BRADENTON, Fla. _ Practice ends inside IMG Academy's basketball facility and Emmitt Williams won't stop smiling as he walks to the sideline with a basketball in hand. He's only been playing the sport for about five years and already he's one of the most important players on one of the best high school teams in the nation, with college coaches from around the country dropping by campus to let him know how much they want him.
It's still sort of strange to Williams that he's in this position. He never pictured himself as having a chance to play college basketball when he was a skinny preteen in Fort Myers who had to be dragged on to the basketball court. To everyone who works with him, his rise is about his attitude. He can be carefree one moment and serious the next. He plays with confidence and purpose, but he never takes himself too seriously.
"I'll let it fly right now," he asks when the progress of his jump shot is questioned. The ball bricks off the front rim and bounces back to the sideline, where it skips up into the air and falls into a basket of balls a few feet away. "I made it in there!" he exclaims.
A few minutes later, he's stoic. He pulls the left arm hole of his jersey off his shoulder to reveal a name and date he can never forget when he's on the court: Stef'an Strawder. July 25-2016. Somehow it's almost been a year since the best friend he refers to as a brother was shot and killed at a Fort Myers nightclub.
It's because of Strawder that Williams is here at IMG. It's because of Strawder that he can now be regarded as one of the best juniors in the nation. It's because of Strawder, at least partially, that the Ascenders are among the favorites to win Dick's Nationals this weekend and stake a claim as the best team in the country.
"It would mean so much for me," Williams said. "It would mean a lot definitely for me and my brother."
