After being named a captain for his redshirt senior season, Aubrey Williams reflected on past lessons he had learned on his basketball journey as well as all that he learned this season.

As the 2016-17 season neared at Kennesaw State, I was approached with the opportunity to be a captain. A distinction that I proudly but nervously accepted. At first I was nervous thinking, what if I do "it" wrong? How do you properly "captain?"

As I started to think if I would be a good captain or not, I began remembering all of the things I had learned so far on my basketball journey. There have been ups and downs, but it's all been worth it.

I was a 16 year old kid who just graduated from St. Vincent Pallotti High School. I had a less-than-stellar senior year at a school that is far from a basketball powerhouse, and didn't have any scholarship offers yet, but wasn't ready to give up on playing basketball.

What do I do next? Prep school. My parents want me to attend Oak Hill or Hargrave, schools that are in Virginia so that I was not too far from my Maryland home, so naturally I choose to attend IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. in the fall.

Being so far from home is really hard at first. I cried every night for the first two weeks because I was a long way from home and was two years younger than everyone else on my team. The amount of hard work it took to play on a post-graduate team, when they were bigger, stronger and faster made it feel like I was in way over my head. This is when I learned the true definition of grit. With a lot of hard work and dedication by the time January comes around I had my first Division I offer. National Signing Day rolls around and I decided to attend the University of Toledo.

At Toledo, year after year I put in the work, staying on campus during the summer to work on my craft while also taking classes. All of this still does not equate to minutes on the court, but I still decided to compete every day in practice to make those playing in front of me better. I learned to become a good teammate. I was a part of a couple pretty successful teams, but still had a desire for more. Going to summer school paid off for me because when the opportunity presents itself to graduate, I took it. I graduated in three years with two years of basketball eligibility remaining. What next?

Since I barely played at Toledo, the amount of game film I had was minimal, so the amount of initial Division 1 interest out there when my name hits the transfer list. NONE. This is when I learned patience.

My prep coach helped me get my name out there and I expressed interest in Kennesaw State as they just hired a new head coach named Al Skinner. I always heard things about Al Skinner from my dad, but just being honest, I did not have an extensive knowledge on him. My dad knew about him and told me what a treat it would be to have the joy of playing for such a high-caliber coach.

I had numerous phone conversations with Coach Skinner about his plans for the team and where I could possibly fit on the team. I went on a visit and really enjoyed the campus. I decided I wanted this be my home for the next two years as I finished my masters. I excitedly finish summer school knowing I have somewhere to go in the fall and will still be playing basketball.

As I was set to enroll, I find out that there are no athletic scholarship available. Now, I'm faced with another decision to either be a walk-on or stop playing the sport I love. I would have to weight lift, run and get yelled at but still have to pay for school. After discussions with my family and fraternity brothers, I decide to be a walk-on. This is where I learned humility. 

Once I enrolled at Kennesaw State, the season was quickly approaching and I was trying to find my niche on the team. I quickly find myself as the sixth man and leading rebounder through the first half the season with the Owls. We were at Indiana and I was having a normal shoot-around the night before the game, when I was told that I would be placed on full athletic scholarship the spring semester of that season.

After hearing about Coach Skinner, everything didn't really register until I actually began playing games under him. Things like his even-keel manner, the respect that every coach and officials showed him whether we were home or away, as well as his innate ability to take our input of what we see on the court and make instant adjustments immediately showed he is the real deal. As a team, we began to buy into Coach Skinner as well as his philosophy more and more and it translated into wins.

Heading into my senior and final season, I had learned grit, humility, and patience. Three characteristics that I figured would be instrumental in making my senior season the best it can be. I thought that by my senior year I know everything and rather than learning lessons about myself, I would spend the time placing the knowledge I had learned on my younger teammates. But throughout my senior year, I have learned more things about my teammates, myself, as well the game of basketball.

As we head into the ASUN Quarterfinals against USC Upstate, we're going to need these things if we're going to take the next step as a program

"Attitude Reflects Leadership." I would love to say that I was excited for practice every day and that I had the best attitude all the time and that I lead by example each and every day. This was far from the case but through day-to-day observations I have noticed what being positive, giving 100% effort, and being the best leader I can be does for myself as well as those around me.

The second lesson I learned which will be a major key for any team player is "Not to Listen to Outside Voices." At the end of the day a team is the 15 players plus the coaching and training staff. I made the decision my senior year to listen to these people the most and take everyone else's suggestions/opinions with a grain of salt.

"Control What You Can Control". Big picture: Unfortunately, you will deal with issues both on and off the court. The delicate balance of being a student athlete can be overwhelming at times, but if you keep in mind that you won't get every call, that the schoolwork has to end….eventually.

The fourth lesson I learned is to "Enjoy Every Moment."

At the end of the day, you have a slim chance of playing Division I basketball and about the same odds of being a Captain.

I've truly begun to realize how fortunate I've been as we head into the ASUN Quarterfinals. I have gotten the opportunity to play with a great group of guys, in front of our awesome fans, in an amazing arena. For this very reason I am forever thankful and indebted to Coach Skinner and the Kennesaw State Owls. GO OWLS!

Aubrey Williams


 

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