Nyika Williams

By Jagdip DhillonRecord Staff WriterJanuary 08, 2010 12:00 AMSTOCKTON - Nyika Williams has spent the past six years in four different locations, a journey made possible by basketball.Williams was born in Kingstown, the capital of the island nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and spent the first 17 years of his life there. He then joined his brother, Burton Williams Jr., in Queens, N.Y., playing one year at Monsignor McClancey High School. From there he went to Great Bend, Kan., to play two years for Barton County Community College. Despite being a relative novice to the game, Williams' athleticism and work ethic earned him a scholarship to play at Pacific, which brought him to Stockton.The 6-foot-9 junior has been the primary post player off the bench for the Tigers, and coach Bob Thomason hopes Williams will blossom during Big West Conference play. Pacific (8-5, 1-0) travels to Cal Poly (4-8, 1-0) at 7 p.m. today in the first game of a road trip that will take it to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday."Nyika is very athletic and he can score around the basket, and we want him to do that," Thomason said. "Nyika is also a great young man. He has a great attitude and even when he hasn't played very much, he's remained positive."Williams, averaging 3.5 points on 64 percent shooting, said he trusts Thomason with his game, so he's not worried about playing time. Williams said he wants to learn as much as he can this season, and practicing against senior center Mike Nunnally and junior forward Sam Willard every day is a good way to do it. Willard said Williams is difficult to guard because of his long arms and jumping ability."He can really get off the ground and I've seen him do some crazy dunks in practice," Willard said. "Also, some players just have that ability to draw fouls and he has it because he uses his body really well."That's high praise for someone who just started "messing around" with basketball when his brother came back to Kingstown from Queens in 2003 and told him his height would make him a natural for the sport. Burton Williams Jr. was playing as a walk-on for Queens College and convinced parents Burton Sr. and Georgina to let Nyika move in with him in New York.Nyika Williams had played soccer, cricket and rugby as a child, but said he was turned off by the street ball that was being played on the island. There was a more serious type of ball being played in Queens. He quickly learned the game playing in New York summer leagues, and he credits the footwork he learned playing soccer for accelerating his learning curve in basketball. Williams also credits his knack for drawing fouls from his playing days in Queens."In New York, they rarely call fouls, so you look to draw contact and finish because they're coming to get you if you don't," Williams said.Williams was eventually recruited to continue his development in Kansas. After spending his first season as a role player for Barton, he broke out last season and averaged 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.Thomason compared Williams to former Pacific standout Guillaume Yango. The 6-foot-8 Yango was Pacific's primary post threat from 2003-05 and helped lead the Tigers to two of their three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances."I think he's going to be a heck of a player for us; it's just a matter of time," Thomason said. "We anticipate him being the starting center for us and the sky's the limit. He just needs fine-tuning to his game." reporter Jagdip Dhillon jdhillon@recordnet.com.
By Jagdip Dhillon
Record Staff Writer
January 08, 2010 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Nyika Williams has spent the past six years in four different locations, a journey made possible by basketball.

Williams was born in Kingstown, the capital of the island nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and spent the first 17 years of his life there. He then joined his brother, Burton Williams Jr., in Queens, N.Y., playing one year at Monsignor McClancey High School. From there he went to Great Bend, Kan., to play two years for Barton County Community College. Despite being a relative novice to the game, Williams' athleticism and work ethic earned him a scholarship to play at Pacific, which brought him to Stockton.
The 6-foot-9 junior has been the primary post player off the bench for the Tigers, and coach Bob Thomason hopes Williams will blossom during Big West Conference play. Pacific (8-5, 1-0) travels to Cal Poly (4-8, 1-0) at 7 p.m. today in the first game of a road trip that will take it to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.

"Nyika is very athletic and he can score around the basket, and we want him to do that," Thomason said. "Nyika is also a great young man. He has a great attitude and even when he hasn't played very much, he's remained positive."

Williams, averaging 3.5 points on 64 percent shooting, said he trusts Thomason with his game, so he's not worried about playing time. Williams said he wants to learn as much as he can this season, and practicing against senior center Mike Nunnally and junior forward Sam Willard every day is a good way to do it. Willard said Williams is difficult to guard because of his long arms and jumping ability.

"He can really get off the ground and I've seen him do some crazy dunks in practice," Willard said. "Also, some players just have that ability to draw fouls and he has it because he uses his body really well."

That's high praise for someone who just started "messing around" with basketball when his brother came back to Kingstown from Queens in 2003 and told him his height would make him a natural for the sport. Burton Williams Jr. was playing as a walk-on for Queens College and convinced parents Burton Sr. and Georgina to let Nyika move in with him in New York.
Nyika Williams had played soccer, cricket and rugby as a child, but said he was turned off by the street ball that was being played on the island. There was a more serious type of ball being played in Queens. He quickly learned the game playing in New York summer leagues, and he credits the footwork he learned playing soccer for accelerating his learning curve in basketball. Williams also credits his knack for drawing fouls from his playing days in Queens.

"In New York, they rarely call fouls, so you look to draw contact and finish because they're coming to get you if you don't," Williams said.
Williams was eventually recruited to continue his development in Kansas. After spending his first season as a role player for Barton, he broke out last season and averaged 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
Thomason compared Williams to former Pacific standout Guillaume Yango. The 6-foot-8 Yango was Pacific's primary post threat from 2003-05 and helped lead the Tigers to two of their three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

"I think he's going to be a heck of a player for us; it's just a matter of time," Thomason said. "We anticipate him being the starting center for us and the sky's the limit. He just needs fine-tuning to his game."

reporter Jagdip Dhillon jdhillon@recordnet.com.