This is the Patience Williams we have been waiting for

To whom much is given much is expected. That phrase may be Biblical in origin but it most definitely applies to basketball. When we see a player with God-given talent, length and athleticism, we get excited and expect them to achieve great things. That has certainly been the case with Patience Williams, the 6-foot forward from E1T1 2020 Premier. She is tall, she is long and she is one of the best athletes in the class. From the time we first laid eyes on Williams, we had her pegged as an elite-level prospect with a very high ceiling. It isn’t until recently, however, that she has finally begun to live up to those expectations.

Williams made the all-tournament team at the Battle of the Boro in Kentucky with a series of excellent performances. That’s no small achievement. Her solid play continued this week at the North Tartan Meltdown/AAU National Championships as E1T1 went 4-1 in the top 10th grade division. On Tuesday they came from 13 down at the half to score a 62-56 upset over Midwest Elite 16U EYBL of Chicago. Point guard Ali Karels of Rogers had an outstanding game as did Wayzata’s Alivia Arnabeck, who made some big baskets down the stretch. Williams did an admirable job despite giving up 6 or 7 inches to monstrous post Anne Awour of Rock Island, Illinois. “Patience has been very strong on both sides of the ball,” said E1T1 coach Michael Swann. “She has improved her dribbling and her shooting. Her game is night and day from where it was 18 months ago. She is definitely a division 1 or division 2 player and she is hungry to get there.”

Fighting the need to be perfect

The journey from talented prospect to college basketball player is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s more rollercoaster than magic carpet. Williams knows this thrill ride well, and after several years of highs and lows it’s all starting to come together. The first time I saw Williams at Fridley High School I could see she was a superior athlete with a world of potential. I mean, this girl can jump out of the gym and is an outstanding rebounder. She has also been really really inconsistent, particularly on the offensive end of the court. Some nights you’d swear she was headed for Division 1; other nights you would just swear. “Before this AAU season, with my high school team, I was either on or I was off,” Williams said. “If I didn’t play well in the first 5 minutes I would just shut down. I would just be an extra person on the court going through the motions.”

When we released the first rankings of the Class of 2020, Williams was in our top 20. Entering the summer she was at #35. The key for her is belief. Like so many young players, Williams has struggled with her confidence. Basketball is not a game of perfect, but some players find it difficult to let go of their misses and focus on their makes.

“I used to hate shooting because I used to hate missing,” she admitted. “When I would miss a shot I would just stop shooting. Now I am getting used to the idea that it’s OK to miss. You just have to keep going. You don’t always have to score… Coach Swann helped me a lot with that. I am a person who doesn’t like to make mistakes. Every time I would mess up I would look at him and say I was sorry. He’d say, ‘You don’t have to say you are sorry. It’s OK. Just keep going.’ I think it just came down to me telling myself that it’s OK to make mistakes.”

Coach Swann has invested countless hours in helping Williams improve. She has become a much more consistent shooter, and is far more versatile. Patience’s ball handling has improved and her overall court presence is much better. “I used to just kind of stay in the post because that’s where I was most comfortable,” she said. “Now I have expanded my game, expanded my knowledge to where I can shoot the ball and be more of a three or four instead of having to be a five.”

Overcoming the barriers

When we watch games and evaluate players we only know what we see on the court, but there can be all kinds of things going on behind the scenes in an athlete’s life that impact their play. Since arriving from Liberia as an infant, Williams’ life in Minnesota hasn’t been easy. As is often the case for kids in that situation, it can take assistance from caring adults outside of the family to overcome the barriers and achieve their potential. For Williams, that person is Coach Swann.

“He has done so much for me,” Williams said. “He has helped me grow to figure out who I am as a basketball player and who I am as a person. It’s just me and my mom, and things are kind of hard, but he has taken me in as if I was his own child. He helps me out with everything. It means a lot. He is like the dad I never had. I don’t have a lot of support from my family but I have the support from him. I don’t know what I would do without him.”

As a freshman at Fridley, Williams averaged nearly 13 points and 12 rebounds per game. Last season she was just short of 14 and 11. Williams plans to transfer this fall to Benilde-St. Margaret’s where she can continue working towards her long-term goals: a college education and a career as a pediatric nurse. D1 interest has been limited so far, but after the way she has played in June and July that may soon change. With two more high school seasons and a full summer of AAU ahead in 2019, there is plenty of time for the 16-year-old to shine. Williams is well aware that the key to her success lies clearly between the ears. “People tell me that I can be such a great player but sometimes I don’t see it,” she admitted. “I am trying to get it into my mind that I am a great player. I have been really working on that and I am trying hard to be the player that everybody says I am supposed to be.”

Top photo: Patience Williams (bottom right) is is part of a strong E1T1 2020 Premier team. (photo courtesy of E1T1)