Jalen Williams just finished a fantastic rookie campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 14 points, five rebounds and three assists per game- all while shooting 52% from the field. Back when Jalen Williams was at Perry, one of his biggest believers was our very own lead basketball analyst Gregg Rosenberg. I asked him about Williams' progress, and more:
Back when Jalen Williams was at Perry, I attended a couple of games with you and you spoke glowingly about his potential- what did you see in him back then that made you feel like he had a bright future?
"Jalen was extremely long, longer then his height- and you just were waiting for him to get bigger. I didn't know it would happen in college. He finished at about 6'2-6'3 during his senior year in high school, and finished near 6'6 at Santa Clara!
But he had an elite feel when he was young. You have it or you don't—he had it! He was a phenomenal passser and actually grew up more a point guard. The second he would get stronger in college, you just felt like he would blossom. He was a gym rat too, which never hurts."
You don't have to name names, but back when you were speaking with college coaches that had an interest in recruiting Williams, what were some of the concerns that kept him from being a target of major conference programs?
"He was never truly challenged, and was weak physically at the time. It is different if you are 6'6-6'8 (like Cody WIlliams) but at maybe 6'3, being weak is usually not a great thing. So college coaches were a little concerned.
But he played on a small club team. Coach Paul Suber put him out there as much as he could, but never played too many "Circuit teams" so it made it more difficult to evaluate how good can he be. The question was always "is he just beating up non D1 players, etc.'"
I'm not sure anyone in the country made a bigger leap in 2021-2022 than Jalen Williams in his sophomore to junior year at Santa Clara. It made him a lottery pick! Now he's in the conversation for NBA Rookie of the Year- what are your thoughts on his rapid improvement, and what do you think his ceiling could be? Cam Johnson level solid 3-and-D option? All-Star? OKC Franchise cornerstone?
"The fact he did go to Santa Clara was actually the best thing for him in my opinion. He was allowed to grow up on his own time and once he physically matured, he obviously took off with his game. And all of his potential just came out that year! He has a chance, if the organization allows him, to be an all-star light player.
Let me explain- There are obviously so many good players, but remember how close Booker got every year but did not officially get in until someone was injured, that may be Jalen at some point.
I think he already earned the respect of the league this year, and the next few years, once the team gets better, with a hopeful healthy Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey and Shea Gilgeous-Alexander continues to shine, he can be that Mikal Bridges-type.
He may never be an official All-Star but one of those players who wins games like Bridges. I think he can always be considered a top-3 or at worst a top-4 on an NBA team, which is definitely high praise."
I know you're not an "I told you so" guy, but where does Jalen Williams rank on your list of players that you loved that ended up proving you right?
"Saben Lee is definitely the #1 "I told you so." I got some serious flack for putting him #1 in the 2017 class over other very good players.
Nathan Calmese just last year, no one would bite until he finally got a last minute Lamar University scholarship- and he ended top-5 in the country in scoring for a freshman.
Jalen Graham was in the same class as Jalen Williams, I told so many people about him, and finally ASU listened to me.
When kids are skinny in high school, it is obviously harder to project where will they end up in college. It took until the end of Jalen Williams senior season for me to move him into my top-5 in-state prospect rankings, so I don't know if it's worthy of an "I told you so." Now, I did have him higher than 100% of the National media.
Did I like him maybe more than some locally, yes- but have to give Jalen Williams credit for exceeding my expectations. He didn't have his bounce come in yet, although you saw flashes, and at only 6'3, you struggled putting him too high.
My initial rankings, I had him actually in the top-10 at 9. then moved him up steadily to 8 and he finished at 5. The top-3 that year were Nico Mannion, Jalen Graham and Jaelen House. Jalen Williams did keep projecting upward in college, where others kind of leveled off. So hats off to Jalen for working hard and making it to the NBA!"
