Recruiting

Four-star guard Kenny Williams has Michigan’s attention

Four-star class of 2015 wing guard Kenny Williams has Michigan’s full attention. Wolverine head coach John Beilein watched the 6-foot-4 shooting guard at Peach Jam last weekend and was watching him in Louisville on Thursday at the AAU Super Showcase.

Michigan isn’t the only school keeping a close eye on Williams, the No. 79 prospect in the country. He’s drawn plenty of attention from elite programs across the country. VCU is close to home and Indiana has one of his good friends (freshman guard Robert Johnson) on the roster, but the Wolverines have made their mark on Williams with their player development program.

“The player development is the main thing I like (about Michigan),” Williams said. “You can see that they develop their players. They get them in the gym and they work them hard. And their hard work pays off.”

They get them in the gym and they work them hard. And their hard work pays off.

Williams is known for his three-point shot — he shot 44% on threes in EYBL play — but he focuses more on the simple parts of the game and playing it the right way. His description of his game is likely music to John Beilein’s ears, a coach who praises ‘hitting singles’ in pressure situations rather than going for the big play.

“I think I make the right basketball plays when they need to be made,” Williams said. “I try to make the right play. I don’t think people give that as much credit as it needs to be given.”

Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, VCU and Georgetown have been the schools showing Williams the most interest this July. Three of those schools – Michigan, North Carolina and Georgetown – have yet to extend scholarship offers. Williams’ recruitment is likely to shift in the next month depending on who offers him a scholarship and who opts to go in a different direction.

He plans to talk things over with his family after the live evaluation period wraps up and begin to take unofficial visits in August before trimming his list.

“Right now, me and my dad’s head, we’re probably going to take these two weeks in early August to take visits, take a couple unofficial visits and then that’s when I’ll end up cutting down my list,” Williams said. “I don’t know if I’m going to cut it straight to five yet. I might cut it down to a little bit more and then cut it down to five. I should have a solid list by the start of September.”

Making the cut for Williams’ services will require a scholarship offer, which means that the Wolverines will have to get Williams on campus before he trims his list. With Michigan leaving for Italy on August 15th, John Beilein and his staff are potentially working against the clock to get a visit setup.

“I’m taking the time to cut my list down because I want my list to be schools that have all offered me,” Williams said. So I’m going to wait and see which schools have offered and go from there.”

Quotes special to UM Hoops from Alex Bozich of Inside the Hall.

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