DENTON, Texas (7/20/09) – Quincy Williams had two paths to choose from once his record-setting basketball playing days were done at North Texas. He could give professional hoops a try like his brother and sister-in-law, or delve into the coaching world like his old man. Lucky for Denton Ryan High School he chose the latter.
Williams will stick around Denton for his first job as the freshman coach and varsity assistant for the Raiders after a stellar career that led the Mean Green back to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching my dad’s coaching for years and years, and working basketball camps as a sophomore in high school really got me thinking that the coaching field was for me,” Williams said. “I was close to pulling the trigger on a playing deal, but coach [Johnny] Jones threw out a position for me, and it ended up being a great foot in the door.”
The Forest Park, Okla., native finished his illustrious career ranked second in school history in blocked shots, ninth in rebounds and 24th in scoring. But the stat he’s most proud of; North Texas was 53-32 (62.4 percent) with Quincy in the starting lineup.
The 6-foot 8-inch gentle giant made just as much of an impression with his unruffled leadership as his athleticism. As the team’s unofficial spokesman he became just the third player in school history - and the first since 1950-54 - to play four years without a losing season.
With a resume like that Williams had multiple offers to play professional basketball after his senior campaign, and he gave them an earnest look. In the end, the allure of the whistle was too much.
Williams joined the Mean Green coaches as a student assistant, and would help add Harold Stewart and Justin Howerton to that list of players without a losing season. Quincy helped run drills in practice, cut game film and helped scout opponents, on top of countless other unwritten tasks.
“Quincy will do a tremendous job in the coaching profession because of his approach that he took as a player and as a student assistant with our program last year,” Jones said. “He has prepared himself to be successful in the coaching profession.”
