5-Star G Mikey Williams Aiming to Play in College Rather Than Jump to Pros
June 9, 2022
Mikey Williams, a 5-star guard ranked 15th in 247Sports' composite rankings of 2023 men's basketball recruits, will head to college before pursuing a professional career.
Williams' father, Mahlon Williams, told Eric Bossi of 247Sports that they "are all-in on college."
Williams gave some clues two years ago about his college destination when he put out a top 10 of Alabama State, Arizona State, Hampton, Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina Central, San Diego State, Tennessee State, Texas Southern and USC.
However, Williams' father noted a lot has changed since then:
"It was his top 10 when he put it out. You have had coaches change, Covid and so many things have happened since then. You have this transfer portal, right? Hey, he may want to go to this school, but the transfer portal may say we've got two guards better than you.
"So, at the end of the day he's still going to college, and we are still trying to figure out what does that top five or top ten look like now that you have a Puma deal, now that you have the transfer portal and all of these things are going to impact his decision to choose a school, so we are reshaping it."
Williams is highly rated industry-wide. ESPN ranks him 21st in the class of 2023.
Williams has options at his disposal after he completes high school in 2023.
Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga entered the 2021 NBA draft after playing for the G League Ignite and were selected No. 2 and No. 7, respectively. Potential 2022 lottery pick Dyson Daniels also played for the Ignite.
Jean Montero of Overtime Elite, a league that pays 16-to-18-year-olds six figures to play ball as a conduit to the pros, should hear his name called on draft night.
Williams could also go overseas like LaMelo Ball, who played for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's National Basketball League before being drafted third overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 2020.
However, it appears Williams will go the college route. His father explained why while acknowledging the paths he could take to the NBA:
"If we don't take the college route then we've got still got the professional route. But he still wants to be a kid and he wants that college environment and I'm like this; I'm like you go to college, you do what you do and then you let the coaches dictate if or when that time comes that you are going to be highly sought-after pro. It may not be after year one, it could [be] after year two. You don't know long you are going to have to stay there but just trust the process when you get there."
Williams is a 6'2", 175-pound combo guard. He began his high school career with San Ysidro High in his home city of San Diego before transferring to Lake Norman Christian School in North Carolina as the COVID-19 pandemic affected high school sports in California. After playing his junior season with Vertical Academy while attending classes at Lake Norman, he'll return to San Ysidro for his senior year.
He averaged 23 points, six assists and five rebounds for Vertical last season, per John Maffei of the San Diego Union-Tribune.