Williams still growing as he approaches 1,000-point milestone

Everything happens for a reason.  

For Omeechi Williams, his basketball journey began the same as most. Growing from elementary into junior high and high school, the Hamilton, Ont. product played his way into the National Junior College Athletic Association. 
 
However, the fit didn’t feel right.
 
“It was a path,” Williams said of his love of basketball. “It’s just something I always did. In elementary, I went to practice after school. It was just a scheduled thing like a routine. 

The Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School and St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic Secondary School product explored other post-secondary pathways in his home province but got the blunt message that he wasn’t good enough.
 
While that may have deterred some, it didn’t deter Williams who eventually connected with Keyano Huskies Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jeremy Wielenga.  
 
Now set to surpass 1,000 points for his Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) career, Williams will do it as one of the conference’s best and most-awarded student-athletes. He’ll also do it as someone who loves to flex, but holds up his end of the equation when it comes to doing the work required.  
 
“Every day I get in the gym, or anything I do I don’t take it for granted because I’ve been there and some guys don’t even know that,” Williams said. “Some guys think I’ve always been playing.”
 
Williams had to grow into his current role by starting on the bench throughout all of his rookie season in 2021-22. In the three seasons following he’s been hard to keep off the court with 42 starts in those 44 games.  
 
“He’s been a big part of what we’ve done right from day one,” Wielenga said. “Even as a rookie he played such an important part of the year we lost in the final and every year since then.  
 
“By his third year to be ACAC Champion, national champion, we don’t do it without him and his hard work. He’s helped put us on the map with his play as well.” 
 
He's now made the cut on the first and second All-Conference teams and earned ACAC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honours. Last year, he was a major part of the Huskies run to a conference and national championship, earning an All-Canadian nomination from the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) as well.  

“Just like anybody else in their first couple years of school, it takes them time, an adjustment and slowly become a leader and slowly becoming a man and looking out for other people around him and not just himself,” Wielenga continued. “It’s great to see him continuing to grow up that way and show that leadership on and off the floor.”   

What it comes down to is embracing the opportunity before him. To grow and thrive as he has in his first three seasons, Williams hasn’t taken anything for granted.  
 
While players like Sean-Michael Clancey led the offensive charge for the Huskies, it was Williams steadily growing from eight points in six minutes during his ACAC debut as a rookie to dropping 28 points by mid-February and shooting just shy of 60 per cent from the field. Every minute, every possession, every shot was an opportunity to prove his worth and hone his skills for the next challenge. 
 
“Other guys still had to produce and perform,” Wielenga said of Williams’ growth. “Especially when Sean would draw help, we looked at Omeechi to space the floor and make shots and he did that.  
 
“I think he’s expanded his game from just being a shooter to being able to do other things now. He’s always rebounding and always defending and that’s been important to our success all along.”  

You could easily call Williams a leader for the team, but he’d also be the first to tell you he’s not the only one.  
 
“I don’t really see it as a role I have,” he said. “We’re all leaders on this team. We all show it in different ways and that’s what makes us the team we are.”  

That’s a team also looking to prove that last year wasn’t a one-off either.  
 
The medals and rings are safely stowed away and while the banner hangs proudly, the team knows the slate was wiped clean at the start of the year.  
 
Now 5-1 and once again ranked as one of the top teams in the nation, Williams is hungry to prove himself to his teammates and to the opposition that he’s every bit as good as he’s become through the hard work he's put in. As well, the team hasn't swayed one bit from their goal this season. 
 
“We’re not satisfied yet,” Williams said. “We’re always definitely here working hard and we finally got to prove it. It’s just the first sip. We’re going to continue to do what we do, getting in the gym and working hard all the time.  

“The results will show.”