Findlay Prep's Nigel Williams-Goss makes his case as nation's best

The game with Montverde Academy (Fla.) was tied, 24 seconds remained and Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) senior Nigel Williams-Goss held the ball at his chest while standing well beyond the top of the key.

He just stared and surveyed.

This wasn't any game. It was the premier matchup of the nation's premier event — the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. — and it pitted the country's top two teams in front of approximately 2,000 fans and a live national television audience.



The last time the teams met was for the National High School Invitational title last season, an 86-83 Findlay Prep overtime victory when Williams-Goss swished a last-second, go-ahead floater in the lane.

"We didn't know exactly what we were going to do in this situation," Findlay Prep first-year head coach Todd Simon said. "But we knew who was going to have the ball."

As the clock ticked below 10 seconds, the chiseled 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard continued to hold the ball and study the court. Like a monk during prayer or a cat right before pouncing upon prey, he was oddly still and calm while all around him was frantic and energized. The crowd, the players, the reserves and coaches hopped around anxiously in anticipation of the moment.

At 9... 8... 7, the energy and noise reached a fever pitch, but Williams-Goss still held the ball.

"Just waited for the right moment," he said.

At 6.5 seconds he attacked toward the basket, dribbling slightly right. He crossed-over once left and at 4 seconds he let fly a 3-pointer from just beyond the arc.



Swish.

Montverde never got off a shot. Findlay Prep 62, Montverde Academy 59.

Williams-Goss turned and skipped down the court before being tackled and dog-piled on by his teammates. He had scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Pilots (24-0) come back from an 11-point deficit after three quarters.

"I'd been getting into the lane pretty easy so when they packed it in, I had confidence in my jumper," he said. "I just pulled up and knocked it down."

The bucket and the performance not only solidified the Washington-bound standout as a leading contender for the National Player of the Year award, but also as Findlay Prep's most accomplished player in a short but remarkably successful history.

Considering four former Pilots are in the NBA — Corey Joseph (Spurs), Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers), DeAndre Liggins (Thunder) and Avery Bradley (Celtics) — and they've boasted six McDonald's All-Americans in five years, that's a mouthful.



But, considering Williams-Goss is the program's first four-year letterman, a 4.0 student who was accepted into Harvard before signing with Washington, and has led the Pilots to a 113-7 record (81-5 as a starter) during his time, there's no debate that he is the poster boy for Findlay Prep.

He's helped legitimize a demanding but rounded program seen once strictly as cold basketball factory.

"The young man is special," Simon said. "If people hadn't figured it out before (the Montverde win) they certainly have now. Beyond all the points, game-winning shots, rebounds, assists and defense, he does so many little things for our program that people can't know about.

"That said, that was a special performance and a special finish."

What made it so out of the ordinary was with the poise and confidence he carried it out  — as if it was somehow his fate and Findlay's Prep's destiny. 

"It all just comes from the hard work," Williams-Goss said of his confidence. "The countless hours in the gym. The extra stuff. Staying after practice. As hard as I work I expect to make plays and shots like that."



The final sequence also mirrored Williams-Goss' young life and journey from Portland, Ore., to Henderson, located just outside Las Vegas.

He recognized a gift early. He knew what he wanted. He calmly and thoroughly studied his options and made — along with a devoted and loving family — a huge and some would say stressful decision.

By all counts, it's been nothing but net — a monumental net gain.

"I can honestly say the move to Findlay Prep was the best decision I've made in my life," he said. "But it's also been a very long journey." 
{PAGEBREAK} AAU legend

Williams-Goss was active in all sports growing up in Portland — baseball, hockey, and taekwondo — but basketball was his first love.

His older brother Andre Goss, now 25 and in the military, played the game and Williams-Goss immediately gravitated to it.



"Since I was 3 or 4 I was in a gym," he said. "I did the other sports, but basketball was in my blood. My skill level was pretty high for a kid that age. We're a religious Christian family and I could tell God gave me a gift. I just wanted to maximize it."

His father Virgil Williams, who played with Oregon State and Lakers great A.C. Green in high school, made sure his son had every opportunity. He got Nigel into AAU ball by the time he was 8 and had him always competing against older kids.

His mom Valerie Williams-Goss, a licensed therapist, made sure Nigel was taking nothing but advanced classes in school. Though a bodybuilder herself who ran track and played basketball in high school, academics and discipline were her masters.

Not that she had to push Nigel that hard. He had a perfectionist gene and expected great things from himself through hard work, repetition and practice.

"He was so focused at such a young age," Valerie said. "It definitely set him apart which is a blessing. What we kept an eye on was his balance and him connecting with other kids."

He connected not only on the basketball court, but through leadership. He worked at homeless shelters and food banks and delivered meals on wheels.



"I think that's where he gives his gift of sharing and giving," she said.

That translated well on the basketball court as a point guard. Though he scored points in bushels in youth leagues, when he played against older kids, Nigel learned how to distribute.

More than the points and assists, he was attracted to and desired work. Even as a sixth grader, he worked out with his dad before school. The combination of it all just put Nigel into an entirely different league, on and off the court.

He got straight A's — he's never been given a B — he learned to speak Mandarin by the fifth grade and he took nothing but honors courses.

"I think my parents taught me to be a little different," he said. "They didn't want me to be the stereotypical athlete. I didn't want to either."

The summer heading into the eighth grade, former Findlay Prep coach Michael Peck noticed Williams-Goss at a Las Vegas AAU Tournament, playing for an under-17 team.



It didn't take much investigating – or scouting – to realize he was a special talent.

"He was something of an AAU legend up in that region," Simon said. "You could see why."

A contact was made, Williams-Goss was offered a scholarship and the ball began to roll. He watched the Pilots on TV win a mythical national title with Bradley as the catalyst. The school that housed Findlay Prep players — the Henderson International School — was considered prestigious.

So Williams-Goss presented the idea to his family and remarkably, they considered.

"There was no way they were going to let me go down there myself," he said. "I was only 14. They weren't going to let someone else raise me. We're a close-knit family. It was a family decision. We spent one summer hashing through the pros and cons."

Said Valerie: "At first, it didn't seem feasible, but the more Nigel explained, the more we had to respect where he was coming from. Where we were at in Portland, he was scoring 40 points every game. If he was going to get better – to be the best – he needed a place that would push him to his limits. If he was gifted in dance or art and he had the chance to go to Juilliard would we deny him?



"I think once I was assured he could take honors classes there, we were then all in agreement."

The timing was impeccable for the family. Virgil, in a crashing mortgage business, was looking for a change. Valerie could keep her thriving practice in Portland and start another in the greater Las Vegas area.

The family could sell their home, keep a home owned by Valerie's mother, and relocate 1,000 miles southeast to a more affordable region in Nevada.

The final test, however, was if Nigel felt at home at Findlay Prep. {PAGEBREAK} No turning back

It was the spring of 2009 and a then-scrawny 14-year-old eighth-grader walked into Findlay Prep's 5:30 a.m. practice.

Among the Pilots scrimmaging were future NBA players Thompson, Joseph and Bradley.



"First off, I felt right at home because we were playing so early," Williams-Goss said. "I've been playing at that hour for years."

Peck immediately inserted Williams-Goss into a scrimmage, and to most people's surprise, there was no back down from the pup.

"He just walked in there with a supreme confidence," Simon said. "It was very much like he was going to be the guy. I remember the first two or three times he got the ball it went up (he shot it). He was really just a mini version of what he is now."

Said Williams-Goss: "It was 5-on-5, so I just played my game. I played against older guys my whole life. I wasn't intimidated."

But how did the team react to him?

"At the end of the practice, (then senior) D.J. Richardson (now at Illinois) told the coaches to get me a jersey right then," Williams-Goss said. "So I think it went pretty well."



But that wasn't the case the first basketball season at Findlay Prep. 

He and the family knew it would be a struggle — he'd never sat the bench — but with Joseph, Marko Petrovic and Nick Johnson in front of him, there was little playing time to spare.
 
"It was even tougher than I thought," Williams-Goss said. "Until you're the last guy coming off the bench, you have no idea how it feels. Yes, there were nights when I was second-guessing my decision to come there."

But there was no turning back. The entire family — grandma and extended family included — had jumped into this commitment. Mom and dad had to more than once talk their son from the figurative ledge.

"We just tried to let him see the bigger picture, that there were three more years and he was getting a good education," Valerie said.

Said Williams-Goss: "I knew they were right but it was still hard. I remember after one lopsided game we won and I didn't play I cried afterward."

But he never stopped working and Peck, Simon and staff never missed sight of that.



A couple of injuries lifted Williams-Goss to a starting spot and he responded by scoring in double figures both games. He played in 16 of 30 games that year and averaged 5.1 points and shot 48 percent from the floor.

"He more than held his own," Simon said. "It was obvious he was well above the curve."

The next season, Williams-Goss was a starter and he hasn't missed a start since.

His statistics and game have gradually rose, this year topping off at 18 points, 7.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. He's shooting a sizzling 59.2 percent from the floor and the one area he really wanted to improve — 3-point shooting — is almost at 46 percent. As a 90-percent free-throw shooter, you can't foul him late.

"He's shot about the same percentage the last three years from the field," Simon said. "But the 3s is where he really worked on and it's all paid off."

Just ask Monteverde Academy. {PAGEBREAK} Next Marcus Smart



Beyond offensive prowess, defense may be his strength, Simon says. Add his basketball IQ and ability to perform in the clutch, and his status as a blue chip recruit has been secured. 

He's made at least four game-winners for the Pilots in his career.

"He's got such heart and will," Simon said. "He's a phenomenal defender – a lockdown defender. He does everything right. He's just a program builder."

Despite all that praise, he's not considered an elite recruit. MaxPreps basketball editor Jason Hickman has him a five-star recruit and ranked No. 28 overall in the country, which is higher than any other national recruiting outlet.

He compares him with current Oklahoma State freshman Marcus Smart.

"The body types are a little different and they are different type of athletes, but in terms of intangibles, he may be the Marcus Smart of his class," Hickman said.



"Nigel isn't a pure shooter or scorer, but has taken over scoring-wise in some big situations. He defends like crazy, seems like a well-adjusted young man and I anticipate him being hugely successful at Washington."

Williams-Goss believes his body of work hasn't been fully appreciated by those who rank high school players. He was the only returning starter for the Pilots, who have quickly jelled.

"In my opinion, I'm not as high as I think I should be," he said. "Not based on my performance. There's just a lot of doubters who don't believe in me. I think that's why every time I step on the court, I have to prove myself."

He doesn't need to prove himself to Hickman.

"I think Nigel is an incredible success story," Hickman said. "He had a lot of eyeballs on him at an early age, took the criticism and whispers in stride as he came up through the Findlay Prep program."

So Williams-Goss continues to work.



Before he arrives at Washington, "I definitely have to work on my left hand in the paint. That and my mid-range game."

It never stops for Williams-Goss or his dreams.

He says his biggest personal motivation isn't recruiting rankings or his Findlay Prep legacy. It's his family who jumped all-in with him for this ride to Henderson.

"They not only taught me how to live the right way, but they've sacrificed so much for me," he said. "I want to give back to them. One day I would love to give back and pay them back financially (and play professionally).

"That would be the cherry on top."