Recent OSU Hoops Offer Donovan Williams Q&A

Oklahoma State offered four-star shooting guard Donovan Williams last week as Mike Boynton looks to put the finishing touches on his 2020 class.

I had the chance to talk with Williams over the phone Sunday evening for a quick Q&A for you guys.

Some background coming in: Williams committed to Nebraska, where he is from, back in August of 2018 before decommitting last month. He tore his ACL April 16, and just recently returned to action this month with North Star High School in Lincoln.

The day after OSU offered Williams, assistant coach Scott Sutton made the trip up to Nebraska to watch him.

Here is our conversation.

Marshall Scott: That ACL injury had you miss your senior summer of AAU ball, I imagine that’s a tough time to miss for a recruit.

Donovan Williams: Yeah, it was tough because after I tore it, people were like, “Oh, it’s just an ACL tear, people do it all the time,” stuff like that. But I saw it a lot different than that just because what made me different than other people who had that injury was timing. You can say it was good timing because I’m back playing my season now, but I just think it was terrible timing because you can’t go back and play your 17U EYBL season ever again. That was tough.

MS: Did your recruiting at that point, not shut down, but slow down quite a bit for you?

DW: Well, I was committed to Nebraska. Their coach (Tim Miles) got fired about a week before my injury. I was actually planning on decommitting the following Monday, and it was Saturday, we were at a tournament in Arkansas. I tore it, and I was kinda stuck. I didn’t want to leave Nebraska because I didn’t wanna be stuck without anywhere to go with a torn ACL. I was just stuck in a bad position.

MS: So then you decommit last month, had OSU been in contact with you prior to your offer?

DW: No, I hadn’t talked to OSU. The first time I talked to them was the day I got offered.

MS: Are you planning on taking a visit to OSU or is it just too soon to tell with all of that?

DW: I’m definitely going to visit there soon. I was going to try to get up there tomorrow for the Kansas game, but that’s not gonna happen just because school and stuff like that. But I’ll definitely be up there soon, probably within the next month.

(There’s now a report that Williams will be in Stillwater on Monday)

MS: Have you used any of your official visits yet?

DW: No officials. I took an unofficial to Kansas State (on Jan. 18). That’s it, but I’ve got an unofficial planned for the 10th at Texas A&M. There will probably be five or six more unofficials and maybe an official or something in there within the next month.

MS: I believe I read somewhere that you want to slow-play this process and commit to a school sometime in April, is that correct?

DW: Yeah, probably early April, mid-April.

MS: I saw when you got the offer, you put it on your story and mentioned Cade Cunningham, what’s your relationship like with him?

DW: We talk every so often, mostly in the summertime when EYBL’s going on. That’s how we met. We met over social media, EYBL and stuff like that. I texted him, always good to see how he responds to stuff like that. We chop it up every so often.

MS: Is that a fun thought for you, the thought of potentially playing alongside him next season?

DW: Yeah, for sure. It’s funny because when they first offered me, I wasn’t thinking too much of it. I was like, “OK, Oklahoma State, yeah.” Well, first of all, my AAU coach called me and said, “Well, what do you think about Oklahoma State?” He kinda plugged me with them, and I was like, “Oh, that’s decent. I’ll talk to them and whatever. I’ll listen to them.” Then I remembered, I was walking to my class, and I was like, “That’s where Cade’s going and my boy Rondel (Walker).” Then it kinda clicked. I was like, “Oh yeah, that could definitely be a possibility.” The more I think about it, the more I like it.

MS: So you know Rondel, too, then?

DW: Yeah, that’s my homie.

MS: Same thing? EYBL?

DW: Yeah, it’s crazy. My 14 and 15U year, I played for MOKAN Elite, we were at tournaments in Texas and Oklahoma. He was playing with the Titans. We played against each other. He was gonna come to MOKAN, so we talked stuff like that, I was close with his dad. I’ve known him for a while.

MS: I guess with this being all so recent, you might not know Mike Boynton all that well right now, but do you have any thoughts on him throughout this process so far?

DW: I really like him. He kinda looked at the bigger picture. It’s not just me going there and playing basketball, it’s me committing to a school where I feel wanted at. I feel like they are showing a lot of interest, which means a lot because from the first time I talked to him it was, “We want you. We want you now. We need you at this spot. We think you can fill this spot right away. You’re the missing piece we need, and we’re coming to you. We want you, and we’re not going to anybody else. We’re coming to you.” That meant a lot, just being up front with me, especially stating the fact that they already have the best player in the country. They already have him. Many schools would be OK with just getting him. And you got Rondel. And you got the big dude (Montreal Pena). So, for them to reach out to me after they already have all of those guys, it was big.

MS: Who all else has reached out to you school-wise since you’ve decommitted?

DW: I’ve talked to Oregon. I’ve talked to Ohio State. I talked to Texas A&M, Texas, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, Georgia. That’s about it.

MS: What are some things you’re looking for in a school?

DW: There’s a couple things. The main thing is obviously the coach. Whoever the coach is, is a guy that I can trust, my parents can trust me going to for the next maybe four years. Obviously the city that it’s in, a place that I feel comfortable and I can live there for the next however many years I’m there. And also their background, where they’ve been. Where are they sending players? Who do they have coming in? What’s their style like? Is it a guard-based team or is it a big-man-based team? Obviously, (OSU is) gonna be a guard-based team next year. That’s big for me. Just loyalty, that’s something that I missed out on having in my first commitment. Just being able to feel comfortable.

MS: You mentioned when Boynton and OSU did come in, they came in real hard, have any other schools recruited you to that level? Would you say OSU has recruited you the hardest?

DW: There’s a couple schools that have been the same way. Texas and Kansas State, they both have pushed me really hard. It was just surprising because the day after (OSU) offered me, they were at my game. That was very surprising to me that they made that trip real quick, took a flight here and went right back. That was good. I have a couple other schools pressing me pretty hard, but it stood out when he didn’t take no time. It was on the phone, “Hey, we want you. We’re not going to hold anything back. We’re going to offer you a scholarship right now. We’re not gonna joke around about it.” And that was it.

MS: How would you describe your game to someone who maybe hadn’t seen you play yet?

DW: I’m a very, very big competitor. Last year, I think I averaged about 20 (points) and four rebounds a game and like one assist. This year, I realized that it wasn’t all about scoring. I am averaging about 30 a game now, but I’m averaging 13 rebounds a game and five assists. So, just whatever I need to do, I’m going to do. If they want me to come in and knock down shots, I’m gonna give Cade that boost and opportunity to give it to somebody else that knows what to do with it. I know what to do with it when I get it, whether that’s driving, whether that’s shooting in the mid-range or from 3. I can score at all three levels, and I can defend. So, I’m a 3-and-D guy, which every team would enjoy to have. I’m just a competitor. Whatever I want, I take. I’m just an extreme competitor, and I have a crazy work ethic.

MS: You just recently got back to playing, right? Early January?

DW: Yeah.

MS: How did it feel, what were the emotions like?

DW: The emotions were they were up there for sure. When you take something from somebody, and you take it for nine months, it’s just hard. It was the hardest nine months of my life so far. I don’t play video games, I don’t party, so I had nothing to do. I had nothing to do because I couldn’t go to the gym. That’s what I do when I gotta get something off my chest, and I couldn’t. Just realizing that it’s bigger than basketball and that it’s injury. People come back from injuries. That’s life. I don’t know a player that’s gone through their career without getting injured, and plenty of players that tore their ACL have came back way better. So, I had to look at the positive stuff about it. But that first game, just everything came together. I had a very good game for my first game back. I was very surprised.

MS: Through AAU or anything, do you know anybody on OSU’s current roster? Are you familiar with anybody?

DW: I’m familiar with Chris Harris, but I don’t know him.

MS: Alright, I’ve got one more question, just given the day, do you have a favorite Kobe memory?

DW: Man, let me think. Probably when him and Lebron played each other in the All-Star game. I can’t remember the year, but it was when him and Lebron played in the All-Star game, and he just competed. He’s just a competitor. Nowadays, you don’t really see people built like that. You watch All-Star games today, people are just joking around, throwing alley-oops. He was playing his butt off. He was playing like it was a regular game. I haven’t been the biggest Kobe fan. I’ve been a Lebron fan, to be honest, but if you just take the time to think about what he did for the whole basketball world. It really ruined my whole day, really.

I was doing an interview at the time, and the guy mentioned not taking anything for granted. It’s crazy because he mentioned that he talks to people about waking up in the morning and imagining if his wife died in a car crash and not taking anything for granted because you never know what can happen. That was literally minutes before I got the news. It was like, “Are you serious?” We were just talking about how you never know what can happen any day. That was really crazy to me. Definitely that All-Star game or him scoring 81. That’d be the best moments from my perspective.

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So he is not going to be in attendance for the game tonight? Or that has changed since the interview?

BTW, tremendous work Marshall as always.

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I’m currently working on that because I’ve seen some conflicting reports haha. But last night he said he wasn’t going to be able to make it.

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Great interview @marshall. I like how he is already envisioning what role he could play alongside Cade. I think that proves he is taking us very seriously.

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Great job here, Marshall! Loved editing this.

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Yeah just strange, like two hours ago on instagram he posted that tweet saying he was visiting and tagged Cade and Rondel.

This is great, and I think illuminates a little bit just how Boynton is so effective as a recruiter. He seems like he really is willing to put in the hours needed to make guys feel like they’re a priority and want to come here.

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Yeah, I’m guessing something changed from about 8 p.m. last night to now.

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Holder must have fueled up the jet for MB

Good for us hopefully!

Love this

Maybe it’s just me, or maybe Marshall is an elite interviewer… but this seems to be an extremely well-spoken kid. Most of these guys don’t seem to want to really answer questions and dive into stuff, but he was all over it. I like that, a lot.

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Didn’t I see that it was Scott that made the trip, not MB?

Yeah it was me.

Sorry I had to.

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Great interview, thanks Marshall.

He seems like a confident kid, and like he’s serious about basketball.

And love the insight from him on how Boyton has been recruiting him. No bs, offer, then show up to watch the next day.

Nice try! Looks like it was Scott Sutton though.

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You got me…

247 is reporting he made an unofficial today to Stillwater.

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I can confirm he will be in GIA tonight.

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He’s ours.