Central's Syris Williams has tall task keeping teammates happy as Wildcats' point guard
Dec. 9—Winning and keeping teammates happy is the main goal for Pueblo Central High School's point guard Syris Williams this season.
The senior, who transferred from Overland High School after his sophomore season, is the catalyst for the Wildcats and faces a tall task distributing the ball to a talented group.
"Just trying to share the ball with everybody, get everybody touches because everybody is part of the team, it's just not one person," Williams said. "There's no 'I' in team."
Central first-year coach Bob Tyler is thrilled to have Williams in his program.
"When Syris moved to Pueblo from Overland, he could have went anywhere," Tyler said. "To have him end up at Central he really helped us last year and really gained knowledge.
"He played with us all summer and learned how to run the show out there. I don't know what we'd do without Syris."
Williams doesn't feel pressure to step into the spotlight. In fact, he welcomes it.
"I've been playing basketball all my life so it's nothing new to me," he said. "Coach Tyler gave me the role of being a leader and a point guard so I just have to take it on my shoulders and act like I have a chip on my shoulder and go with it.
"I just love this team. I'm not going to let them down and see me look sad. I don't fold."
Williams was Central's sixth man last season and knew he was going to take over as the leader this season.
"I was the sixth man last year and I'm glad I got to watch and learn," he said. "After we lost in the Elite 8 last year, I knew I was going to be the point guard this year."
So far, Williams has been filling up the stat sheet.
He's averaging 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.6 steals a game as Central has started 5-0 and is ranked No. 5 in the CHSAA Class 4A poll.
Tyler said Williams will get better as the season unfolds.
"Sy's best attribute that nobody knows about is that he shoots the lights out," Tyler said. "He shoots amazing but in his mind, he shoots when he has to right now. One of these days we're going to need that shooting and he's going to come through."
A 4.0 GPA student in the classroom, Williams is a student of the game of basketball and it shows on the court.
"The first thing I learned is the little things matter, every shot, every dribble," Williams said. "When I was younger, my dad taught me that it was always defense first. I had to play defense before I could put the ball in the hoop.
"We're trying to get everybody going. It's just not all about me."
Tyler believes Williams' ceiling is unlimited.
"Keeping everybody happy is not going to be easy," Tyler said. "I told Syris he's going to play college basketball somewhere. Lefty point guards aren't found very easy. To have to be a distributor and run offenses and get us set, all those things, that's what he's concentrating on.
"He's got a great mind, a great heart, very religious, everything about him is positive."
Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky
