Back in January, Shepard’s Amari Williams was involved in a car accident that forced him to jump out of a moving vehicle that had caught on fire.
As harrowing as that sounds, Williams was most concerned with the possibility of his sophomore varsity basketball season being cut short after he suffered an ankle injury leaping out of the car.
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“I was originally supposed to be out for six weeks and I was down bad when I heard that because that was basically the rest of the season,” Williams said. “Good thing it was just an ankle sprain.
“I’m just glad to be back now.”
Williams missed eight games after the accident but has returned to dominating in the lane.
The 6-foot-9 center came through with 13 points and seven rebounds Monday night as the host Astros rolled to a 66-47 win over Eisenhower in a Class 4A Rich Township Regional quarterfinal in Palos Heights.
Brendin Thomas finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the 15th-seeded Astros (18-14), who will take on second-seeded Marist (26-5) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a regional semifinal.
“That’s just a test for us,” Thomas said of Wednesday’s game. “We’re glad we get to keep playing.”
Omar Yousef added 16 points for Shepard, while Aurion Lee-Barnes chipped in with seven points.
Larnell Moore led 18th-seeded Eisenhower (8-21) with 13 points, while Logan Tasciotti scored 11 points. Davon Taylor and Tae’jon Jackson had nine points each. Taylor added eight rebounds.
Williams, meanwhile, became a leader from the bench while he was out with the injury. And he enjoyed cheering on his teammates.
“It felt good to see how everyone stepped up and was doing what they needed to do,” Williams said. “It was honestly fun to watch.”
In fact, when the Astros had won three straight games with him sidelined, Williams was a bit leery about returning.
“When I came back, the team was playing really well without me so, I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous because I didn’t want to come back and feel like I was messing anything up,” Williams said. “But honestly, it’s great to be back.”
And when he made his return, Williams confirmed there was no rust.
“We had a conference game my first game back and as soon as coach checked me into the game, I was ready to go,” he said.
Shepard coach Corey Wolf is certainly glad to have his big man in his lineup again.
“It’s exhilarating,” Wolf said. “It’s really good to have him back. He kept us going when he was out. He was in really good spirits even before he got back.
“He’s been a vocal leader for us, too. It’s great to see such a young kid with such a long time to go already have a vast knowledge of the game.”
Williams and Thomas proved to be a dynamic duo inside Monday. Thomas scored eight points in the first quarter, while Williams provided seven, helping the Astros race to a 27-11 lead after one.
Shepard increased the advantage to 41-16 by halftime and cruised from there.
Thomas, in his first year with the Astros after transferring from Thornwood, is enjoying the partnership with Williams.
“Amari, that’s my boy, and it’s fun playing with him, even though he takes the stats away,” Thomas said with a laugh.
Indeed, Williams has been filling up the stat sheet since he came to Shepard as a highly touted freshman. But now, he believes he’s playing with a much higher level of comfort.
“I felt like the game got a lot slower for me,” Williams said. “Last year, the game was a little fast for me, but now it’s way slowed down for me and it’s way better.”