During Black History Month, Keyano College Huskies Athletics will be celebrating and recognizing the accomplishments of Black student-athletes and staff who have made an impact during their time at Keyano College. Today, the program is recognizing Men's Basketball student-athlete Omeechi Williams.
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Joining the Huskies ahead of the 2021-22 academic year, there's few who could have predicted how immediately valuable Williams, a product of Hamilton, Ontario, would become integral to the success of the Men's Basketball Huskies.
Across a shortened 16-game season, Williams recorded 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.4 assists on a per game basis. He recorded four double-doubles in regular season action, including three in the month of February alone.
While his impact was felt in each game throughout the regular season, reaching double-digits in points on 12 occasions, his top performance of the season came on February 11, 2022 in a road game against the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings. There, he recorded season-highs in points (28), rebounds (14) while also equaling his season-high for assists in a single game, a figure he'd set a new high in later that season.
His 236 points scored ranked 21st in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference while his field goal percentage of 59.4 percent ranked second behind teammate Mazin Tiea. Making his impact felt from beyond the arc, his 43.5 percent figure on three-point shots ranked fourth in the entire conference.
From the foul line, he ranked 17th in the conference for made free throws, making 42 of 59 attempts for a 71.2 percentage.
As well, Williams was ranked in the top 15 for offensive rebounds and the top 10 for defensive and total rebounds.
The ACAC took note of Williams' standout season, naming him the ACAC North Division Rookie of the Year on March 10, 2022. He became the fourth student-athlete from the Men's Basketball Huskies to be named ACAC Rookie of the Year, joining Stefan Jovcic (2017-18), Terrence Crisostomo (2016-17), and Blake Gallatly (2013-14).
Finishing the season with a Silver medal at ACAC provincials, Williams came back as a man on a mission to start the 2022-23 campaign.
Playing in the same amount of games to date, he's already established new season highs in minutes played (486), field goals made (83), three-point shots made (34), free throws made (60), points scored (260), assists (44), and blocks (4).
He also set a new career-high for points in a single game, dropping 31 points on October 28, 2022 at home against the Lakeland Rustlers.
An ACAC career that began less than 18 months ago, now has Williams four points shy of 500 for his ACAC career, along with 222 rebounds, 67 assists, 56 steals, and seven blocks.
Black History Month Spotlight:
February 1: Omeechi Williams, Men's Basketball
