July 22, 2008

6:30 P.M. CST

Jacob Williams, a 6'5 class of 2011 wing from St. Patrick High School in Chicago, is a prospect who is not too well-known outside of his local area.  However, after watching him lead his high school team to the championship of the prestigious Oak Park Summer League, we have no doubt that everyone is going to be hearing a lot more about him in the future.

The Oak Park Summer League is always one of the most talented summer leagues in the state of Illinois and in addition to St. Patrick this summer's rendition featured quality teams such as Proviso East, Berwyn-Cicero Morton, Proviso West, Foreman and St. Joseph.  Therefore the fact that Williams helped St. Patrick defeat both Proviso West and Proviso East in the same evening en route to capturing the championship is no small accomplishment.

While Williams plays mostly the 3 on his high school team, we believe that he projects as an ideal 2-guard at the college level.  This is because he has outstanding size and range that extends beyond the 3-point arc.  Not only does Williams consistently hit shots spotting up, but he may be even better coming off the dribble, as he has solid ball handling skills which allow him to drive and get to the basket. 

Things that Williams needs to continue working on include his decision-making  in addition to adding strength in order to become a better finisher.  Above everything else, he is smooth and plays hard.  Williams is part of a St. Patrick team that features an outstanding array of young talent and athleticism, including 6'5 class of 2011 prospect Kourtney Darby and 6'6 class of 2010 prospect Mike Johnson.  Leadership comes from 6'3 class of 2009 point guard Tim Traversa, who is receiving D1 recruiting interest.  With all of this being said, we believe that St. Patrick could rank among the biggest surprise teams in Illinois this upcoming season and has enough talent to rank among the preseason top 20 teams in the Chicago area.

Williams competes on the traveling team circuit with the 15-Under Illinois Wolves (as does Darby). We really like Williams' up side and believe that he has all the tools to rank among the top ten players in Illinois from the class of 2011.  As he continues to make a name for himself and his reputation grows, remember where you heard it first!

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to recruiting and high school basketball in Illinois.