John Haughey - dec 12th, 1995

Bremerton junior Everett Williams, with guidance from his mom and others, is fulfulling his potential because he's learned to listen.

By John Haughey

Special to The Sun

Ask those who know Everett Williams best how the Bremerton Knights' cat-quick guard can slam dunk a basketball and they will say the 5-foot-8 junior's rim-rattling jams are not just hoop histrionics but leaps of faith.

Williams, 16, has learned that sometimes living up to your own ambitions means more than believing in yourself — it means listening to those who believe in you.

Working with sharp-shooting senior Jeff Gallagher, the Knights' savvy point guard, Williams' ability to penetrate and rebound gives Bremerton a potent backcourt tandem that must compensate for an inexperienced, undersized frontcourt if the team is to be successful.

Gallagher, in his third season, and Williams, in his second, are Bremerton's only returning varsity veterans.

And while Williams, averaging 19 points a game after three non-league contests, is accustomed to being a team scoring leader, he must now assume a more demanding role — that of a team leader.

It's a welcome challenge in the evolution of Everett Williams. Not long ago, many who've coached and watched him dominate in pee wees and junior high feared Williams would never fulfill his potential.

At 13 years old, Williams was already being watched by Bremerton basketball coach Larry Gallagher. "I was impressed by his athletic ability,'' Gallagher said, recalling the first time he saw Williams during a Warren Avenue Pee Wee practice. "That really stood out.''

During that 1993 pee wee season, Williams led undefeated Warren Avenue to the AA county championship while averaging 28 points a game — despite playing just two 8-minute quarters a contest. "I wasn't one to run up the score,'' laughed former coach Jim Herdman.

But it was after the county championship game at North Kitsap High School that Williams — then no taller than 5-6 — astounded everyone with a victory jam. "We couldn't believe it,'' Herdman said. "I said, 'This guy is going to be unbelieveable when he gets to high school.' "

That, however, was often predicated by if. Although everyone acknowledged Williams was a gifted athlete, he was frequently disruptive with teammates and in school. At 13 and 14 years old, he was making poor decisions that too often carry lifelong repercussions.

"Eighth grade was a tough year for me,'' Williams said. "I was getting in trouble a lot, hanging out with the wrong crowd. You know, that stage. My mom, my coaches — they'd tell me, but I didn't listen."

Williams may not have been listening, but he was watching. When he saw his older brother, Antoine Davis, quit school and struggle before returning to get a diploma and enroll in college, Williams realized he, too, was at a crossroad.

"I just looked at it — looked at my brother, who went through that stage, saw what he went through before he put it together, and I saw that I had to change," he said.

Williams, who has lived in Bremerton since he was 1, said his boyhood dream of playing basketball for the Knights was a motivator. "When I was younger, I had a role model, my brother, and he played for Bremerton. I pretty much followed him so it became my goal to play for Bremerton," he said.

That dream proved powerful. "The thing we always stressed with Everett was his grades," said Herdman. "I told him I want to watch you play for Bremerton High School, but you can't do that without grades."

Ironically, Williams' association with soccer and Dick Thompson were pivotal in sustaining his basketball goals. Thompson, best known for managing elite girls fastpitch softball teams, and Herdman coach the Bremerton Gators. That team just won its fourth consecutive Washington State Youth Soccer League American Cup while posting a 78-0-1 record the past four years.

Williams, a midfielder, has played soccer for Thompson since he was 7. "He's taught me a lot," Williams said.

"Dick is always looking out for the kids," Herdman said. "He's always told Everett with his althletic ability, he could go anywhere."

If Williams' talent can make him a leader by example, it's because he's learned what that means from his mother, Lindy Jones.

A quiet presence in the stands, Jones describes herself as "just an observer" at basketball and soccer games. But, she admits, "No matter what, I got to be there."

Jones credits past and present coaches, his brother and his father, Victor Davis, with instilling discipline and perseverence in Williams. Everyone who knows Lindy Jones, however, says she's the real driving force.

"Lindy as been a real positive influence in both Antoine and Everett," Gallagher said. "She will support them through anything, but she will also hold them accountable for anything they do."

"My mother has been behind me since day one," Williams said. "She has been behind all my choices from day one, even when I've made bad choices."

Jones, noting her son studies game tapes for hours in his bedroom — "a shrine to Michael Jordan" — says it's not difficult to support someone who works as hard as Williams.

"He practices a lot," she said "He goes down to the (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) gym where his father works and works hard to correct any mistakes he's made."

Williams' understanding that talent without sacrifice and dedication is rarely realized is often a concept learned too late. Regardless of where his basketball skills take him, he's learned hard work yields its own rewards.

"People who've known him through the years have seen him progress," Jones said. "I like to say that he's a product of his own success."

If so, Gallagher and many others say Williams is an unfinished product because most of his successes are before him. "When Everett first came (to high school) he didn't listen to people," Gallagher said. "He didn't think he had to. Now he's learned to learn."

And listen.

"Some people don't think I really listen," Williams said. "But I do. And I hear what people are saying."

Staff photo by Bruce Moyer

SPRING-LOADED: Everett Williams, left, tries to steal the ball from a Bremerton High teammate during practice Monday. The 5-foot-8 Williams, who has been dunking since he was 13, is being asked to be a team leader this season.

'People who've known him through the years have seen him progress. I like to say that he's a product of his own success.'

— Lindy Jones,

Everett Williams' mother