Before They Drew X's and O's, Basketball 2013-14

Before They Drew X's and O's . . .

As you can imagine, many of the head coaches and assistants currently associated with city
leagues' basketball teams are former players. Since I'm ancient (smile), I wrote stories about
many of them during their high school careers.
We hope you enjoy this feature.
Would you like to see a story about someone who played in the Public, Catholic or Inter-Ac
leagues and is now a coach (assuming I did one on him)? Send me a note at tedted307@yahoo.com

Thanks,
Ted

This story from the 1996-97 season is about West
Catholic point guard Jasmine Williams, who's now in
his first season as the Burrs' head coach and almost
always goes by "Jazz." He played his college ball at
Manor JC and Millersville.

AT POINT GUARD, BURRS TREASURE HAVING WILLIAMS

by Ted Silary, Daily News Sports Writer

The basketball must be treasured . . . The basketball must be treasured . . . The basketball must be treasured.

Coach Bill Ludlow never made senior point guard Jasmine Williams write that sentence 100 times on a blackboard at West Catholic High, but there were times when he thought about it.

The 5-10 Williams is quick, confident and consumed with making the perfect play now. One problem: The perfect play is sometimes impossible and often low-percentage.

``When I was a sophomore,'' Williams said, ``coach Ludlow used to tell me Stephon Marbury [now with the Minnesota Timberwolves] would make 30 good passes and three great passes. ''

Yesterday, Williams shot 4-for-10 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the line for 14 points as the Burrs downed visiting Monsignor Bonner, 65-49, in the Catholic League Southern Division.

But as you surely realize, points are secondary for true, floor-general point guards. The important thing is being able to make your teammates better (he had six assists) and being able to - here it comes again - treasure the basketball (he had three turnovers).

``I used to get a lot of careless turnovers,'' Williams said. ``I'd try to start the offense way too soon and throw quick-hitters too far up the court. I mean, sometimes those passes are there and everything goes OK, but . . . You think you see something and you try to squeeze the ball in there, but just that quickly, the defense reacts and the pass doesn't make it.

``It bothers me pretty much when I make a bad play. I think, `I know I'm a better ballhandler than that. ' All I'm trying to do out there is be a leader and make my team better. ''

Right up until game time, Williams's status was questionable. He landed awkwardly on his right ankle Friday night in the Burrs' loss to St. John Neumann and was unable to practice Saturday. Yesterday morning, Ludlow took Williams to breakfast and the two formulated contingency plans.

It's-tender and it's-killing-me are two different things, though, and when Jasmine determined that his ankle wasn't feeling too horrible, he opted to play.

The city's top point guards, Simon Gratz's Jarett Kearse (West Virginia) and Archbishop Carroll's Martin Ingelsby (Notre Dame), already are signed for next season. Williams owns a spot in the second tier - perhaps capable of performing in the lower levels of Division I - and he's beginning to feel anxious over what the future will bring.

With an 83 classroom average and an 880 score on the Scholastic Assessment Test, he is eyelashes away from qualifying for freshman eligibility. He thinks he might want to major in communications, but if not, he intends to work toward securing some job or another related to sports.

``I've been getting talked to by people, but no one has put an offer on the table yet,'' Williams said. ``Rider [College] came to see me one game and they said they'd be back one more time. The rest of the interest is coming mostly from the [Division II] state schools.

Said Ludlow: ``We're happy with how Jasmine is playing. He's a great kid and we're sure it's going to work out for him. ''

Williams lives in Mantua near 39th and Melon. Though he lives full-time with his grandmother, JoEthel Williams, his mother, Zelma Williams, lives right around the corner and is also very involved in his life. Ditto for an older brother, Mann Johnson, and a cousin, Prentiss Johnson, who played at University City and is now in the Air Force.

``I have a supportive family, a lot of people are looking out for me,'' Williams said. ``The whole neighborhood, really. And then I've got my second family at West, led by coach Ludlow. I knew a while ago that I had the opportunity to go to college. I've gotten this far and I'm not going to let anything - whatever bad stuff might be going on out there - keep me from where I want to be. ''

Swingman John Ashmore, an impressive junior, led West in scoring with 19 points and added six rebounds. Wing shooter Chris Burgess (12) also scored in double figures while role players Harvey Renwrick, Gary Hamlin and Corey Brown supplied hustle. Chris Lester (12) and Scott Fremont (10) led Bonner.

After marching to an 11-0 nonleague record, West is 4-5 in the South and involved in the fight for fourth place with St. Joseph's Prep (5-4) and Cardinal O'Hara (4-5).

``We kept a level head,'' Williams said. ``We knew the competition in the South would be harder than what we played in December. We struggled for a while and we're fighting our way back.''