Duquesne MBB's Alex Williams Displays Growth In Return To Court
The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team was looking for a boost, in a Thursday evening game against Sacred Heart which featured 54 combined fouls, making it hard to keep a consistent pace and head coach Dru Joyce III called Alex Williams‘s name.
Earlier in the week, Williams had the opportunity to compete in a college basketball game for the first time in 603 days, a journey which started with a tear of his fifth metatarsal, and while setbacks would have made it easy to call it quits, he opted to move forward and give everything he had for one final season.
Injuries have been something Williams has had to encounter at times of his basketball career, but never has the toll been as much as this extended layoff was. Now he wants to use the same drive he had on the court to be the best teammate and player he can be while helping the team accomplish its goals. After all it was Joyce and his staff that stuck with him knowing he was hurt coming into Duquesne prior to last season.
“I’m at a point in my life where I feel I’ve grown a ton,” Williams viewed. “Looking back on when I was a freshman in college, the amount of growth in my mindset, in my physical presence and in all aspects of life have just grown tremendously. I just want to thank the people along the way that have built me into this version of myself. Coming back, being hurt was probably one of the hardest things I had ever been through because I was out for almost two years.”
It was at age three that Williams remembered playing at the YMCA, his first basketball memory, but as he grew up both football and basketball were active parts of his life. Once fifth grade was over, so was football, as the love for basketball, specifically the sound of an empty gym and the ball falling through the basket. When there were late nights, at times by himself, that swoosh was the only sound he needed to hear
Williams knew he could do something with basketball during his sophomore year of high school when he competed in the Under Armour Circuit C2K with Quincey Simpson, Zavier Simpson‘s father as his coach. His team made it to the championship game, ultimately falling short, but that year was the moment where the switch flipped.
What followed was offers from several mid-major programs including Kent State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Miami (Ohio) and Furman, where he ended up committing.
Furman stuck out because the players would reach out to Williams via FaceTime to check in and play video games with him. Those relationships remain to this day. Those years at Furman taught Williams that he had to change habits if he wanted to play professionally.
“I had to look myself in the mirror is this really going to help me to where I want to get to in the end,” opened up Williams. “If it didn’t, I just had to cut out certain things. First would be eating late at night. Your body is your temple, health is wealth so, you have to be healthy to achieve things you want to accomplish.”
While at Furman, Williams got the opportunity to experience the NCAA Tournament as his team seeded 13th upset Virginia 68-67 before falling to San Diego State in the round of 32. Williams had 11 points in that loss.
Despite the setback, it was still a good experience for Williams as he described a team beat the season prior in the SoCon Championship at the buzzer and that leading to a determination for a different date. It showed him what leaders have to do, what winning looks like and how selfless and invested one has to be in both team and program.
When Williams tore his fifth metatarsal, he had to get surgery. Williams would try playing again, but on his first day back, he broke it in another spot leading to a second surgery.
Duquesne became a home for Williams and the fact that a lot of individuals in and around the program were from Ohio helped as well. He already knew Joyce’s father was, knew VP of Athletics Dave Harper and played with his son as a kid.
Williams understood that Duquesne had good intentions for him and felt secure when got to campus, while bonding with everyone on the team. Much like at Furman, he expects these relationships will last beyond his playing days.
Last season was a disappointing one not just for the team, but for Williams as well given he was injured and never had the opportunity to play. Watching for the side was even tougher for him.
“Knowing what I know now and the experience that I have, it was hard for me not to lead by example on the team,” he observed. “It was super hard because we had really good players, a really good team, we just couldn’t figure it out. It was heartbreaking to watch at times.”
Though he did not play for Duquesne last season, Williams was known for his aux control in the weight room and there would be happiness in those moments because he could do upper body work and he felt included with the team. If Future or Brent Faiyaz was playing in the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse weight room, Williams likely had something to do.
Those distractions were huge for someone who did not have an opportunity to do what he truly desired to go, by far the hardest part of this entire process.
This offseason, Williams understood that he was out of shape, standing at 264 pounds and had to work his way back. He put the work in through programs set by sports performance coach Presley Gauch and also overseen by Senior Associate Athletic Director / Sports Performance, Sports Medicine & Welfare John Henderson.
Quitting was never an option for Williams, rather he knew he would be back and be better and the perspective of having more to life that basketball went a long way.
Williams recalled going to boxing club with Joyce and John Hugley IV just to keep moving and sweating, It was difficult to him but he liked that because he wanted it to be difficult for him. This rationale was because he felt like lived life on comfortable mode for almost two years, so for Williams he wanted something challenging to face.
The result was dropping 37 pounds, and now Williams is playing at 227 pounds. As Joyce said of his forward, he flipped it.
“I think it just starts with the mindset, it shapes your reality,” outlined Williams. “Me being hurt and not being able to play made me when I could come back, I wanted to go harder. I knew I couldn’t play the game at the weight I was at. That was too heavy, and I felt like I just needed to slim up. I feel that I’m a better basketball player when I’m in shape. I wanted to feel good again and be confident in my ability to just hoop. Now, I feel great, I feel healthy.”
Williams’s comeback was completed when he got to play the final four minutes against Niagara getting up a couple of three-point shots and grabbing a rebound, an instant reminder of just how far he has come and just an overall pleased feeling with being back out on the court with individuals who he goes to battle with daily at practices.
Those four minutes were a turning point for Joyce, who saw the effort and that made him feel confident to call his number with 2:16 remaining in the first half of what was a tie game against Sacred Heart at that point.
Williams proved ready for the moment making a layup in a circus-shot style to bring both the Duquesne bench and crowd on its feet. After a turnover, the four on the floor charged at Williams. The boost Duquesne needed came at just the right time.
The moment packed so much energy that nearly two hours later Hugley and Cam Crawford both emphatically nodded recalling the sequence of events.
“A Will came in and he’s a warrior man,” Hugley beamed. “He fought his butt off this summer, and we went through so much. Just to see him out there being able to change the temperature for us, it’s amazing. The kid has been through a lot, that’s like a brother to me, so just seeing him out there happy brought so much joy to my life.”
Williams was not done though as he was out on the floor when Duquesne seized control of the game and made its run to separate itself on the scoreboard. Just Williams and Hugley were present on the court during both runs.
Joyce and Crawford both expressed a mutual understanding that it was only a matter of time before Williams had such a performance that impacted Duquesne winning a contest.
“I thought he played some good basketball,” observed Joyce. “He ran the floor hard, he defended, he rebounded, got some extra possessions as well. I’m observing every minute. If he doesn’t treat those four minutes (Niagara) well the other night, I don’t know if I’d have enough confidence to go to him. He’s had a great string of practices the last couple weeks and I appreciate his willingness to stay patient and when ready play with that type of energy and effort.”
Much like Duquesne’s season, Williams’ return to form is in its early stages, but the perspective is one that the 2023 counterpart would have been plenty pleased with.
“I would say, just stay focused, there’s going to be obstacles on the road, but God has your back, your family has your back and all you have to do is stay focused and committed to your grind,” Williams concluded.
Photo credit: Duquesne Athletics
