The recruiting timeline for one of the state’s top basketball prospects may have been unorthodox, but it sure made the final days of his high school years memorable.
Lincoln Williams, who has been the top uncommitted prospect in the state for months, graduated from Kankakee on May 21. The All-Area guard followed it up with a commitment to Illinois on Monday.
“I chose to stay home,” said Williams of choosing Illinois over his other two finalists of Virginia Tech and UNLV. “There is a bond I have with the assistant coaches and coach [Brad] Underwood, so I decided to stay home.”
As the weeks passed following a 29-2 season at Kankakee this past year, Williams kept hearing the question of where he was headed for college. It’s rare for a player who is arguably the top prospect in the class to be uncommitted following his graduation date. But there were self-inflicted obstacles that slowed the process and that he had to overcome.
“I don’t think a lot of people know, but I struggled with my grades my junior year,” Williams said. “I picked up all those offers my junior year, but then I got a little big-headed, missed some classes a little bit, and struggled with my grades.”
Williams was close to choosing a school early in his senior year. But each time a school saw the questionable grades from his junior year, the recruiting skid to a halt.
Williams then put together a big year — not just on the court but in the classroom as well. He recorded all As and Bs throughout his senior year.
“I know a lot of people were waiting on my decision,” Williams said. “I know they were wondering why isn’t he committing? When is he going to commit? But I was waiting for my final grade report.”
With his grades intact and commitment made, he now joins an Illinois recruiting class that includes five other incoming freshmen.
Kankakee coach Chris Pickett has watched Williams develop into an all-around player and says his former star will go down as “the most celebrated Kankakee player to date.”
“Lincoln’s development and production is a direct result of him being dedicated to the program, the school and the town,” Pickett said. “He wanted to show people that you don’t have to leave to develop and be challenged.”
The comfort and familiarity with Illinois — and Champaign being just 75 miles south of Kankakee on I-57 — were important factors for Williams in his decision-making. He’s very close with his family. With his mother passing away when he was just a 1-year-old, which is one of the reasons he wears the No. 1 jersey, the family has leaned on one another.
“It’s always been my dad, brother and sister — always us four being there for each other, being loyal to each other,” Williams said. “Without my mother, that’s how I grew up. Plus my sister went to Illinois for four years before she finished up at Notre Dame, so I was always around there as a kid.
“But it feels pretty good to be an hour away from where I grew up here in Kankakee. My support system is big and important to me, so I know my family is going to make every game.”
While Williams was highly productive in his career at Kankakee — he finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,853 points and put up 26 points a game as a senior — it’s always been about his upside. Everything Williams does as a player is seen through the lens of the physical attributes he possesses as a prospect.
As a long and rangy 6-6 wing with athleticism and perimeter skills, Williams passes the look test. He plays well in transition and is a threat for lobs and putbacks. And he brings the positional size and versatility Illinois has recently coveted.
His combination of size, lateral mobility, length and instincts lead you to believe he has the traits to develop into an ultra-disruptive defender in time. Williams already impacts with blocks, steals and deflections while playing the part of a Swiss-Army Knife.
In addition to adding weight and strength that should come naturally in time, what will ultimately lift him to another level will be the development of his jumper.
“I am going to go play in the toughest conference in the country,” Williams said of playing in the Big Ten, “so I have work to do. But I can’t wait to get to campus and get to work.”