http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/11/01/
sports/college_sports/c832b9ddd5b1be6286256dd00082e8ea.txt
Valpo picks up Maryland forward
Aris Williams becomes third member of Crusaders' 2004 recruiting class
BY SEAN P. HAYDEN
Times Sports Writer
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When Aris Williams transferred to Georgetown (Md.) Prep before the start of his junior year -- it was his third school in three years -- he said something just clicked right away, and he felt like he had been there forever.
So when Williams got that same feeling last weekend on an official visit to Valparaiso, he didn't hesitate.
The 6-foot-9, 210-pound small forward called Crusaders coach Homer Drew on Wednesday night and verbally committed to the program.
"Basically, I felt like I already fit in there," Williams said. "The first day there, I went right into one of the player's rooms and played video games. They took me in there like I had been there for years.
"They kind of extended their hands to me and accepted me right off the bat."
Williams is an intriguing pickup for the Crusaders. According to his high school coach Dwayne Bryant, Williams is a true small forward with unlimited athletic potential.
"Aris can shoot the ball, put it on the floor, he's got great legs and can defend anything from a two to a four," said Bryant, a former standout guard in the mid-1980s for John Thompson at Georgetown. "Like I told the coaches, the only reason he wasn't recruited higher was he wasn't very active in the summers his first couple years in high school."
That said, Williams averaged a scant 4 points and 3 rebounds per game, playing on a frontline that includes a pair of potential prep All-Americans in 7-0 center Roy Hibbert Jr, who has committed to Georgetown, and 6-9 Davis Nwankwo, who currently is leaning towards Arizona.
"This year is definitely going to be a coming out year for me," Williams said. "Before, I didn't get that much exposure, but this year we have five of the top 25 teams in the nation on our schedule and I'm looking to put up big numbers."
Williams said he scored a 1280 on the SAT and is currently carrying a 3.4 grade-point average. He knows all about hard work.
"I'm usually the first person down the floor on defense," he said. "I've got a lot of athleticism. I can post up the smaller guys and take it right at the bigger guys."
The Crusaders began recruiting Williams only after receiving an e-mail from Bryant. Bryant then sent the coaching staff tape of Williams working out, and he got invited out for an official visit.
"The (Valpo) coach called me on Saturday and told me he was everything that I said he was," Bryant said. "He worked out with one of their guards (Miles) who I guess told the coaches, 'If we can get this kid, get him, because he can play.'
"I went to Nike Camp, I worked at Five-Star and he's definitely one of the top 25 small forwards in the country."
Williams joins 7-4 Kenny George of Chicago Latin and 5-11 Jarryd Lloyd of Niles West in the 2004 recruiting class.
Sean P. Hayden
Aris Williams commits to Valparaiso
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