By Anthony Bosco
It was a surprise to me that Ryan Williams was playing in the Wheelchair Classic this past week. The 18-year-old former Cardozo High School basketball star had fallen off my radar since he left the Bayside school last year, bound for Redemption Christian, a prep school in upstate Troy.
Needless to say, after his performance in the annual charity tournament, I plan to keep a keen eye on Williams for the rest of his basketball career, no matter where he lands.
In the first of two games this week, Williams led the Queens team in scoring with 24 points, while in the second game he may not have been the most prolific scorer, but without question, was the star of the show.
The first time I ever heard the name Ryan Williams was probably when he was still a student at MS 158 in Bayside, but the name did not resonate until he took his game to Cardozo High School, a sophomore with the uncanny ability to literally soar head and shoulders above his opponents.
Back then Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio referred to Williams as “Little Savage,” a nickname that drew its influence from then-Rice High School star and current St. John’s standout Anthony Glover, known affectionately as “Savage” for his tenacious play under the boards.
Williams, like Glover, can play taller than his 6-foot-4 frame would otherwise indicate, mostly due to the fact that he has a leaping ability almost unmatched in the more than 10 years I’ve been covering high school basketball. He’s not as strong as Glover, but, boy, can he leap.
His ability to fly ala Michael Jordan was in full display Thursday night at Alumni Hall. Seemingly lost early in the game as Queens battled Brooklyn closely, Williams did not make an impact until late in the second half, with the game pretty much already decided.
Queens was down 65-47 with about 2:30 left in the third quarter when Williams scored his first points, an alley-oop slam from current Cardozo star Daryl Hill that set what seemed to be a largely disinterested crowd into a frenzy.
A minute or so later Williams was at it again. When Brooklyn turned the ball over in the offensive zone, an outlet pass found Williams alone at halfcourt. He took a few slow steps, measuring his leap, before exploding in the paint and soaring high above the rim for a Jordan-esque dunk that shook the building to its foundation.
It seemed that if Queens was going to lose, Williams was at least going to leave his own mark.
And surely that was accomplished before a bevy of college scouts and coaches who must have been foaming at the mouth.
If Williams’ future was based solely on his ability to dunk the ball, success would be all but assured. Of course, there is a lot more to success on the court, especially on the college level, than one’s ability to defy gravity.
While schools such as Hofstra, St. John’s, Maryland and Memphis have expressed interest in Williams, they will have to wait at least another year. He has not received the 13 core classes and accompanying SAT or ACT score to become eligible to play on the Division I level, forcing him to return for yet another year at Redemption, the same school that briefly housed current NBA star and fellow Queens native Lamar Odom.
And there are a few other obstacles as well. In a perfect world, Williams would be 6-foot-8 and play power forward, but he’s not. Nor does he possess the requisite perimeter game to be a bona fide two-guard, something that makes him what they call “tweener,” a four-letter word if ever there was one when it comes to basketball prospects.
“He’s an enigma,” Naclerio said of his former player. “He really doesn’t have a position, but he brings so much to the table. I’m sure all the low ones, all the mid ones and some of the high ones are going to recruit him. He reminds me of a wingman Anthony Glover.”
What makes this almost heartbreaking is that Williams seems a most likable young man, who is personable, funny and downright charming off the court, something also on display Thursday as he ribbed St. Francis Prep’s Rashad Bell after the final buzzer about Bell’s still-pending decision on where to play ball next year.
I spoke to Williams briefly after the game and told him it looked like he hadn’t lost a step since leaving Cardozo, where he helped the Judges to a city championship win two years ago. Williams, however, was self-deprecating in his response.
“I had to lose some weight,” Williams said. “I was fat.”
The joke may not translate on paper, but when a well-chiseled athlete who can leap like Williams complains about being fat, one cannot help but laugh, or even cry.
He also said he will definitely be back at Redemption another year and then hopes to latch on with a big-time DI program, maybe even St. John’s. But that’s a year and a half from now, a wait that must seem like an eternity for one with such ability and the knowledge that he can hang.
“Ryan is the type of kid who breaks your heart,” Naclerio admitted. “He’s his own worst enemy. He’s a great kid and I love him, but academically he sets his barometer too low. He does the bare minimum.
“Hopefully [Redemption is] having a positive effect on him,” the coach added. “He’ll definitely play DI. The longer it takes to get there it’s because of him. He’s a legitimate academic kid if he put his mind to it.”
And I for one cannot wait for the day.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
