Scholastic Roundup: Keith Williams has a new home

September 10, 2021 Andy Furman

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Keith Williams has a new home.

The former Bishop Loughlin High School basketball star who led the University of Cincinnati in scoring as a senior last season, has committed to play for the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers.

The team made the announcement on Twitter this week.

Williams played four seasons at Cincinnati, but can play an extra season because of the NCAA’s free year of eligibility related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 6-5 Williams averaged a team-high 14.3 points-per-game and earned a second-team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) selection. Over his four -year career Williams averaged 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per-game at Cincinnati. He scored 1,156 career points, 35th most in program history.

In April, Williams declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. In June, he entered the transfer portal. Published reports had Williams receiving interest from Western Kentucky University, Arkansas, Maryland and Florida.

Western Kentucky University competes at the NCAA Division I level and is a member of Conference USA.

* * *

The upcoming football season is a reminder of things past for Jeff Schrier.

Schrier is the successfully retired basketball coach at Tilden High School; but worked on Moe Finkelstein’s football staff at Thomas Jefferson, when he started his teaching and coaching career.

“I worked with Moe from 1969-72,” Schrier recalled, “and what a staff we had. Mike Graff, Vinnie Laino and Percy Thorne.”

Graff later became the first football coach at Wingate; Laino started the football program at Ft. Hamilton High and Thorne coached at Boys High.

Others on that Jefferson staff included: George Vega, Kerry DeAngelo, Mitch Cutler and Kenny Greene.

When Tilden met Jefferson some years earlier, it was Percy Thorne who scored three touchdowns in that contest for Jefferson – Ronnie Bly, the then outstanding back at Tilden managed just one score.

And yes, of course, there are some camp stories.

“Our pre-season training camp was near Honesdale, Pa.,” Schrier recalled. “None of our players could afford camp – Moe (Finkelstein) got them all jobs for the summer, and when they got paid the kids would give their money to Moe. Anything extra, of course, they kept.”

Schrier says it just wasn’t for the cost of the camp – a bus had to be rented to get the kids there and back.

* * *

“It was lights out at 11pm,” Schrier said. “Everyone in bed, under the covers. Except for one night.”

Seems the lights were on – after curfew – and Coach Schrier wanted some answers. “There was a bat flying around in the bunk,” he remembered, “and all the lights were on. Apparently, the kids told me, ‘No one wanted to be a vampire.’”

On the way back to Brooklyn at camps end, wouldn’t you know it – one kid was missing.

“I remember like it was yesterday,” Schrier said, “it was Clifton Crawford. We searched high and low as we were boarding the busses.”

Crawford was sitting by the lake, according to Schrier and he said: “It’s time to leave the bats and grass for rats and glass.”

* * *

One of the machines that was used in football practice had six pads and three prongs.

“Running backs would run through the blaster,” Schrier said. “I thought I’d give it a try one day after a hard practice.”

And a watchful eye witnessed the event.

It was head coach Moe Finkelstein, who responded to his assistant: “You just won the Boys High game for us, Jeff. If our coaches are this tough, they gotta figure how tough are our players.”

* * *

It was Tuesday, September 24, 1957 – and any rabid Brooklyn Dodger fan will not soon forget.

With a crowd of 6,702 looking on at 9:08 pm Dodger lefty pitcher Danny McDevitt threw the final pitch in Ebbets Field history – a groundout to shortstop Don Zimmer to preserve a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Dodgers then closed out their season with a three-game series in Philadelphia, and at that point, Brooklyn Dodger baseball was officially done. Team owner Walter O’Malley wanted to build a new stadium in Brooklyn but was unable to come to an agreement with City Planner Robert Moses, which led to the Dodgers moving to Los Angeles.

* * *

You don’t think the Midwest is a hot bed for high school football talent – check this out:

The starting quarterback at the University of Minnesota, Tanner Morgan is a redshirt senior from Ryle High School in Union, Ky. – about 15 miles south of Cincinnati; Sean Clifford, Penn State’s starting quarterback is a redshirt senior who graduated Saint Xavier High School in Cincinnati and sophomore Michael Mayer is a starting tight end at the University of Notre Dame, who graduated Covington (Ky) Catholic High School.

Want more? Prince Michael Sammons, Jr., Linebacker, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy; Defensive End Deonta Belser, Boston College, Cincinnati’s Elder High School; Clemson boasts Matt Bockhorst, Lineman from Saint Xavier and Jackson Carman from Fairfield (Oh) High School; Ra’Von Bonner is a Running Back at Illinois via Sycamore High (Cincinnati); Keontae Jones a Defensive Back from Colerain High (Cincinnati) and Dan Sichterman, a Defensive End from Cincinnati’s Kings High are at Iowa State.

* * *

The Scholastic Roundup e-Mailbag is again full:

Frank Jessie, an Akron (Oh). Native, is a former player, coach and athletic director who has followed the college basketball scene for over sixty years.

He played at Akron St. Vincent High and the University of Akron. During his years as a college assistant on Bob Huggins’ staff, both Akron and Cincinnati participated in the NCAA tournament.

Since Jessie’s retirement, he has published Basketball Links which covers all divisions of men’s college basketball and is released from mid-November until the Final Four. After reading about the passing of DeWitt Clinton’s Jerry Harkness he had this to say:

From Jessie: “Very sorry for the flooding in your old stomping grounds. Horrible! As a high school sophomore (’63), I had the privilege of watching Jerry Harkness and his Loyola of Chicago team practice. They were in the Akron area to play Kent State and needed a place to practice the night before the game. They chose the Catholic school closest to their hotel – my high school Akron St. Vincent. It was a great thrill for a high school sophomore.”

From Roosevelt Chapman, the Westinghouse High star who later was an All American at the University of Dayton:

“An amazing story about Slice – Barry Rohrssen. We are extremely great friends who lost contact with each other. We played basketball leagues together at the 14th St. YMCA in Manhattan and won several championships together. This article brought a big smile to my face!!”

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR