PORTLAND, Texas — The Gregory Portland boys basketball team put together a strong regular season, finishing second in UIL district 29-5A. They've got good outside scorers, but it's their 6-foot-7 power forward, Shawn Williams, that's been a rising talent this season.
"His mid-range shot is definitely one of the best I've seen, especially from a young kid," Quaderrick Shaw, Gregory-Portland assistant basketball coach, said. "You can't teach the touch that he has as being a bigger person."
Shawn Williams has grown in height and more importantly technique since freshman year.
"It really happened when I was in high school, and like I got around my teammates," Williams said. "Because I've been with this group of guys since I was a freshman. They just kind of like pump me up. Energy, a lot of energy whenever we're on the court together."
This season, the 6-foot-7 junior forward is averaging 21.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
"He's definitely one of the hardest workers I've seen really, like in basketball," Trey Jones, Gregory-Portland senior shooting guard, said. "Like he'll be in the gym most of the week like after practice and stuff around 6 o'clock. He's always in the gym working."
Williams practices footwork, shooting and more about 6 days a week.
"I was pretty chunky freshman year you know what I'm saying," Williams said. "It was a big deal for me to get my body right and everything, and I've been able to jump higher, get faster and just get in a better position for my teammates."
A work ethic that has not skipped a beat, even after missing some offseason time due to a right leg meniscus injury.
"He was able to jump higher, but I think it's because he took care of his body during that," Sean Armstrong, Gregory-Portland head coach, third season, said. "He didn't gain weight. He lost weight, and he came back. This year he can really jump."
Williams is double-teamed most of the time in the paint, so it can get pretty aggressive down low. Now just imagine being his parent in the stands. The best way to help is by cheering.
"It definitely wasn't his most natural sport," Laurie Williams, Shawn's mother, said. "However he fell in love with it and has worked so hard, but for me it's just I'm excited for him. "I get more nervous for him than I ever did for myself."
Nothing made Laurie more nervous initially, than when she learned her baby boy was born with a clubfoot on his right leg. However, early surgery was a game changer. Just took a little extra work.
"Probably from the time he was 4-months-old in braces, and then around 8-months old he had his Achilles cut into," Laurie said.
Williams learned to walk in a cast, a skill he started accomplishing at 9-months-old. However, he needed to wear a hard brace until he was 6-years-old. Now as a junior in high school it rarely bothers him.
"I still have to do mobility stuff and like balance stuff with it, but it's not super major stuff," Williams said. "Then like some shoes I have to wear a brace. If it's a low shoe I have to wear a brace or it might give me problems."
The problem Williams and his sharp shooting teammates are trying to end is their program's drought. The last time G-P won a playoff game was in 2010.
"In the last like 20 years we've won three playoff games," Williams said. "Our goal is to make it to regionals and be one of the best teams in G-P history."
Up next, the Wildcats play Rio Grande City in the first round of playoffs.
