Williams Aims to get West Boys' Basketball Rolling

As the leading scorer on the Cherry Hill West boys’ basketball team, Rodney Williams doesn’t spend a whole lot of time on the bench in the second half of games.

So when he was put there with his team trailing late in the third quarter of last week’s contest against Timber Creek, it was a bit of foreign ground for both him and Lions.

Williams had made a couple of questionable decisions on the offensive end and West head coach Hamisi Tarrant decided to sit his junior guard on the bench for an extended period of time.

“I made a couple of early mistakes and missed a couple of easy shots I normally wouldn’t miss,” Williams said. “The coach took me out in the third quarter because we were supposed to run a play and I didn’t run it correctly.”

With the Lions’ leading scorer on the bench the rest of the surrounding cast stepped up and turned a two point deficit into an six-point advantage.

“My team stepped up,” Williams said. “I was surprised a little bit, but they played well. Then coach went back to me in the fourth quarter with about four minutes left.”

On this night, Tarrant was 2-for-2 on his decisions. Not only did sitting Williams for a period of time work out during the six minutes he was out, but it also inspired Williams to play his best ball when he returned. In the first offensive series since returning to the floor Williams had an assist. He followed that up with six-straight points, giving West a 12-point lead it would not relinquish in a 63-50 win.

“I knew I had to step it up for my team because it was a conference game and we had to get this big win,” Williams said.

Williams, who is closing in on 1,000 points for his career, has provided the Lions with consistent scoring over the last two seasons, which has lessened the pressure on his teammates. Forward Will Plenty said just Williams' presence on the floor opens things up for the rest of the team.

“When he’s in the game, you know he's going to score,” Plenty said. “It takes a lot of the pressure off us and lets us play in our roles. We also know we have to help him out, though.”

Williams missed a portion of the preseason due to a couple of lingering injuries from football season, but appears to be as close to full strength as can be expected at this point in the season. He believes he still has more he can give and has been working on strengthening his body so he can absorb more of the punishment he receives when he attacks the basket on a nightly basis. 

“I feel good, but I always can be better,” Williams said. “I work hard every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning in the weight room before school. I’m always trying to get stronger, so I will be fine.”

The Lions (5-4) are hopeful that their turnaround agaisnt Timber Creek fuels a charge up the standings. The team has aspirations of being a serious contender in the Group 4 playoffs, but has lingered around the .500 mark for much of the season. Winners of two in a row, West is hoping to make it three wins in a row on Thursday when it takes on Winslow.

“We are on our way up,” said Williams. “No one has seen our best. We have seen it in practice, and when it happens in the games there will be a lot to write about.”