By Tori Nothnagel/The Omniscient
In the 40-year history of Northwood, the school has never once won a championship in basketball. This may all change with the help of the new boys’ basketball coach, former UNC star Donald Williams.
Williams will be the new coach taking the place of Russ Frazier, who left for Leesville Road High School.
“I’m just happy to be here and I think so far all the people that I’ve met are great people at this school and in the community and I’m looking forward to [this season],” Williams said.
Williams played at UNC and was a starter for the 1993 NCAA national championship team. That year he also won the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.
“It was like a dream come true,” Williams said. “In the off season I really practiced all day every day and I was just hungry that year. My freshman year I really struggled, so that’s why I worked so hard on the off season.”
His number 21 jersey is one of the honored jerseys for the Heels. He says it feels “great.”
Having Dean Smith as a coach taught him a lot in basketball and life. Williams considers him as a “father figure” and mentor. Williams hopes to pass on some of the knowledge to the boys.
“He’s shown me the ins and outs, especially in basketball,” said William. “All the x and o’s about being disciplined, and just the things he taught you about life, and the values and morals about life, is something I want to teach to the young men. He just raised me to be like a young man.”
Williams wanted to pursue the NBA after UNC, but after being cut a couple times instead played overseas for 12 seasons.
After playing professionally overseas, Williams started a basketball academy in Chapel Hill called the Donald Williams Basketball Academy. He does private lessons, clinics, camps and AAU programs.
“[I started this program because] the love and passion I have for basketball and the knowledge I have for basketball,” Williams said. “ It goes back from what I learned from Coach Smith, I just want to feed and give back to all the kids who have an interest in basketball.”
Williams was the assistant coach last year to his old high school coach and “soaked up” all the knowledge he could from him, so he is now ready to take on being a head coach.
“My approach to coaching is teaching,” Williams said. “I’m teaching the game of basketball and the game of life to a group of young men that have goals and dreams and aspirations, not only about basketball about being successful young men.”
Williams also takes the student part of student athlete seriously. He believes the boys should be students first and athletes second.
His number one goal for this season is for the players to have fun.
“I do want to win, but at the end of the day I want the kids to have fun and represent Northwood and Pittsboro to the best,” Williams said.
Being the boys’ varsity head coach of a new school, Williams’ expectations are high.
“I think I have very high expectations, and I want to put that on the players,” Williams said. “I think that if I put that on the players then they’re willing to work harder.”
The players think it’s great having a coach with experience coming to “lead” the team.
Senior Adam Leviner said, “Because he’s been there and he’s been winning, he went to a national championship, he was a really good player at Carolina so he knows what he’s talking about and he’s going to be a really good asset.”
–By Tori Nothnagel