A 93-75 win wasn’t the only victory the Ohio State men’s basketball team achieved over Florida this week. The Buckeyes also beat out the Gators for one of the top center prospects in the country.
Amir Williams, a 6-foot-10-inch center from Country Day High School in Detroit, announced Wednesday his decision to play college basketball for coach Thad Matta and the Buckeyes.
Williams, who Rivals.com ranks as the seventh-best center in the country, waited until near the end of the signing period to choose OSU over Florida, Duke and Pittsburgh.
“He felt that it was closer to home,” said Kurt Keener, Williams’ high school coach. “Though more than anything else, he felt that the style of play at Ohio State, and the success they’ve had with preparing guys with going from college to the pro ranks, was what ultimately had him decide on the Buckeyes.”
Country Day has produced some high-caliber basketball players, including Chris Webber and Shane Battier.
Keener said Williams is solid defensively and has a nice mid-range game but still needs to work on his overall offensive game.
“There’s things that you can’t coach in a player. You can’t coach somebody to be 6-foot-10 or 6-foot-11. You can’t coach their passion for the game or their intensity. He has those things,” Keener said. “The things he has to work on, whether it be the footwork or the pump fakes, all of those things are very much teachable things. If he’s healthy and he listens and learns, I could see him being an All-Big Ten player with a chance to play in the NBA someday.”
