By Robert Wilson
Mike Williams raised his game to the next level in big games for Jackson Academy and led the Raiders to the MAIS Class 6A and Overall championship and a 36-1 record last season.
Now the 6-foot senior guard and Jackson State signee is doing the same for Germantown High.
Williams had 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals and led Germantown to a convincing, 72-54 victory over Columbus Saturday night at the BASSA Christmas Invitational at Mississippi College between the top two teams in Mississippi, according to MaxPreps.
For his outstanding performance, Williams has been named the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Boys Basketball Player of the Week.
Williams made 8 of 17 shots from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range, and 5 of 5 from the free throw line against MHSAA Class 6A Columbus, ranked No. 1 last week by MaxPreps. It was only the third loss for Columbus this season, the other two were to undefeated national power Hoover, Ala., ranked No. 8 in the nation by MaxPreps, and MHSAA Class 7A Tupelo.
He also had 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in a 65-45 victory over MHSAA Class 7A Clinton last week.
Williams – son of former NBA champion and NBA all-star and current Jackson State men’s basketball coach Mo Williams – is averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists for 12-2 Germantown entering this week. Both losses The Mavs have never had a winning season in the 15-year history of the school, but this year they are one of the favorites to win the 7A state championship. Germantown finished 14-17 and reached the 7A semifinals last season.
“Mike is the most focused player I have ever been around (in his 11 seasons as a head coach),” second-year Germantown coach Chris Love said. “The way he works on this game is remarkable. Mike has a tireless work ethic. He is one of the best scorers in the country. Because Mike scores so well, I think his defense is overlooked. He does a great job on the defensive end of the floor. Mike is a fierce competitor. He has been great for us.”
Williams – last year’s 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 and led JA to a 36-1 record and the MAIS Class 6A championship and Overall Tournament title (JA’s first since 2006, tying the most wins in school history and having the best record in school history) and was first team on the All-Metro Jackson team last season as a junior.
Williams – who signed with Jackson State to play for his father and also had an offer from Mississippi State – is rated the No. 2 player in Mississippi and the No. 21 combo guard in the country in the Class of 2025 by 247 Sports.
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 behind free throw percentage school record holder Rob Puckett, who made 85.6 percent in 2005-2006.
Mo Williams is considered one of best basketball players in Mississippi history. He averaged 13.2 points and 4.3 assists during his 13-year 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. 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, Williams was an assistant for two seasons at Cal State Northridge under Mark Gottfriend, who coached Williams at Alabama. Williams was head coach at Alabama State for two seasons and replaced Wayne Brent as Jackson State’s head coach two years ago.
This is the second consecutive year that the Williams brothers – Mike’s younger brother, Mason, is a 6-1 junior guard at Germantown – have 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 of last year.
Mike Williams is the son of Mo and Kesha Williams. Kesha is a graduate of Richland High and lives in the Dallas area. Mike has six brothers. Kydarrius played basketball at Madison St. Joseph and was a basketball manager at Alabama and now is an assistant coach at Jackson State. (update) Maurice Jr. graduated from JA last year. Mason is a junior and is Mike’s teammate on the Germantown basketball team. Max is in the sixth grade at JA. Asa is four years old, and Ezra is three years old.
Germantown – whose only two losses are teams from Texas – is schedule to play Little Rock Hall High Friday in the King Cotton Classic in Pine Bluff, Ark.
Mississippi Scoreboard selects a boys basketball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.
WEEK ONE: Phil Nelson, Ridgeland
WEEK TWO: Jamarion Fleming, Canton
