Morgan William becomes breakout star of tourney
DALLAS - During the recruiting process, coaches used to tell Morgan William to keep in touch the same way an employer would talk to an interviewee who has no shot at landing the job. They told her to save their numbers; they’d get back to her. They didn’t mean it.
Three-star prospects in high school who are 5-foot-5 don’t receive many returned messages. It turns out that holds true even for skilled players like William, who was the AL.com Birmingham player of the year as a senior at Shades Valley.
“I don’t want to say their names because I know they missed out on an opportunity,” William said.
Vic Schaefer and Mississippi State associate head coach Johnnie Harris didn’t squander that chance. Harris said she noticed a “no-lose attitude,” someone adept at deflecting passes and making big-time plays after watching William guide Shades Valley to comefrom-behind wins. In Harris’ mind, William was Schaefer’s kind of point guard.
Schaefer ended up meaning it when he told William he was interested. He shared a vision of what MSU could be and what William’s role in the process would look like. William believed.
“After every game,” William said, “I would always tell Coach Vic Schaefer, ‘Thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity because you believed in me when no one else did and I just can’t thank you enough for it.’”
The funny thing is Schaefer has reason to thank William these days.
William’s buzzer-beating jumper from the elbow in overtime ended UConn’s 111-game winning streak and sent Mississippi State into the national championship. The Bulldogs will play South Carolina Sunday (5 p.m., ESPN).
William, a junior, transformed from under-recruited high school prospect to above-average SEC starting point guard in her first two seasons with MSU. Now, she’s the NCAA Tournament star. In the Elite Eight against Baylor, William scored 41 points with several big shots in the fourth quarter and in overtime to seal the Bulldogs’ win.
Baylor continued to leave William open. UConn didn’t deny her the ball at the end. They both took losses.
“Everybody has doubted Morgan,” Breanna Richardson said. “She says even when she was young, people would always talk about how short she was and everything. With her, it’s heart over height. You can’t just dictate someone’s caliber of skill based on how short they are. You have to take them for who they are. Morgan is making a statement for that across the world.”
After the game, William was trending on Twitter. Well, kind of. Many incorrectly spelled her name “Morgan Williams” on Twitter, so Morgan Williams actually was trending.
“I guess it still counted,” William said.
Some things don’t change for William — even after she proves them wrong. She is used to it by now, though. Her new fame has revived the old questions (and doubts) about her height.
“Whatever the paper says, that’s how tall I am and I really don’t know,” William said. “I don’t think it really matters right now.” Evidently, it doesn’t. But William is at her best when she’s operating with a chip on her shoulder. The Final Four win over UConn provided the latest example. Mississippi State had a shot to win it in regulation, but William’s shot was blocked in the paint during the final seconds. She said that play in the fourth quarter was on her mind in overtime.
“These moments are made for her,” Dominique Dillingham said.
The Bulldogs have seen William make important plays all season. The heroics were shocking because they happened; not because it was William who got it done. William averaged 10.6 points per game this season before the tournament started. She had 151 assists against only 71 turnovers in 33 games (all starts).
Seven of those turnovers were committed on March 5 in the Bulldogs’ SEC Championship loss against South Carolina.
William didn’t need a reminder. For her, the added incentive, which is that chip on her shoulder, never really goes away.
“This game,” William said, “I’m not going to have the same amount of turnovers. I am going to be taking care of the ball.”
South Carolina, based on what William has done recently, likely shouldn’t doubt that.