Williams ready for senior year at Montverde Academy

The recruiting process can be difficult for any high school basketball player, but it gets even tougher when you’re touted as one of the best players in the nation.

That’s something Devin Williams is learning pretty quickly.

The rising senior, who is currently playing for the Ohio Basketball Club this summer, is currently the No. 96 player in the 2013 recruiting class, according to ESPN.com. He recently decided on his top eight schools he’s interested in attending once he graduates – a list that includes West Virginia, Louisville, Memphis, Ohio State, Xavier, UCLA, North Carolina State and USC.

"Before I had my final eight, I had 25 or 30 schools calling me," Williams said. "It was crazy trying to focus on basketball with all of that going on as well.

"That’s when I knew I had to sit down and come up with a top eight so I can narrow that down a little bit. It’s made it less chaotic."

Of those eight schools he’s narrowed his list down to, USC, is the only team that didn’t make a Sweet 16 appearance in the last five seasons. That the list includes five schools that have made recent trips to the Final Four is something Williams described as a little humbling.

"It gives me more confidence in my game knowing that these top schools come to see me play and want me to play for their school," he said. "(The recruiting process) is something that only happens to you once in a lifetime, so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible."

In his team’s appearance in the West Virginia Hoop Fest, Williams led OBC to an appearance in the semifinals.

He scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a win against Team Phenom (Pa.) on the second day of the three-day tournament, and he showed a wide variety of post moves and a hard-fought effort on the offensive glass that allowed him to score all of his points in the paint.

It’s not his first time in West Virginia, either. Williams said he’s been to WVU a few times and has watched games at the Coliseum and toured the new basketball practice facility.

He also played in Morgantown multiple times during the past few seasons while playing for Withrow High School (Ohio).

Williams said he talks with West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins a lot and assistant coach Erik Martin was at University High School last week to watch him in Hoop Fest.

As he gets ready for his senior year, Williams is preparing to head to a different school. He’ll be playing his final season at Montverde Academy (Fla.). Montverde emerged as one of the top teams in the nation last season, finishing second in the National High School Invitational, and has a top 10 player on its roster in Florida commit Kasey Hill.

"They’ve got a lot of great coaches there, and I’m going to get to play with a lot of great players," Williams said. "It’s a national schedule, so getting to play that kind of competition plays a big part in it, too."

Playing at Montverde will also allow Williams to get ready for what life is going to be like in college off the court.

"I’ll have to live on my own for the first time," he said. "I’ll be living in a dorm and won’t have anybody telling me to do anything or get me up to go to school.

"It’ll definitely be an adjustment that I’m going to have to adjust to, and it’ll make me more disciplined and prepared for when I go to college."