It was a coming-out-party for Perry High School's 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Jalen Williams this weekend in New York @ The Rumble In The Bronx basketball tournament, as Williams would lead his I-10 Celtics 16U team to a semi-final finish in the U16 Division of the event.
In the process, Williams averaged 26 points per/game and displayed some superior shooting of the basketball in the event - raising many eyebrows of scouts and media in attendance in the process. Many marveled at this young man's ability to shoot the basketball and, flat out, play the game. Williams would convert numerous three-pointers in a row in his team's quarterfinal and semi-final match-ups to elevate his team. When defenders figured him out, he put the basketball on the floor and finished in the lane with a variety of floaters and dribble-drives.
Williams poured in 27 points in his team's big come-from-behind quarterfinal win over Sports U, an Under-Armour sponsored team, and then finished with a game-high 25 points in his team's loss in the semi-finals to Expressions Elite, a Nike EYBL team. Williams was absolutely terrific this weekend, and is well deserving of scholarship offers as a result.
While this weekend's massive tournament in New York was a dead period event, and there were no division-I college coaches present, it will be interesting to see what recruitment he generates from such a performance. Being an Arizona prospect in an East Coast event will make it more difficult, but either way he displayed a superior performance this weekend, which should give him the momentum to have a big July for himself.
Williams is already regarded by our staff as one of the better guard prospects in Arizona's 2019 class - a nice guard prospect with a high skill level and tremendous upside for the future. As a sophomore, Williams emerged as one of the better young guards in the state, and I look for him to only continue to improve a great deal over the next year.
While he is a nice looking prospect now, in a year this young man should see a dramatic rise in our 2019 Class player rankings over time. He is still growing a great deal and could get to 6-5 or 6-6 in height when it is all said and done.
Williams has a very bright future ahead of him, and is one prospect worthy of serious recruiting attention. His performance this weekend just proved what I have been saying all along about this young man.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Williams has an excellent ability to create off the dribble and finish plays with a slick handle of the ball. He has very good body control and is able to slash between defenders to get into the lane. Williams also has an excellent shooting stroke with unlimited range on his shot, which keeps defenses honest from anywhere on the floor, and sets up his drives to the basket and his mid-range game. He has a very quick release on his shot also which allows him to get his shot off. Williams has a long, lengthy and rangy body with huge feet and big hands, which suggests that he is still growing a great deal. Williams has extreme upside as a player, which suggests that he will only continue to grow a great deal and could get to be 6-5 in height when it is all said and done, which would intensify his college recruitment immensely. The amount of upside possessed by Williams is glaring and makes him a very intriguing prospect to me.
