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy. I refuse to make silly excuses for why we can't do better. I know we can do better and most of our fanbase is just like me and NTS.

Bravo for the signing of Keith Williams. He looks like a good player. He may become a great player. He may lead us to an NCAA title. However, the overall recruiting picture is still sad when these are the best players we can get and some fans continue to make excuses why this is the best we should expect, and are actually elated each year even though we never sniff a Top 25 recruiting ranking.

Wow! Mick must be doing a bang up job because he has out performed all those programs and they are beating the snot out of him in recruiting. How about this lets see out of all those schools who has the best 3 year run from this year going forward. He has already outperformed them to this point. Lets also see if any wind up on probation or have issues with graduation rates. I'd say that would be a fair comparison. That way we can stay away from the obvious things like P5 conference affiliation and all the other things that have been beaten to death that may impact recruiting. We can deal with results.

 

[NKY Bearcat]

He can't get out of his own way. I am not sure how L-T enjoys life looking for the negatives. Or just being driven by an overwhelming hatred of Mick.

Our team has made 6 straight NCAA Tournaments, the next 4 years look promising, but our recruiting classes don't rank high enough? Of all the high ranking recruitment classes mentioned, L-T also pointed out their consistent failures. Winning in college basketball isn't about a single recruitment class. Its about building a program, and getting the correct players to fill your teams needs. Mick has been doing a great job of that.

 

[UCalum08]

He can't get out of his own way. I am not sure how L-T enjoys life looking for the negatives. Or just being driven by an overwhelming hatred of Mick.

Our team has made 6 straight NCAA Tournaments, the next 4 years look promising, but our recruiting classes don't rank high enough? Of all the high ranking recruitment classes mentioned, L-T also pointed out their consistent failures. Winning in college basketball isn't about a single recruitment class. Its about building a program, and getting the correct players to fill your teams needs. Mick has been doing a great job of that.

Well said.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Well said. ��

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As I have stated many times I am happy with our Coach, Players and program. A few more wins and I'd be over the top happy. Recruiting players like Kevin Williams is fine with me. Love to watch kids grow as players and adults. Running 5 star recruits though here every year does not interest me at all.

 

[Bearcat513]

This thread is pertaining to the recruit, Keith Williams. Please keep it on topic. Thank you.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

This thread is pertaining to the recruit, Keith Williams. Please keep it on topic. Thank you.

Yeah...I'd say if 'Keith Williams', 'Williams', or some other direct reference to him doesn't appear in your post, probably don't post it in here.

*If you want to respond to someone and you know it will lead to a coaching/state of the program conversation, I'd suggest maybe copying the post you're responding to and pasting it with your response in the right thread. People are looking specifically for recruiting updates in these player profile threads.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Jake on that note let me say Williams sounds like a multi skilled player that will work hard, blend his talents to fill the needs of the team. His AAU squad has well prepared him to blend his skills to what the team needs to excel. He has demonstrated the ability to work hard and wait his turn and in many instances do the dirty work needed to help win games. He is a team first recruit that could have the skills to develop into much more then that. I might add most successful teams need players of this mentality. Him coming here with the players in front of him says a lot. He wants to win and is not afraid to compete.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Waite, nobody said what Mick has done is terrible. You make great points. However, no matter how positive you spin this, it is still a long way from our ceiling. Yes, it looks good. But, it can be so much better than this, and it has been. There are lots of teams with 4 and 5-star players sitting behind existing starters. That is what you want. That is better than 3-star players waiting behind existing starters. NTS is 100% correct. It's sad that we can now only get 3-star players with an occasional 4-star mixed in.

Take for example that basketball powerhouse to the south....Auburn. I don't think if you asked 1000 people who has the better program a few years ago that even 1 person would answer Auburn. They've had 7 straight losing seasons. They currently have the number 1 recruiting class in the nation per Rivals for 2017. They've signed a 5-star and (2) 4-stars to a program with 7 consecutive losing seasons. Why? It's simple. They hired a decent coach who can recruit and who plays an exciting brand of basketball.

#2 on the Rivals list is another basketball powerhouse...Washington. Four straight non-20 win seasons. 5 straight seasons not making the NCAA.

How about #4 on the list....Western Kentucky in good old Conference USA. They've signed a 4 star and a 5-star. Western Kentucky hasn't been even ranked in the top 25 since 2003.

Then there's Illinois who had a losing season last year and hasn't made the tourney in 4 years.

Virginia Tech hasn't been ranked in 6 years and hasn't made the NCAA in 10 years and only once in 20 years.

These are all Rivals TOP 10 recruiting classes for 2017. Why don't all these so-called big changes in college basketball affect these pathetic programs? Why can these pathetic programs get blue chip signees and the University of Cincinnati can't? I am proud to be a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy. I refuse to make silly excuses for why we can't do better. I know we can do better and most of our fanbase is just like me and NTS.

Bravo for the signing of Keith Williams. He looks like a good player. He may become a great player. He may lead us to an NCAA title. However, the overall recruiting picture is still sad when these are the best players we can get and some fans continue to make excuses why this is the best we should expect, and are actually elated each year even though we never sniff a Top 25 recruiting ranking.

Agreed completely. Williams seems like a good pick up. He's got the potential to be a versatile college glue guy. In my opinion, a program that has made 6 straight NCAA Tournaments should not have the prized recruit be a fringe top 150 player. BTW that is unfair to the kid too.

 

[JackBauer151]

Agreed completely. Williams seems like a good pick up. He's got the potential to be a versatile college glue guy. In my opinion, a program that has made 6 straight NCAA Tournaments should not have the prized recruit be a fringe top 150 player. BTW that is unfair to the kid too.

Not exactly fair to him to classify him that way before he has even played his senior year. You know who else was a fringe top 150 guy after his junior year? Gary Clark. Oh and Jacob Evans. Every national evaluator Chad talked to said he was underrated. If he stays at the 150 level you have somewhat of a point. Outside of the top 25 prospects it can be a crap shoot. From there get them on campus and lets see what they can do. I think they locked down 3 guys that fill 3 great roles. Is there a superstar in there? Probably not. But sometimes you gotta fill your roster with guys who are going to be part of a foundation. Recruiting has been pretty damn good recently by the way. Clark, Evans, Cumberland, and Washington are all big time D1 players. Much better than JD3, Chek, Jermaine Sanders, Shaq Thomas, Deshaun Morman, Jamaree Strickland, and Gelwan Guyn.

 

[UCalum08]

Not exactly fair to him to classify him that way before he has even played his senior year. You know who else was a fringe top 150 guy after his junior year? Gary Clark. Oh and Jacob Evans. Every national evaluator Chad talked to said he was underrated. If he stays at the 150 level you have somewhat of a point. Outside of the top 25 prospects it can be a crap shoot. From there get them on campus and lets see what they can do. I think they locked down 3 guys that fill 3 great roles. Is there a superstar in there? Probably not. But sometimes you gotta fill your roster with guys who are going to be part of a foundation. Recruiting has been pretty damn good recently by the way. Clark, Evans, Cumberland, and Washington are all big time D1 players. Much better than JD3, Chek, Jermaine Sanders, Shaq Thomas, Deshaun Morman, Jamaree Strickland, and Gelwan Guyn.

Man your last two sentences are crazy to sit and look at the comparison. Such an upgrade in recruiting.

 

[TrillCosby]

Not exactly fair to him to classify him that way before he has even played his senior year. You know who else was a fringe top 150 guy after his junior year? Gary Clark. Oh and Jacob Evans. Every national evaluator Chad talked to said he was underrated. If he stays at the 150 level you have somewhat of a point. Outside of the top 25 prospects it can be a crap shoot. From there get them on campus and lets see what they can do. I think they locked down 3 guys that fill 3 great roles. Is there a superstar in there? Probably not. But sometimes you gotta fill your roster with guys who are going to be part of a foundation. Recruiting has been pretty damn good recently by the way. Clark, Evans, Cumberland, and Washington are all big time D1 players. Much better than JD3, Chek, Jermaine Sanders, Shaq Thomas, Deshaun Morman, Jamaree Strickland, and Gelwan Guyn.

This.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Not exactly fair to him to classify him that way before he has even played his senior year. You know who else was a fringe top 150 guy after his junior year? Gary Clark. Oh and Jacob Evans. Every national evaluator Chad talked to said he was underrated. If he stays at the 150 level you have somewhat of a point. Outside of the top 25 prospects it can be a crap shoot. From there get them on campus and lets see what they can do. I think they locked down 3 guys that fill 3 great roles. Is there a superstar in there? Probably not. But sometimes you gotta fill your roster with guys who are going to be part of a foundation. Recruiting has been pretty damn good recently by the way. Clark, Evans, Cumberland, and Washington are all big time D1 players. Much better than JD3, Chek, Jermaine Sanders, Shaq Thomas, Deshaun Morman, Jamaree Strickland, and Gelwan Guyn.

Great post Jack!!!!!!!!!

 

[cincycpaw]

Man your last two sentences are crazy to sit and look at the comparison. Such an upgrade in recruiting.

Definitely an upgrade. Now, with better talent, Cronin should compete for league titles......and win in the first round of the NCAA. Looking forward to seeing it

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I'm really excited to see this kid in a bearcat uniform. Looks like a great all around, tough player. Welcome aboard, Mr. Williams!!

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I'm really excited to see this kid in a bearcat uniform. Looks like a great all around, tough player. Welcome aboard, Mr. Williams!!

Dave I like this class considering Broome is part of it as well. Mick has the team positioned very well. Looking for a nice season.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

Dave I like this class considering Broome is part of it as well. Mick has the team positioned very well. Looking for a nice season.

I don't dislike the class. I get the grumblings on wanting a "bigger name" but at the end of the day there's plenty of great players that aren't recruited highly. Basketball, especially the college game, is as much a chess match (meaning mental and gameplanning) as it is pure athleticism. The reason small schools can be successful is because they can build rosters of competent players that complement each other and play smarter than their opponents that might seek the highlight reel plays rather than play fundamental basketball. With all that said, we're not a small school. Great coaches can still get the more talented players to come in and play fundamental, smart basketball. Coach K is obviously the start and end of the best at that to me. So moving forward if Cronin is the answer we need more success on the court, championships in the conference and sweet sixteens and at least occasionally better in March. That turns those three and occasional four star players into four and occasional five star players. I really like everything I hear about Keith Williams. I think he is the type of player that will play well regardless of rank or where he goes to school. Like had he ended up at Valparaiso or somewhere, we'd hear his name in March eventually. So great get on Mick's part. We have another scholly and I'd love to see a successful year this year allow us to snag a big name in the spring. And there is a realistic thought that Clark and/or Evans could blow up and leave early after this year. Not saying it will or won't happen or they should if given the opportunity but you never know. As far as Broome goes, I'm not as hyped as maybe I should be. I just still don't know if we'll ever see Mick unleash the offense. A player like Broome is like Jenifer, Shaq, Gelawn, Davis, Wilks, JJ, Kelvin Gaines, etc. Recruited for an uptempo, run madly all over the court style and yet can't be successful here under Mick's half court gameplan. I get why he has backed off it each and every year and part of me agrees, but at some some point the style you recruit for and the style you play has to match. Just saying. You can argue Broome's numbers he put up already and I will point to what Gelawn did his senior year last year at another school. Certain players can play well elsewhere but might not fit here. I hope I'm completly wrong and it is just speculation on my part, but that's my honest opinion on Broome right now. I'm just afraid he might be handcuffed here. And with that said I have no problem with whatever style we play, you just have to recruit for that style exclusively and own it.

 

[westsidecat]

Much better than JD3, Chek, Jermaine Sanders, Shaq Thomas, Deshaun Morman, Jamaree Strickland, and Gelwan Guyn.

Oh please, the same people that are hyping this "Great" recruiting class were saying the same thing about these guys.

It's what this board does. Mick lands someone and he becomes the new "diamond in the rough" guy. Mick has such a "great eye for talent" and so on and so on.

Read the Broome thread.