Making Her Presence Felt

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It was, she says, one of the hardest decisions of her life.

After spending the first four years of her college career at Michigan, Cameron Williams found herself at a crossroads.

She wanted to challenge herself, push herself out of her comfort zone, and grow – both on and off the basketball court.

So, Williams opted to enter the transfer portal and before long, the 6-foot-3 forward found herself having conversations with a coach whose system she knew well – Tricia Cullop.

In back-to-back years, Cullop’s squads at Toledo had handed Michigan – and Williams –tough losses. After both those games, Williams had walked away impressed with how hard Toledo played, how poised the Rockets were and how Cullop had inspired her players.

Turns out Cullop had walked away from those matchups impressed with Williams, too.

And now that Cullop was the head coach at Miami, working to build a roster that could hold its own in the competitive ACC, she wanted Williams with her in Coral Gables.

“The only way that we beat them was that we sent a lot of pressure her way. We double and triple-teamed her because she’s so good,” Cullop said. “I mean, she can score with either hand. She’s strong. Had we not done that, I don’t think we would have beaten them. That shows you how much respect we have for Cam. …

“I think we all knew what she could bring to our program.”

Williams, ultimately, made the decision to become a Hurricane and join Cullop in Miami.

Nine games into the season, she’s already proved every bit the force her new head coach was hoping – and expecting – she’d be.

As Miami (8-1) prepares to open conference play Sunday at Pittsburgh (6-5), Williams is the Hurricanes’ second-leading scorer, averaging 12.3 points per game.

She is also Miami’s leading rebounder, averaging 6.7 boards per game and she’s already notched three double-doubles, the most recent coming in last week’s 81-63 win over Bethune-Cookman in which Williams had 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Additionally, Williams leads the conference and is second in the nation in field-goal percentage (70.4).

Now, with ACC play on the horizon, Williams says she’s ready to help Miami continue building on its early-season success and hopefully, in the spring, help the new-look Hurricanes put together a memorable March run.

“I think the ACC is a very tough conference. I feel like a lot of teams are really, really good and I think for us, I want to see us have a hungry mindset,” Williams said. “I want us to be relentless, and I want us to shock the world because no one really expects much from us because we’re so new. I think to do that, we’re going to have to go into practice, go into film, go into every game with the mindset that we want to dominate, and we want to start off strong and we don’t want people to even feel like they can get comfortable and play with us. … I think going into ACC play, you’re going to have to change your mindset and want to be dominant and want to be hungry because it’s going to be tough, and we have to be ready.”

Playing with toughness is nothing new for Williams.

The daughter of 14-year NBA veteran Aaron Williams, who spent time with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and others, Cameron Williams grew up in a basketball family.

She learned the game from her dad and practiced often with her older sister, Danyelle, a former collegiate volleyball player at both Northwestern and Tulane, and her younger brother, AJ, now a junior guard at Carthage College.

Everything between the siblings was intense and that, Williams said, helped shape her into the competitor she is today.

“I remember when we were younger, we would always go to the gym with my dad. And me, my brother, and my sister, we would play the game of 21 and it would become so competitive that sometimes, we’d have to walk out because it would get so heated,” said Williams, who also played volleyball and ran track growing up before settling on basketball exclusively. “But looking back on it, it’s funny and I’m really appreciative of it. Being able to grow up with my siblings and my dad, just playing basketball together, those are some of the best moments of my life.”

Added Aaron Williams, “Growing up, everything was competitive for them. Even now, to this day, when she comes back in the summertime to work out, we go to the gym with her brother who plays basketball and sometimes we just have to stop because they’re about to fight. But that competitiveness is what makes them good. And Cameron’s always been tough. … She’s always been the tough one. To see her channel that onto the court is kind of funny because most people would never think that she’s like that, because at the same time, she’s also the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet. … To see her use that toughness and competitiveness to really play her role and be pretty good and help her team win, it’s fun.”

Though Williams was young during her father’s NBA career and doesn’t remember much of watching him play, she’s watched his film and been told – often by her mother, Heather – that her physical style of play resembles her father’s.

That, Cameron Williams says, is a badge of honor.

“He was very physical, and I feel like he was a very dominant presence, so honestly, I see similarities and my family tells me that all the time, like my mom, because she was obviously there with him,” Williams said. “He was a very composed player and sometimes, I feel like he masked his emotions very well and I also do that in my game. … Nowadays, you see post players who are shooting threes, and you don’t really see the traditional back-to-the-basket post. He was that and I see that in myself, being one of those traditional post players. So, I see a lot of similarities there, which makes me just have to really appreciate all the knowledge that he’s given me.”

Williams has already used that knowledge to grow her game, to earn a college degree and now, is hoping to use it to win a championship at Miami.

She’s eager to see how things develop for her and her new team as they prepare to start conference play and says she’s ready to leave it all on the floor during her final season of college basketball.

“I would say a successful season is just being able to leave with no regrets,” Williams said. “And I think that just means putting our all out there every single game. I don’t want to have any regrets when the season is over. I want everyone to know what Miami basketball is all about and just how great we can be. … I think it’s so special to be part of this new journey.”