Prospect Spotlight: Rodjericus Williams (2020)
The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Gainesville rising junior Rod Williams? Intensity.
One of the most fiery players on the Florida Splash Elite squad, Williams has extremely quick hands and in the last game I watched him play, thieved four steals in the first half.
His outlet passing is crisp, can hit the three from any spot, and even if a pass is late in-transition, Rod can finish, strongly.
But at the end of the day, defense gives him life.
“When I come in, I think about (defense) first, because to get your offense flowing, you HAVE to get your defense going,” Williams said. “I look forward to defense, because once we get moving & I’m pushing the ball, we start putting buckets on the board.”
When it comes to offense, Rod is comfortable pushing the break and creating opportunities for space to open up on the floor. Although, if the break is stopped, he admits that he can sometimes get caught over-dribbling, waiting for movement to happen.
This is an area of his game he’s vowing to work on, as well as broadening the areas of which he can shoot in the midrange. From the elbow is a spot Williams can easily knock it down.
When asked about where he wants to take his game going into his third year, Williams said he’s doing what’s necessary to become one of the most all-around guards in the city.
The mindset to do so is already evident.
“If it takes me the whole summer, me and my coaches,” Williams said sternly, “then that’s the work we have to put in.”