Antonio "Booman" Williams (born January 12, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for KR of the Úrvalsdeild karla. Prior to his professional career, he played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Indian Hills Community College Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a public community college in Iowa with campuses in Ottumwa and Centerville. IHCC serves both traditional residential students and commuter students, primarily from a ten-county area in southeast Iowa as ...

and

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

Early life and high school career

Williams grew up in

K-Town, Chicago North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois, located on its West Side. The area contains the K-Town Historic District, the Foundation for Homan Square, the Homan Square interrogation facility, and the great ...

. At the age of 6 or 7, he began playing football, followed by soccer and basketball shortly afterward. In middle school, Williams scored 30 points in his first AAU game. By the time he enrolled in his freshman year at

Farragut Career Academy Farragut Career Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Little Village neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. As a career academy, Farragut emphasizes a curriculum that combines academic in ...

, Williams decided to focus on basketball instead of football. He transferred to

Proviso East High School Proviso East High School is a public secondary school in Maywood, Illinois which serves the educational needs of Maywood and three other villages within Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois: Broadview, Forest Park and Melrose Park. It is th ...

before his sophomore season, playing under Donnie Boyce. Williams missed 20 games during his junior season due to academic ineligibility. As a senior, he averaged 24 points and six rebounds per game, earning Third Team All-State honors. Partially due to his academic issues, Williams received no Division I scholarship offers, so he decided to attend

College career

As a freshman, Williams averaged 9.3 points and 1.7 steals per game on a team that finished 29-5. During his sophomore season, Williams averaged 14.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and earned All-Region first team honors. He helped lead Indian Hills to a 33-1 record. Williams committed to

due to its relatively close distance to his home in Chicago. As a junior, he averaged 11.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. On February 21, 2020, Williams posted a career-high 34 points in a 104-98 double overtime loss to Buffalo. He followed up that performance by scoring a game-high 17 points to lead Kent State past Miami (Ohio) 74-61. As a senior, Williams averaged 14.7 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game. He was named to the Second Team All- MAC as well as the MAC Defensive Team.

Professional career

On August 8, 2020, Williams signed with Vevey Riviera of the

Swiss Basketball League The Swiss Basketball League, also known as SB League or SBL, is the top-tier professional club basketball league in Switzerland. It is organized by Swiss Basketball. The winners of the SBL are crowned Swiss national basketball champions. Current ...

.. He never played for them because the club had big financial and administrative problems. In 2021 he signed with

BC Tallinna Kalev Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ is a professional basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia. The team plays in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League and Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Their home arena is the Audentes Sports Centre. History The team was fou ...

in Estonia. In July 2021, Williams joined the Ottawa Blackjacks of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball ...

. On December 16, 2021, he signed with the

Plymouth City Patriots The Plymouth City Patriots are a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. Established in 2021, the team compete in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition, making their debut in the 2021–22 ...

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

. On January 6, 2023, Williams signed with KR of the Úrvalsdeild karla.

Personal life

Williams is the son of Tamara Willis. His father was shot after entering a convenience store when Williams was 15. He received his nickname, Booman, from his aunt. Williams has a son, Ayden, born in 2015, with former girlfriend Sariah Vance.

References

External links

Kent State Golden Flashes bioTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Antonio 1997 births Living people American men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Estonia American expatriate basketball people in Iceland Basketball players from Chicago Farragut Career Academy alumni Indian Hills Warriors basketball players Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball players KR men's basketball players Ottawa Blackjacks players Plymouth City Patriots players Point guards Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) players