we can now say we flipped a guy late...
How Williams went from the Little Apple to Stillwater
By Jacob Unruh
Donovan Williams had made up his mind.
On April 9, he quietly informed Kansas State that he was going to be a Wildcat. With his public commitment planned four days later, it felt good to make a decision.
But a nagging feeling would not go away.
Was this the right decision?
His heart tried to say yes. His head questioned everything.
Williams sought advice from Robin Lucas, a coach Williams has known since he was 13. Suddenly as they talked on the phone, things began to turn.
“He basically just said, ‘You gotta go to Oklahoma State,’” Williams told The Oklahoman. “He’s been one of my biggest advocates. I trust him with my life. When he told me, I knew it wasn’t anything that wasn’t right.
“I’m not saying I changed my decision because of Robin Lucas, but he gave me a lot of ideas to think about.”
The Cowboys locked up a top-five recruiting class Wednesday that featured the United States’ top player and Canada’s top player. But that class also included Williams, a four-star guard and game-changing scorer from Lincoln (Neb.) North Star and a last-minute steal for Mike Boynton and Co.
But if not for some guidance, Williams would’ve headed to the Little Apple, not Stillwater.
“There might have been a little bit of confusion on exactly where he wanted to take his career,” Boynton said. “And I think at the end, he finally saw or realized that maybe this was the best opportunity, not that K-State was a bad one.
“I think he thought he had a good relationship there but that this may have been something more appealing, gives him more opportunities to achieve his goals.”
Williams has been on a mission to prove he’s a top recruit since tearing an ACL a year ago. He had committed to Nebraska but reopened his recruitment during his recovery. He played just a month of his senior season, averaging more than 28 points in 14 games.
OSU offered a scholarship in late January, and Williams came to Stillwater for an unofficial visit four days later. Texas remained in the hunt until more than a week ago. Kansas State was the Cowboys’ final hurdle.
Williams said he made a rash decision committing to the Wildcats.
“It was really like an influence thing,” Williams said. “I have trouble doing that sometimes, just emotional decisions. And I felt like that wasn’t the right decision for me.”
Williams said Boynton never added pressure after learning Williams was going to Kansas State. Williams’ former coaches Lucas, Mike Hodges and Matt Cumro instead brought the heat.
Lucas, in particular, kept bringing up one thing over and over — if you want to be a pro, you have to play with a pro.
Cade Cunningham, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country, is a future pro.
“I think I can learn a lot from him, but I bet there’s things that I do that he doesn’t do,” Williams said. “I think we’re going to learn a lot of things from each other.
“The combination of the two’s going to be deadly. I can’t wait to see what happens this year.”
Monday, four days after committing to K-State, Williams called Boynton to flip his commitment. The Cowboys had lost out 24 hours before when JT Thor committed to Auburn, and Boynton welcomed Williams with open arms.
“I think it worked out the way it worked out for a reason ” Williams said.
How Williams went from the Little Apple to Stillwater
By Jacob Unruh
Donovan Williams had made up his mind.
On April 9, he quietly informed Kansas State that he was going to be a Wildcat. With his public commitment planned four days later, it felt good to make a decision.
But a nagging feeling would not go away.
Was this the right decision?
His heart tried to say yes. His head questioned everything.
Williams sought advice from Robin Lucas, a coach Williams has known since he was 13. Suddenly as they talked on the phone, things began to turn.
“He basically just said, ‘You gotta go to Oklahoma State,’” Williams told The Oklahoman. “He’s been one of my biggest advocates. I trust him with my life. When he told me, I knew it wasn’t anything that wasn’t right.
“I’m not saying I changed my decision because of Robin Lucas, but he gave me a lot of ideas to think about.”
The Cowboys locked up a top-five recruiting class Wednesday that featured the United States’ top player and Canada’s top player. But that class also included Williams, a four-star guard and game-changing scorer from Lincoln (Neb.) North Star and a last-minute steal for Mike Boynton and Co.
But if not for some guidance, Williams would’ve headed to the Little Apple, not Stillwater.
“There might have been a little bit of confusion on exactly where he wanted to take his career,” Boynton said. “And I think at the end, he finally saw or realized that maybe this was the best opportunity, not that K-State was a bad one.
“I think he thought he had a good relationship there but that this may have been something more appealing, gives him more opportunities to achieve his goals.”
Williams has been on a mission to prove he’s a top recruit since tearing an ACL a year ago. He had committed to Nebraska but reopened his recruitment during his recovery. He played just a month of his senior season, averaging more than 28 points in 14 games.
OSU offered a scholarship in late January, and Williams came to Stillwater for an unofficial visit four days later. Texas remained in the hunt until more than a week ago. Kansas State was the Cowboys’ final hurdle.
Williams said he made a rash decision committing to the Wildcats.
“It was really like an influence thing,” Williams said. “I have trouble doing that sometimes, just emotional decisions. And I felt like that wasn’t the right decision for me.”
Williams said Boynton never added pressure after learning Williams was going to Kansas State. Williams’ former coaches Lucas, Mike Hodges and Matt Cumro instead brought the heat.
Lucas, in particular, kept bringing up one thing over and over — if you want to be a pro, you have to play with a pro.
Cade Cunningham, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country, is a future pro.
“I think I can learn a lot from him, but I bet there’s things that I do that he doesn’t do,” Williams said. “I think we’re going to learn a lot of things from each other.
“The combination of the two’s going to be deadly. I can’t wait to see what happens this year.”
Monday, four days after committing to K-State, Williams called Boynton to flip his commitment. The Cowboys had lost out 24 hours before when JT Thor committed to Auburn, and Boynton welcomed Williams with open arms.
“I think it worked out the way it worked out for a reason ” Williams said.
