The third day back at school after the holiday break began like any other for Shepard’s Amari Williams, but it went sideways in the blink of an eye.
The 6-9 sophomore was almost at school when the brakes failed and the car he was in caught fire.
“Me and my brothers eventually had to jump out of the car while it was moving,” Williams told Southwest Regional after the Astros’ 100-38 home win over Reavis on Jan. 30. “Yeah, it was bad. Good thing we made it out.”
Williams said he wasn’t afraid, surprisingly.
“In the moment, it wasn’t really nothing to be scared about,” he said. “It was just my first instinct — knowing that the car’s not slowing down and it’s on fire, you really only got one option. And on top of that, when the car ended up (hitting) the tree, it ended up in a big flame.”
Williams injured his right ankle while bailing out of the car. It was originally feared to be a fracture, but wound up being just a sprain. Still, it sidelined him for eight games and he didn’t return till a win against Eisenhower on Jan. 27.
He scored 11 points off the bench against Reavis as Shepard (13-12, 6-4 South Suburban Red through last week) won its fifth in a row. Also hitting double figures for the Astros in the romp were Billy Massey with 14 points, Danny McGovern with 12 and Brendin Thomas with 10. Dylan Arocho scored 12 for Reavis (7-14, 1-8).
This wasn’t even the worst ankle injury of Williams’ career. He missed his entire seventh-grade season after hurting his left ankle.
In any case, now he’s back and playing a key role in the Astros’ recent surge.
“He’s been fantastic,” Shepard coach Corey Wolf said. “The kids have embraced him, are glad to have him back. He’s worked hard to get back … got a lot of shots, got a lot of reps. It’s just a pivotal point in the season for us right now. … He just wanted to jump in and be a part of it.”
Williams averaged almost a double-double last season as a freshman, contributing nine points and eight rebounds a game. He came in wanting to take a big step forward this season.
“Last year, I feel like I was just getting used to it,” he said. “Going back and watching film of me from last year, I could really tell how the game has changed for me a lot. … I know it’s still things I could build on now. But I know I can see a big impact, difference from this year (over) last year.”
“He’s a great teammate, he’s a great person,” Wolf said. “He’s a better person than he is a basketball player and he’s a phenomenal basketball player.”