1. Kendrick Williams and His Journey into Basketball
By: Kendrick Williams

2. 7th Grade Year
There was a kid named Kendrick he had moved from Bloomington-Normal to Joliet. So while walking around his new junior high school being the tallest of the newer 7th graders to come to the school. People would always ask him whether he played basketball or not, they were mildly disappointed when he told them no. Sooner than later though he began to play basketball and enjoyed it so therefore he went out for the team. He wasn’t very good, but he was alright ending the season with just a little over 2 points per game.

3. Illinois Victory Falcons - Kentucky
He went on to play AAU with his friends Asael, Damu, and Josaiah for Illinois Victory Falcons. He started to learn the game more and to play more and more. First he and his friends were on the 7th grade team playing 9th graders. Which helped them excel and get used to playing harder and playing against kids stronger and faster than them. Next, the program began to get really unorganized and kids started to quit because of it so now we were only down to 12 players. They made every play varsity then. So a 7th grade playing varsity was kind of scary to be frank. But, Kendrick wasn’t the type to give up when he seen someone bigger or stronger than him he would fight until he couldn’t anymore. He stopped worrying about the little things and started to work hard on everything he could that Summer: dribbling, jumping, shooting, cardio, strength, and just everything that could make him better he did.

4. 8th Grade Year
By 8th grade ear he was captain isn’t that astounding he went from probably one of the worst on the team to captain. He was proud of himself and worked harder to maintain his grades and his team all at once. He ended out that season with 251 points averaging about 15 points a game close to 16.

5. Falling Off
He then got asked to go to Joliet Pride tryouts and he then not really knowing anything about them, said yeah and joined Pride through only going to one tryout date. He was gifted and he knew it he could take basketball all the way, but only if he truly desired and worked ard at it. Next, he continued with the Pride organization through 8th grade to 9th grade summer to fall league in 9th grade. During the end of the summer and the fall league Kendrick had began to fall off of his game and not play as he used to he started to learn to dunk so he stopped working on the other aspects of his game just dunking. He lost his shooting ability and he stopped being able to finish at the rim.

6. To Previous Slide

7. Joliet Pride - AAU
He then got asked to go to Joliet Pride tryouts and he then not really knowing anything about them, said yeah and joined Pride through only going to one tryout date. He was gifted and he knew it he could take basketball all the way, but only if he truly desired and worked ard at it. Next, he continued with the Pride organization through 8th grade to 9th grade summer to fall league in 9th grade. During the end of the summer and the fall league Kendrick had began to fall off of his game and not play as he used to he started to learn to dunk so he stopped working on the other aspects of his game just dunking. He lost his shooting ability and he stopped being able to finish at the rim. Once he noticed this he began the 9th grade season as a kid who he himself didn’t recognize. He was just overall different, but he started to get it together once he had got back in the gym outside of practice and worked hard to get back to how he was. He knew he was doing something wrong but that Summer his friend josaiah had moved so he didn’t have that direction that Josaiah had given him he was lost. So going months on months with the basketball team being an efficient scorer and all.

8. Best AAU debut – 9th Grade Year
He just wasn’t doing all that he knew he could, later that year he started to friend the best basketball player from his team Denzel Grant they were best friends and that’s what Kendrick really needed to get back on track with his game. He ended out 9th grade not knowing what team he wanted to join at the end of the basketball season he remembered giving Bolingbrook 26 in 3 quarters of play. He talked to their coach and their coach told him to go out for the Illinois Hoopers a team he coached. Then his friend Ray J Dennis told him to go to MeanStreets and he had to think about that. Him knowing MeanStreets was the 3rd best team in Illinois he chose MeanStreets, but didn’t like their coach because he showed favoritism. Later, that year our sponsorship Nike seen that and cut our team off the brand they still had MeanStreets, but just not our team. So everyone on that team was just lost dogs now and didn’t know what to do until Ray J found a team for all of us. He got us on with the Bulls/Sox Academy because his coach and another teammate Demari Grant his coach coached us as well. Going to that team was one of the best experiences ever, we trained tough and played tough. Since we were the best team in the program we could move up and play any grade level we wanted above our own. It was just good to know you were the best and to have the news come interview you and things like that it was just good. He ended out that season being better than before and now he just waits for the time where he can show off his skills and talents in the upcoming season.