Unclassified and often underestimatedEric Williams became a conduit for the Ducks’ midseason push.

Through Shane Hoffman | February 7, 2022

Eric Williams Jr. (50) leaps to shoot for the basket. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

This article originally appeared on The I-5 hallway.

Eric Williams Jr. didn’t want to be known as the leading scorer on a team where success was rare.

The figures were historic, but unsatisfactory. A place in the record books, distinctions; it was empty.

In his eyes, they proved nothing.

“I think winning games and being on a winning program means more,” said the Oregon senior men’s basketball wing. “I think it helps you move forward.”

Williams Jr. broke out as a high school student after transferring to New Haven — a 30-minute drive from his hometown of Port Huron, Michigan. for college.

There, he set a Duquesne freshman single-game record for points and rebounds, leading the team in both categories throughout his two-year stint in Pittsburgh. He broke a school record of nine 3s in a game as a freshman and scored 40 once as a sophomore. He had arrived, edging his way out of Michigan’s under-the-radar hoops scene and into a full-fledged Division I success.

But it was a lack of team success — a 35-29 record in two seasons at Duquesne and no NCAA Tournament appearance — that pushed the 20-year-old west to Eugene, where he became a middleman for the Ducks. surge from the season to his second season with the team.

Williams Jr. just wants to win, and for this iteration of the Ducks, that means coming off the bench for the first time in his career.

De’Vion Harmon (5, right) lifts Eric Williams Jr (left) after Williams fired a shot from half court to end the first half. The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team takes on the Oregon State Beavers, Jan. 29, 2022, at Matthew Knight Arena. (Serei Hendrie/Emerald)

Midway through his senior season in New Haven, Williams Jr. called his then-AAU coach, Greg Boler.

Time passed.

The Division I propose he so desperately desired had not come, and Williams Jr. was ready to settle down, ready to commit to Davis & Elkins, a small Division II school in West Virginia.

Michigan’s basketball scene is under-recruited. No fault of Talent, rather the archaic rules of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. Teams cannot travel more than 300 miles for games during the season, which limits access to tournaments and competitions. Nationally televised game shows were also released.

“[Their rules] should have been changed 20 years ago,” said Wendell Green Sr., Principal of Michigan Playmakers. Williams Jr. played for the Detroit-based AAU program until high school.

The state has a single AAU shoe circuit team (private AAU leagues sponsored by shoe companies Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour). These teams receive money and materials from companies on an annual basis and often participate in national tournaments. Some states have three or four. The Family, in Detroit, is Michigan’s only program.

“It hurts the kids image-wise,” Green Sr. said. “A lot of our best kids left and went to prep schools and other high-level programs.”

Williams Jr. was never part of The Family. He also didn’t have the flashy shoes or gear, and he missed the chance to show off his talent at national tournaments. Talk about the lack of exposure with a 10-inch growth spurt in high school and you can begin to see why the records he set as a freshman at Duquesne came as such a surprise.

“There are more kids that can be seen,” said Auburn point guard Wendell Green Jr., who played alongside Williams Jr. on the Michigan Playmakers. “There are definitely a lot of kids coming out of Michigan who are under-recruited, but a lot of kids can play.”

Williams Jr. garnered a slew of NAIA and Division II offers after becoming one of the state’s top talents as a junior.

But Division II was not the goal.

He averaged 20.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.5 steals per game as a senior and was named Prep Hoops Class B Player of the Year.

Surely a Division I school could have used this?

“A lack of stars by your name, sometimes these coaches just don’t take the risk,” Green Sr. said.

Message from Boler: “Don’t let anyone force you. If you feel like you can play at the Division I level, hang in there. Bet on yourself.

A week after the state championship, he came. Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot took the risk that many others wouldn’t.

Williams Jr. was going to Division I.

Eric Williams Jr. screams after hitting a half-court shot to end the half. The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team takes on the Oregon State Beavers, Jan. 29, 2022, at Matthew Knight Arena. (Serei Hendrie/Emerald)

After a series of lower-body injuries in mid-December 2021 led to an unusual fall, Williams Jr. found himself as Oregon’s sixth man: a career low in minutes (27), points (8.5) and rebounds (4.9), the consequence.

It could be easy to blame Williams Jr.’s dip in production for the Ducks this season on regression or a slack year.

But take a closer look.

The Ducks (15-7, 8-3 Pac-12) are 10-2 since being benched. Six of its nine double-digit scoring games are on the road, where this Oregon team has had its best wins. He is shooting 42% from 3 points, the best of his career.

“I just play my same game,” Williams Jr. said. “I never really cared about coming off the bench or starting… It’s a team. We all win or we all lose… I’m not going to worry about myself.

He will often remain on the pitch in the team’s greatest moments. “Sixth Starter” may be a better title for the striker.

“You’ve got a guy coming off the bench who’s as good as any of your starters, can go for 20 too [points] and win a game for you, man, you’re in a great place…” said assistant coach Mike Mennenga. “These cats are important in a winning team.”

Last season was the first in more than six years that Williams Jr. was not his team’s leading scorer. He adapted. He’s now become the Ducks’ defensive troublemaker on the perimeter.

“When he’s locked in and focused, there’s probably no better defender in the Pac-12,” Mennenga said.

This is the scary part: Those close to the sixth man believe he has yet to unlock his athletic potential.

Oregon Ducks forward Eric Williams Jr. (50) blocks a shot. The Oregon Ducks take on the Florida A&M Rattlers at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon on December 9, 2020. (Maddie Knight/Emerald)

The 30 minute drive round trip to New Haven High School. The one-hour Detroit slog for AAU practices and games. Road trips to local tournaments.

It all added up.

By the time Williams Jr.’s mother, Clarice, gave the family’s 2008 Chevy Impala to a friend, it had driven more than 300,000 miles.

“It was our life when Eric started playing basketball at the age of four,” Clarice said. “We missed so many weddings, so many activities. Our family vacation was traveling for AAU.

There were also countless visits to NAIA and Division II schools. They would drive for hours to see a few, eventually covering half a dozen. Family and close friends questioned the decision. Everyone in Williams Jr.’s corner believed he could do better. Why spend time and money visiting schools he would never have attended?

“I taught Eric to be humble,” Clarice said. “We want to go visit everyone.”

It took a pinch of that same humility for Williams Jr. to come to terms with his role as the sixth man in what could very well be his final season before attempting to venture into the pros. It wasn’t instantaneous. But remember, Williams Jr. just wants to win. And when the victories came, his fingerprints smeared on each one, he found himself at peace with his new role.

“I could see him on the bench,” Clarice said. ” He was smiling. He was jumping. This is the Eric I know.