Seeing the Hoos in person was big for 2024 wing Williams

It is no secret that 2024 wing Caleb Williams is one of the top targets for Tony Bennett and his staff in that class.

Williams, who was able to visit Virginia last month for a game, has not had the kind of junior season that he was hoping to as he has battled two different injuries. But that has not slowed down the DC product’s recruiting process.

“Mentally it was pretty tough at first recovering from a concussion and then getting hurt again right when I got cleared from a concussion,” Williams told CavsCorner recently. “I just tried to keep thinking positive thoughts with my family, my coaches and close friends. They all did a good job at trying to keep my spirits up.”

Williams has been to visit UVa a couple times before but the Houston game was the first time he had gotten to see the Cavaliers play at home.

“It was a great experience,” he recalled. “There was a lot of energy in the building and it was a great atmosphere. I was really glad I got to witness that against a really good Houston team.”

Being recruited for a while by Bennett and Co., he has been able to watch a lot of Virginia games on TV but being able to see the environment for himself was something he really enjoyed.

“I know how good Virginia has been recently in basketball and they are off to a good start this year and a part of that is because of the atmosphere that is always in that arena,” he explained. “Being able to finally see it in person was really cool.”

Being able to see it live also allowed him to see how he could possibly fit in the system Bennett runs.

“Being able to watch them in person, the first thing that really stood out was their defense,” Williams said. “They have a really good brand of defense and I have been kind of part of that type of defense for a while now at Sidwell. As the defense is similar to what I am used to, so is the offense. They have a system but they allow their guys to make plays and just allow their guys to do what they do best when they see openings and they do a lot of screening and I am similar to that type of stuff.”

Associate Head Coach Jason Williford has been the lead recruiter for Williams and he explained how comfortable he is with the former UVa great because of the time they’ve spent getting to know each other.

“I have been building a really good relationship with Coach Williford for a while now,” Williams said. “He has been constantly checking in on me and was really consistent when I was battling my injuries earlier this year. He keeps on telling me how much he and Coach Bennett and the rest of the staff would love for me to be a part of it.

“They are stressing to me how much of a priority I am to them,” he added, “and the rest of the program.”