Colorful Williams to boost RP team

He’s been nicknamed "Red Man" and played as a Golden Grizzlie. Now, he wants to wear the red and blue and sun and stars of the Philippine team. His name is Kelly Williams.

Williams, listed as a 6-foot-5 forward, played every game in four seasons for OU in the NCAA Division 1 Mid-Continent Conference, averaging five points and 4.5 rebounds a game, with highs of 19 points and 12 boards. Williams, whose mother hails from Cebu, graduated second on his team in rebounding and steals, and third in assists and three-point shooting.

In only his fifth day in the country, the product of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit — where he was co-captain in his senior year, measured himself against the other candidates of the PBA Philippine team, and held his own, hustling, blocking shots, and even getting up for a dunk in traffic. Williams also displayed solid fundamentals, and a decent outside shot. Not bad for someone who hasn’t overcome jet lag yet.

"The first day was pretty good," Williams told The Star. "I’m still trying to get a feel for the style, the plays. But it was pretty good."

The communications graduate revealed that, he was interested in working behind the scenes in radio and television, but basketball has provided some great opportunities. He also admitted that, although he had never seen a PBA game, he had received plenty of warning about it.

"Hmm, rough," he smiled. "I’d never seen a game until I got here. They told me to be ready for the physical play. But I grew up in physical play, so I’ll be able to adapt to it pretty quickly."

In the NBA, Williams loves players like Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady, whom he describes as "big, agile players who can play every position," and gushed when he found out that T-Mac was coming to the Philippines in September. Williams will be moving into the RP Cebuana Lhuillier training facility in Las Piñas, and splitting time between there and the PBA national squad at the Ateneo de Manila’s Moro Lorenzo Sports Center. He always knew that he would come to the Philippines, and learn more about his motherland.

"It was a decision I’ve kind of been thinking on since high school. When I started playing, a lot of people said I should go back home and play. It stayed in my mind. I had a successful career in high school, so I got to play Division 1 in college. My mom said my best interest would be to graduate before I did anything, so even through college it’s been on my mind."