MaxPreps Weekly Honor Roll, presented by the United States Marine Corps: Kiera Williams, High Point Central

Kiera Williams' numbers are eye-popping. The junior averages 17.7 points, 13.4 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game on the court. So, it's almost hard to fathom that Williams is only in her fifth year of playing organized basketball.

Williams, who attends The Kearns Academy (High Point, N.C.) but plays sports at nearby High Point Central (N.C.), has been a dominant inside presence this season for the Bison.

Picking up basketball as a seventh-grader, Williams was certainly late to the game. She received crash-course coaching, but has progressed quickly as a player in a short time.

"Everyone who had ever talked to her was just, ‘Stand there, put your hands up and get in the way,' " High Point Central girls basketball coach Aaron Taylor said. "To see what she has come to from then until now, it just totally blows my mind because she's a totally different person. The only reason it's like that is because of her work ethic. When your best player is your hardest worker on your team that's every coach's dream, and that's what she is."

Williams, 17, puts the work in during the season and offseason, and she's reaping the rewards.

"It's really just been a lot of work, dedication to it," Williams said. "A lot of great coaches."

As a three-year starter, Williams has gradually become a better player each season. During her sophomore campaign, in which she was named all-conference, Williams posted 10.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.

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Williams, who has registered a double-double in 14 of her team's 16 games this season, is a solid post player who utilizes her 6-foot frame.

"She's so tall and she's so aggressive at getting rebounds," Taylor said. "What's so amazing about her is she's so soft around the basket. It's not like catching it and throwing it right back up at the rim, she knows how to put a little finesse on it and get it over the rim."

When asked about her role on the team, Williams doesn't allude to scoring, rebounding or being a strong player in the paint, she automatically wants to discuss how she helps her teammates and loves being a leader.

"I have one of those personalities that people just naturally gravitate toward as like a leader," Williams said.

"She has a personality that just lights up a room," Taylor said. "Of course, she's tall and she's going to be noticed, but you know when she's in the room because she attracts people to her. People are naturally attracted to her and want to go to her because of her attitude, her positive attitude on life. She's always trying to help somebody out."

Williams competes in basketball about nine months out of the year, playing for her high school team as well as for NC Team Xpress on the AAU circuit. Last year in travel ball, Williams played with the 2016s, meaning the sophomore was moved up with junior and seniors.

Playing AAU ball has helped Williams become a more polished basketball player. Her travel coach, Kenny Carter, has captured state and AAU titles, and knows how to mold young and talented players.

"He gets her places and lets her see different opportunities that I, at a public high school, can't give her," Taylor said. "It's always allowed me to coach her the way that she needs to be coached. To be able to coach the rest of the kids like that, too, because she accepts it. If she accepts it, everybody else will."

There's another court where Williams excels, that's in volleyball. She's been a two-year starter for High Point Central and earned all-conference honors this past fall.

"I was actually very surprised when I heard it and I was also the only one on the team," Williams said. "It was a good accomplishment."

Williams, who plays middle hitter, registered 79 kills, 75 blocks and 37 aces as a junior. She uses volleyball as a break from basketball so she doesn't get burned out by her favorite sport.

Playing sports year-round also provides Williams with balance. But it's not easy juggling athletics and academics.

"It really comes down to learning time management," Williams said. "That was probably the biggest thing I had to tackle coming into high school, just managing it all — knowing when I'm going to do my homework, when I'm going to study, when I'm going to have time for basketball. It has really made me a better person all around."
The balancing act seems to be working well as Williams holds a 4.33 grade point average and is the top-ranked student in her class out of just under 40 kids.

"That's probably one of my greatest achievements at this point in my life," said Williams, who has been on the honor roll since fourth grade. "It's also competitive. The people who are two, three, four behind me, they're always saying, ‘We're going to catch up to you. We're going to catch up to you.' That pushes me to be better to make sure that I keep that spot."

Williams loves the heat of competition on the court and in the classroom. Of the five classes she is taking this semester, four are either Advanced Placement or honors.

She stays involved with school activities, being a team representative on a student-athlete council that goes out into the community and talks. Williams is helping to try and get the English Honor Society club established at her high school.

Volunteering is another important aspect in Williams' life. She takes part in service projects through her school, tutoring at an elementary school and gets involved with volunteering around Christmas and Thanksgiving, helping community members in need.

Through her school last summer, Williams worked with young basketball players at a clinic. She knows little kids look up to her and she strives to be a good role model.

"I always tell myself, ‘Don't do something you wouldn't want to do if your grandma was in the room,' so I try to hold myself to do that," Williams said. "Also, my grandma, she's really big on the whole social media, ‘Don't do anything you wouldn't want people to see.' "

Williams is starting to explore her options at the college level. She's interested in becoming an obstetrician-gynecologist and work with fertility patients.

She'd also like to play college basketball if presented an opportunity. She's yet to receive any athletic scholarship offers, but Duke University is her dream academic school.

"She's not getting the looks honestly that she deserves, and I don't know what it is," Taylor said. "She's No. 1 in her class academically, she averages 19 and 14 a game, she's going to be a 1,000-point scorer, she's 6-foot-1. I don't know why she's not getting the looks. But if she wants to and sets her mind and dedicates her mind to just that, she'll be fine.

"She's going to go to a four-year university no matter what on a full-ride academically."

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