You’ve probably witnessed explosive leaping and dunking by No. 23 on the St. John’s basketball team, but forward Ryan Williams is not only “Mr. Energy” anymore.
This Queens native has been with the Red Storm since last season, and he has appeared in all 27 games, starting three times.
Williams reached double figures in scoring three times and averaged 5.1 points and 4 rebounds per game. But these stats don’t define the Ryan Williams that you see on the court.
His ability to make spectacular plays and get the crowd hyped provides an element of entertainment that fuels the fans.
“Throughout the years I’ve been a dunker, and now I want to be known as the complete player, the guy you can’t leave open,” Williams said. “I think if I score a little more, then it’ll take the pressure off of Daryll and Lamont.”
Before Williams came to St. John’s, he played two seasons at Monroe College, where he helped the Mustangs reach the District III championship and the regional title.
He also played with fellow St. John’s teammate Daryll Hill at Cardozo High School in Bayside, N.Y. and captained their 1999 team that won the PSAL championship
Aside from his past achievements, Williams has been carving himself a name here at St. John’s.
He has been improving his perimeter game in order to be more versatile on the court.
“Ryan probably has had many highlights; he had a ton of highlights last year because he is very athletic,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said. “He can catch lobs. What we want Ryan to do, and he’s tried very hard to do, he has to improve his perimeter game.”
Roberts says that Williams, who was a center prior to college, has improved his ball handling and passing.
Hence, playing the perimeter against quick athletes has posed challenges that Williams has worked hard to conquer.
“I thought he did make some really big improvements last year,” Roberts said. “He really improved his shot and he became a guy that we really wanted to shoot the basketball, and we’ll want that again from him this year.”
Williams said that all summer long he polished his jump shot and tried to extend his range.
“I’ve been working on my jump shooting and my awareness on the court,” Williams said. “I’m not rushing as much.”
Williams plays a leadership role on this team that Roberts says is “only as strong as its seniors.”
Williams is aware of the role he plays on this team and knows that sharpening his shooting will make him an even more dominant force on the court.
