REACHING HIGH

CAC guard shoots for state title in fourth go

This is not a rerun. Among other honors, Central Arkansas Christian’s Christyn Williams is the Basketball Player to Watch — again. The 5-11 ambidextrous guard is also just the third twotime Gatorade Arkansas Girls Basketball Player of the Year. She will attempt to become the first three-time winner during her senior season as she aims to lead the Lady Mustangs to their fourth state championship — their first since 2007. “This is our last year to get it, so we’re working extremely hard right now,” Williams said. “We’re going to be a lot better. I think we have a lot more scorers this year.” As a junior last year, Williams averaged 26.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.1 assists per game in leading the Lady Mustangs to a 29-5, Class 4A state quarterfinal finish. After the season, Williams was one of two juniors named to the Naismith Trophy High School Girls All-America team. As a sophomore, she averaged 29.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.38 steals, .95 blocks and .81 assists per game in taking CAC to the 2016 Class 4A state-championship game, where the Lady Mustangs fell to Riverview. As a freshman, she helped the Lady Mustangs to the quarterwhere they fell to Star City. Over the past two summers, Williams has collected three medals — gold, silver and bronze — while playing internationally for USA Basketball. “Playing internationally has been really fun,” she said. “It’s helping me a lot just to see the diversity in basketball around the world. It’s very physical overseas, so that helps me.” Next summer, she’ll have an opportunity to represent Team USA in 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 play in the Under-18 division. Playing for Team USA last summer, she won a gold medal in the FIBA Women’s 3x3 U18 World Cup in Chengdu, China, and silver in the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Udine, Italy. In 2016, she won bronze with Team USA’s U17 World Cup team in Zaragoza, Spain. “ESPN calls her the best player in the country [from the class of 2018],” CAC coach Steve Quattlebaum said. “I’m prejudiced, but I think she is. … I can’t imagine there being another one who has everything she’s got. “She’s been an unbelievable player her whole career.” According to espn.com, Williams is the top-ranked guard and the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2018. For years, Williams has been inundated with scholarship offers. She recently completed official visits to some of the country’s storied programs — UCLA, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and UConn. She will sign Nov. 10. “We’ll probably find out who that day,” Quattlebaum said. “I’m not sure she knows yet.” Williams affirmed that. She narrowed her choices to UConn and South Carolina on Oct. 21 but said she didn’t yet know what her ultimate choice would be. “I have up until Nov. 10 to make my final choice, so I’m taking my time,” she said. Wherever she lands, the 3.6 GPA student at Mustang Mountain said she plans to study mass communication with a minor in African-American studies. Williams, a three-time all-state player, was named to the U19 squad in May, a day after turning 17. She was the only high school player on the 12-woman roster. After averaging 11.9 points (second on the team), 4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in U17 play in 2016, Williams scored 22 points over seven games in 3x3 play in June as the Americans knocked off Hungary, Japan, Switzerland and Australia in group play; France, the two-time defending champion, 18-14, in the quarterfinals; Russia, 17-10, in the semifinals; and the Czech Republic, 21-14, for gold. But in the U19 5x5 tournament a few weeks later, her playing time and numbers were down significantly. “More than anything, the other kids were older,” Quattlebaum said. “Most of them were two years older. Nearly all of them had played a year of college ball. “I think it took her a little bit to understand that, but she did. It will end up good experience for her, and she learned a lot from it.” Williams agreed she was disappointed by her playing time, stats — and the silver medal. “All of the above,” she said. “I was disappointed, but everything happens for a reason. That’s just one or two times I’ve encountered adversity, and just learning how to deal with it will definitely help me in the long run. “It humbled me. It was a reality check.” She said the experience taught her patience and perseverance. Those are qualities that will take her even further than she was already headed.