2020 Lincoln G Williams stays home with Nebraska
Only going into his junior year at Lincoln (Neb.) North Star, Donovan Williams had plenty of time to weigh all of his recruiting options before ultimately making a decision on his future school.
But after emerging as a top priority in the 2020 class for Nebraska head coach Tim Miles earlier this summer, it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-5, 190-pound three-star to realize he didn’t need to drag the process out any longer.
Williams announced his verbal commitment to the Huskers via Twitter on Tuesday evening, becoming Miles’ first pledge for the 2020 class and the first Lincoln high school prospect to commit to NU since Jake Muhleisen in 2001.
“It was just a feeling,” Williams told HuskerOnline.com. “When they first offered me (on July 14), I wasn’t really sure when that feeling was going to come from them or any other school. I just kept telling myself that I would get that feeling of just believing in myself and trusting my gut, and that the was today.
“I just felt like this needed to be done and this is where I wanted to be, so what am I waiting for?”
Williams held other offers from the likes of Nebraska-Omaha, UMKC, South Dakota, Bradley, and UT-Rio Grand Valley, but he was quickly picking up high-major interest after an impressive summer on the AAU circuit with the Iowa Barnstormers.
Schools like Wisconsin, Iowa, and Creighton all hosted him on unofficial visits.
In the end, though, Williams said his connection with Nebraska was exactly what he was looking for.
“Just the loyalty and the believing in me every day,” Williams said of what sold him on NU. “It’s more than basketball. Nebraska’s a great academic school. The ball is going to stop bouncing at some point, and what I am going to do the 30 years after I stop playing basketball?
“The pathway that I’ll have once I leave there will stay with me as a person, and that’s what I’m really looking forward to having, is a great name for myself. I feel like Nebraska can make that happen for me. It’s just home.”
Williams averaged 19.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists as a sophomore to help lead North Star to a 12-13 record last season.
Even though Nebraska put the full-court press on him during his recruitment, he said Miles and the staff were also very honest in where he needed to improve before jumping to the next level.
“They criticized me sometimes, but it was all constructive criticism that every player needs,” Williams said. “They told me that I’m a complete player; that I can score, I can defend, I can rebound, I can pass. I’ve been playing extremely hard these last couple months, and I just have a high motor. I just do whatever needs to be done to win, and that’s what they’re looking for.”
Given that he still has another full recruiting cycle before he can sign his National Letter of Intent in November of 2019, there’s a chance other schools could still continue to recruit him and try to change his mind.
That’s the last thing Williams is concerned about, though, as he’s already looking ahead to what his future will hold as a Husker.
“I don’t want to get content at all,” Williams said. “I want to keep working, because my business is not done. I still have a lot to prove. I want to be a top-25 player in the Class of 2020. I want to be the best player to ever come out of Nebraska. This is just another step for me in my basketball experience. It’s fun right now, but I’ll b back in the gym tomorrow. That’s just what it is.”