Could Mikey Williams head to an HBCU?
By Robert Alfonso Jr.
When you watch the highlight videos of Mikey Williams one can clearly see the talent is off the charts.
While those videos tend to go viral, Williams stepped to social media and gave the basketball world something to ponder.
He tweeted, “Going to an HBCU wouldn’t be too bad …”
This went viral with more than 69 thousand likes, more than 14.5 thousand re-tweets, and more than 1,600 comments.
Williams soon was first offered by Tennessee State followed by Texas Southern and Norfolk State. Southern, Howard, and Grambling State have expressed a strong interest in Williams.
“He is a socially conscious kid,” the Compton Magic director Etop Udo-Ema said late Tuesday night. “He just gets it.”
Looking through Williams’ tweets the young man is aware of the things going on currently.
He has a photo edit with the phrase, “I can’t breathe.” These were the last words used by Eric Garner and George Floyd before their death. There has been protests and demonstration because of social injustice.
This week, North Carolina Central head basketball coach LeVelle Moton called out white coaches in the Power 5 to speak up about the racism against black and brown players they recruit.
“I have a problem with [their silence] because it seems as if black lives matter to them whenever they can benefit from it or whenever they’re getting the first downs, catching an alley-cop or shooting a [3-pointer] or whatever,” he said. “When it’s time for humanity to speak up on behalf of the student-athlete, it’s silent. It’s crickets. And my problem is if the murdering of black Americans is too risky of an issue for you to stand up as a leader, then who are they really playing for?”
Williams, a five-star prospect in the 2023 class, has an array of offers from many of these notable offers. Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Kansas, Memphis, New Mexico, Oregon, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UC San Diego, UCLA, and USC.
So, a player interested in being recruited by an HBCU program is rarely seen. Many highly recruited or highly ranked players never consider HBCUs. Could Williams be the first?
“He is the kind of kid who would do it,” Udo-Ema said. “He is a trendsetter. The funny thing about this I am re-connecting with these college coaches. We have players (in our program) going all over the country this year. This is going to open so many more doors for other players in our program.”
Williams, who attends San Diego’s San Ysidro, has refused to join a powerhouse private high school program in California. He understands how to make it out of the mud to become an elite player. His father, Mahlon Williams, was an All-San Diego Section first-team player in high school.
His mother, Charisse Williams, was an outstanding softball player at Hampton University. Mrs. Williams, whose maiden name is Thompson, had a .427 batting average finishing in the top 20 among all players across the country for Division I softball players nationally. She ranked second in runs batted in, first in doubles, and 24th in slugging percentage.
Her name is peppered throughout the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference softball record books. The shortstop was selected by the MEAC coaches as the 2000 Player of the Year. The Lady Pirates finished the season 33-16.
Unfortunately, a family emergency after her sophomore year forced Mrs. Williams to head back home to San Diego.
Now, the younger Williams is the talk of his class and Southern California for that matter. He scored a record-breaking 77 points this past season as a freshman, which also went viral. He refuses to just sit back and rest.
Since this global pandemic of the Coronavirus, Williams has not missed a workout at all. He has been in every open gym putting in some work without the access of a car or rides most times.
“There is nobody getting in more work during quarantine than him,” Udo-Ema said. “He just hustles to get to these workouts. He puts the work in.”
Last Friday, Udo-Ema drove to two hours from Riverside to meet up with Williams, who was returning from fishing. They went to deliver a birthday cake to a child who loves Williams as a player. He then went to cryotherapy before heading to an intense workout from 10 pm to midnight.
“That’s a little different for a 15-year-old,” Udo-Ema said. “He has that Kobe mentality.”
About the Author
Alfonso
Robert Alfonso Jr. is a graduate of Mount Sait Mary College. He has more than 20 years of journalism experience. Alfonso has helped build a basketball web brand in Georgia and has covered high school through college sports for publications in New York, North Carolina, and Georgia. His mission has always been to uplift the athletes who play sports providing them the exposure needed in this new media platform.