By Elizabeth Lowe
Twitter: @ReviewLowe
Despite playing in intense basketball games on Fridays and Sundays, Mount St. Joseph High School standout Kameron Williams finds time on weekends to volunteer.
Williams, the reigning Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year and a senior at the Irvington school, serves meals at My Brother’s Keeper, a faith-based nonprofit that helps those in need in Irvington, and coaches youth basketball at Bentalou Recreation Center in West Baltimore where he played growing up.
“I see myself in a lot of them,” Williams said of the youths he coaches. “It’s very grounding because you see how you first started out and see how good you can become.”
Williams began playing at age 2 when “my dad put the basketball in my hands.”
He has played on youth and club teams since age 5.
“I love the competition,” said Williams, whose eyes light up when he talks about the sport. “It puts my mind at ease.”
In his first two seasons on Mount St. Joseph’s varsity, Williams scored more than 1,000 points, said Pat Clatchey, the Gaels’ coach.
Williams is a talented scorer and shooter, “which makes him very dangerous as an offensive player,” Clatchey said.
The 6-foot-2-inch guard is also a team player.
“I do whatever my team needs me to do to win,” said Williams, 18.
His talent is “a gift God has given me,” said Williams, a Christian who works “to do everything God wants you to do.”
He attended the former parish school of St. William of York, Ten Hills, from kindergarten through eighth grade and is grateful for his Catholic education.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” Williams said. “It’s a place I definitely needed.”
Williams, who has a 2.85 GPA, earned a full scholarship to Ohio State University. He will play on the Buckeyes’ basketball team, a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Williams plans to major in criminal justice or sports management, but wants to play professionally.
“For me to have the best chance to go to the NBA, I have to work on my weaknesses,” Williams said.
Clatchey, who teaches physical education at Our Lady of Victory School in Arbutus, said Williams “leads more by example.”
“I consider him more of a man of action,” said Clatchey, who added that Williams has an “assertive, confident demeanor” on the court and is “a very proven and productive player.”
Kraig Loovis, Mount St. Joseph’s athletic director, said Williams “makes plays sort of effortlessly.”
“We’re really proud of his accomplishments, not just on the court,” Loovis said. “He’s given the school a lot to be proud of.”
Jim Doherty, Williams’ English teacher, said he is “good to have in class. He brings that same spirit and intensity to the classroom that he has on the basketball court.”
Kameron Williams
Mount St. Joseph High School
Senior
Credentials: Volunteers at My Brother’s Keeper and Bentalou Recreation Center in West Baltimore; basketball player for Gaels; 2012 Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year; full scholarship to Ohio State University
Copyright (c) Jan. 6, 2012 CatholicReview.org
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