By Robert Wilson
Germantown High senior Mike Williams – rated the No. 2 basketball player in Mississippi and the No. 21 rated combo guard in the country in the Class of 2025 by 247 Sports – has decided to take his talents to Jackson State and play for his father, former NBA Champion and All-Star and JSU head coach Mo Williams.
Williams – who many consider to have SEC level skills – announced he has verbally committed to JSU this week.
“I made the decision to play for my dad because I believe we can do something special,” Williams told Mississippi Scoreboard. “I feel like it’s the best fit for me because as a coach he knows me best and he will put me in the position to be successful. Also, colleges weren’t offering me, just a lot of interest from almost every SEC school, but everyone was scared to pull the trigger. In my honest opinion, I will make everyone know my name for that exact reason.”
The only other Division I school to offer Williams is Mississippi State.
The 6-foot, 160-pound Williams decided to transfer from Jackson Academy to Germantown this summer. He played one season for Coach Jesse Taylor and JA, leading the Raiders to a 36-1 record – the best record in school history – and the MAIS Overall championship for the first time since 2006.
Williams – the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year – averaged 18.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.8 assists while playing an average of 24.8 minutes last season as a junior.
Williams – playing in the MAIS Class 6A, considered one of the toughest divisions in Mississippi – shot 49.5 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. He finished second in Mississippi in points per 32 minutes and 3-pointers made (86) and fourth in Mississippi in 3-point percentage.
Williams led JA in points per game, rebounds per game, steals per game, blocked shots per game and minutes per game, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage.
He set a school record with 103 steals this season (Matt Neil had 102 in 2000-2001) and finished second in school history with 696 points (Hastings Puckett had 818 in 1994-1995). Williams also was only 3.2 percentage points in free throw percentage behind school record holder Rob Puckett, who made 85.6 percent in 2005-2006.
Williams joins a program in Germantown that hasn’t had a winning season since the school opened 14 years ago. But that will most likely change this season.
The Mavericks are loaded. In addition to Mike Williams, his younger brother Mason, an excellent point guard, transferred from JA this summer. Also, Mikey Johnson – son of former pro basketball player Trey Johnson – transferred to Germantown from Vicksburg High at spring break and joined 6-10 junior center Sam Funches, the No. 1 rated center and No. 8 overall player in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports, who played for the Mavericks for the past two seasons.
Those four players make Germantown not only a contender for the MHSAA Class 7A state title, but also one of the most talented teams in the South.
Germantown finished 14-17 and made it to the Boys State Tournament and lost in the Class 7A state semifinals to eventual champion Meridian last season.
Mo Williams will be starting his third season as JSU’s head coach and Trey Johnson is one of Williams’ assistant coaches.
Mo Williams is considered one of Mississippi’s greatest athletes. He averaged 13.2 points and 4.3 assists during his NBA career, was an NBA All-Star in 2009, won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavs in 2016 and announced his retirement. He scored 2,433 points at Murrah and was named the Mississippi Player of the Year as a senior in 2001. Mo Williams averaged 25.7 points, 8.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 steals and shot 59 percent from the field, 51 percent from the 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line. He was the Sporting News National Freshman of the Year at Alabama and left the Crimson Tide after two seasons to enter the NBA draft. The 6-2 point guard was a second-round pick by the Utah Jazz and played for seven NBA teams.
After his retirement, Mo Williams was an assistant for two seasons at Cal State Northridge under Mark Gottfried, who coached Williams at Alabama. Mo Williams was head coach at Alabama State for two seasons and replaced Wayne Brent as Jackson State’s head coach.
“I couldn’t be more happy for Mike committing to JSU,” said third-year Germantown coach Chris Love, who won a state championship as a player at Canton in 1997 and won a state title as a coach at Velma Jackson in 2019 and coached for five seasons at Velma Jackson and three at Canton in addition to Germantown. “He continues to put in the work, and I can say without a doubt that JSU is getting a player who is not only talented, but also disciplined and coachable. It is a rare and special opportunity for him to play for his dad, and I have no doubt that he’s ready to embrace the challenge. JSU is getting a leader who will make an immediate impact, and I’m excited to see how he continues to grow and excel and in the next chapter.”
This is the second time in less than one year that the Williams brothers changed schools.
Mo Williams and Mike and Mason’s mom decided last fall that it would be Mike and Mason’s best interest to move from Dallas to Jackson to live with Mo. They decided JA would be the best fit and enrolled in October.
Jackson State finished 15-17 overall and 11-7 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, sixth in the league. The Tigers lost to No. 3 seed Texas Southern in the first round of the league tournament. JSU’s biggest win was a 73-72 decision at Missouri, the first victory over an SEC team since 1995 when it beat LSU.
There have been many players who played Division I basketball for their father.
The most famous is Pistol Pete Maravich, who averaged an NCAA record 44.2 points per game for his career while playing for his father, Press, at LSU, from 1968-70.
There have been many others who have had outstanding college careers playing for their fathers like three-time All-American and 2012 National Player of the Year Doug McDermott, who played for his father, Greg, at Creighton.
Tony Bennett set an NCAA 3-point percentage record while playing for his father, Dick, at Green Bay Phoenix in early 1990s.
And Bryce Drew, who Ole Miss fans will remember, made the winning shot for Valparaiso against the Rebels in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Drew was a conference player of the year and played for his father, Homer.
