Blanche Ely star guard Williams commits to ’Canes via Twitter
Blanche Ely guard Ja’Leah Williams — arguably the top player in Broward County — will be staying close to home next year.
The Tigers 2021 star committed to the Miami Hurricanes on Friday, announcing her decision on her Twitter account.
Williams said the Miami coaching staff has kept an eye on her since middle school, and she grew close to them through training camps the coaches put on.
“They saw something in me before high school,” Williams said. “They were following me since middle school. What I really like is the camps — how people from the neighborhood just come to the camps and they teach them how they work, how they practice, just to show the kids how college is going to be, how hard they work, what they do and all that.”
Williams said the Miami coaching staff didn’t push her for a commitment, and they helped her become a better player before even arriving on campus. She said they advised her on better lay-up techniques.
“When I was getting recruited, I didn’t feel like they were rushing me,” Williams said. “They were giving me some pointers on my own game. I had a whole one-on-one call with coach
Kate (Meier) where she was telling me how to be a guard.”
Williams announced her commitment on Friday afternoon with a video she posted on Twitter. She detailed her journey to this point, involving recovery from back surgery, and thanked everyone that helped her along the way.
She was a first-team All-County selection as a freshman and as a sophomore before being named South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Broward County Class 7A-6A player of the year. She was also a Fab Five pick in 2018 and 2019. Williams averaged 18 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals per game as a junior. She helped lead the Tigers to their first state championship since 1992, scoring 10 points with five rebounds and four assists in the state title game.
“I want to try to make all my layups,” Williams said.
“And I’m going to try to put my team on my back. We’re going to be way better. We’re trying to go back-toback.”