Jack Breslin Forum

Exploded on the AAU circuit. Izzo and staff have been following him all spring.

I'm going to go ahead and reply to my own post, after I just watched some highlights from AAU, this is the kid I WANT besides Parker in this class. Seems like he had a major growth spurt and now is completely blowing up. He is a freak leaper and looks to crash the boards every play. I think if james young is fixated on Kentucky, this kid is just as good. Hope we offer soon.

Wouldn't necessarily say he exploded on the AAU circuit. JWIII has been a top 10-20 recruit in the 2013 class since he was a sophomore. Calapari was coming to Memphis to watch him play this past season and JWIII was generally considered the best HS player in Memphis as a junior. Most analysts rated him higher than Jarnell Stokes who ended up skipping his senior year of HS and joining Counzo Martin's Vols squad in January. Stokes won SEC freshman of the week at least once too.

I heard rumors of Izzo showing interest in Williams when the AAU season started this spring. Memphis has as much HS basketball talent as any city in the country so I'd love to see the Spartans tap that pool as long as it's a kid like Williams. He, unlike a lot of Memphis kids, doesn't come with a bunch of baggage/handlers. The kid is an incredible talent.

Edit: They call him JWIII because his full name is Johnathan Williams III.

Per Dave Telep, he's visiting on the 28th, presumably for the OSU game. Jabari will be there as well

Dave Telep ‏@DaveTelep
Jonathan Williams (No. 34) aka J3, has been to Mizzou, Tenn and G'Town. Has Mich State (9.28) and Texas (10.12) remaining.

I posted this in another thread but it bears mentioning here as well. I am acquaintances with the Memphis Tigers beat writer and I asked him if Izzo had a legit shot at landing J3. He doesn't think MSU leads for him but he says they are definitely in the picture. He said his recruitment is "wide open." Memphis is in the picture along with the other teams Telep listed. The thought is, Memphis would take a commitment from another local kid, Austin Nichols, before J3.

The kid has a ton of talent but has dropped in the rankings. My post above mentions he was widely considered the best player in Memphis as a junior. That has changed and he's now behind two other local kids in the Rivals top 150. The knock on him is he's a little soft for his size and that he shies away from banging in the paint. Sees himself as more of a small forward when he is projected as a PF.

Soft for his size... Doesn't like to be physical in the paint?

Doesn't sound like a Spartans player to me. Why are we recruiting him?

Top 50 kid with an NBA frame?

He's a high school kid that has an NBA body and a ton of talent. I can't speak for Izzo but I don't think Tom would offer him if he didn't think he could toughen up the kid. He comes from a good family and is supposed to be very intelligent. A lot of kids these days, with his size and talent, want to be more of a perimeter player. It takes a coach like Izzo to mold him into a more all-around, complete player.

I'm no insider but I honestly think J3 is a back-up plan if Parker commits elsewhere. They are similar in size/skill set with Parker, obviously, being the more attractive recruit. Maybe Tom would take them both but I doubt J3 would come to MSU with Parker already on board. I was told that Williams wouldn't be committing anywhere until the spring. If Parker does decide in November and picks MSU, I don't see J3 coming to East Lansing.

Like I said, I'm no insider but I trust that Izzo wouldn't be wasting his time with a kid he didn't think would be a great player for State. Perhaps I was a little harsh in my comments anyway? I've seen him play against very good competition and dominate. What I said about him not being a banger was something I heard another cat say on a local radio show. Should have prefaced it with this...

The guy who was saying it was basically talking about why he wanted Austin Nichols to commit to Memphis over J3. It was NOT the Memphis Tiger beat writer I referenced but another local Memphis guy who deals in recruiting in Memphis. Every time I've seen Williams play, I came away very impressed.

Izzo with home visit yesterday. Seems to be going after him pretty hard.

Doubt it will be us if he's deciding then. Jabari or JY probation won't have decided by then.