Tahir Williams had it all.
Williams is a senior at Northeast High School, and he’s been a basketball player since sixth grade. As he’s moved up, he’s improved a lot.
He’s always worked hard on his shot.
He has always been very athletic and able to make plays on both the offensive and defensive end of the court.
And after working out for years with his dad, a former player at Martin Luther King, he came with a high basketball IQ.
Williams had it all, but one major thing was missing.
“It was a confidence and mental thing, that’s all that was holding me back,” said Williams, a North Philly resident who moved from bench to starter last year and is now a full-time starter. “We had a great senior class last year. We had star players. I tried to do anything I could to make their job easier. I couldn’t give all I needed to give. I tried to help. I played. I had a hip injury at the end of the year, but it was all season. I just didn’t feel right.”
He had two options.
Get going. Get working. He chose the second option.
He hit the gym, sometimes with his dad, sometimes with teammates, sometimes with his AAU team, sometimes all alone.
It didn’t matter what the situation was, he was working hard. He wanted to have a memorable senior campaign, and he knew if he didn’t make serious improvements, it would be another rough season.
This year? Anything but.
“Last summer, when I was playing AAU, I worked so hard and took a big leap,” said Williams, who leads the Vikings in scoring, averaging better than 12 points per game. “It was hard work and for AAU, I play against top competition. It was hard, but I was getting write-ups every weekend. I realized I was better than I usually am.
“I feel like this summer made it translate into my senior year. I feel like this year, I’m more confident. I had a rough junior year, but this summer really helped my confidence. Everything is different this year. I just feel better.”
It’s good, because that’s exactly what the Vikings needed.
Northeast played a tough non-league schedule and now sits at 3-2 in Public League play, 5-6 overall.
Williams is more than doing his part. He’s not only leading the team in scoring, he’s tops in assists and ranks second in rebounds. His offense has taken a huge step in the right direction and he still loves playing defense.
“This year, it feels great. I’m not going to lie, it feels real good,” Williams said. “I know that I have younger guys behind me who have my back and who care about how my senior year goes. It means a lot that the underclassmen are trying to work for us. It shows they really have our back. I believe in every teammate I have, I want them to be better than me when we step on the court. And a lot of them are getting there.”
Williams couldn’t be more thankful, either.
“I couldn’t do it without my guys, and everyone has helped me,” said Williams. “(EJ Parrilla, Nelson Ramierez, Andre Jones, Devin Garcia, James Walker, Ivan Aracena, Bryheem Brown, Marcus Alicea, Mark Jean, Mohoumete Fall, Josh Gomez and Kemar Gayle) have all helped me so much. We are really a team.
“The best part is the potential of the younger guys. Man. There is so much potential there. And because we have great coaches, they’re all getting better. We are a real team.”
After figuring out his present, Williams is now enjoying his senior year.
Though he’s a shooting guard, and a solid one at that, Williams just wants to help the team, and admits he enjoys seeing his teammates succeed as much as he does. That might come from being a point guard. It also comes from being a good teammate.
But he is now starting to focus on his future beyond Northeast.
He hopes to continue his basketball career in college, where he’ll major in engineering. He’s also interested in nursing.
“I am leaning toward more engineering because four or five years from now, we’ll need them,” Williams said. “That’s what we’ll need, electrical engineering. I do pretty well in those classes. Nursing? It was something that a friend of mine did. It’s interesting. It’s not my main thing, but it’s a great option to have.”
The school that gets him will get an honor roll student who is ready to help his teammates on and off the court.
He credits Northeast with helping him get that mentality.
“I have been lucky, I have great coaches here and great teammates,” he said. “Our coaches have helped us so much. They told me someday this was going to be my team. They saw it before I did. I just want to have the best senior year. We have so much talent and I want to see everyone do well.”
