Mikey Williams

Williams first held a basketball when he was 9 months old and grew up playing under the guidance of his father and mother.[4] In his childhood, he mainly played on an outdoor court in his apartment complex. In elementary school, Williams was often involved in fights with bullies.[5] He worked as a ball boy for San Ysidro High School head coach Terry Tucker, who said that "he couldn't keep (Williams) out of the gym."[6] In middle school, Williams played for the Malcolm Thomas All-Stars travel team.[4] In seventh and eighth grade, he was ranked the number one player in the 2023 class by the Naismith National Youth All-American Report.[4][7] In eighth grade, Williams joined the North Coast Blue Chips Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, where he rose to fame while playing alongside Bronny James, the son of basketball player LeBron James.[5] In 2019, he played for the Compton Magic on the AAU circuit.[8]

As a freshman, Williams played for San Ysidro High School in San Diego.[9] On November 20, 2019, he made his high school debut, recording 41 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 98–46 win over El Cajon Valley High School.[10] In his next game, an 85–77 victory over Mission Bay High School, Williams scored 50 points.[11] On December 13, he scored a career-high 77 points, making nine three-pointers, in a 116–52 win over Kearny High School. He broke the CIF San Diego Section (CIF-SDS) single-game scoring record, previously held by Tyrone Shelley since 2005, and set the state freshman record for single-game scoring.[12] On January 10, 2020, Williams recorded 35 points in a 103–71 loss to top 2020 recruit Evan Mobley and Rancho Christian School, one of the best high school teams in the country.[13] He led San Ysidro to the CIF-SDS Division III title on February 27.[14] As a freshman, Williams averaged 29.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game and was named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year.[15]

Entering his sophomore season, Williams transferred to Lake Norman Christian School in Huntersville, North Carolina.[16]

Recruiting

Williams is considered a five-star recruit and a top five player in the 2023 class by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. He received offers from many NCAA Division I programs, including Arizona and Arizona State, before starting his high school career.[17] In June 2020, Williams was offered by several historically black college and universities (HBCU) basketball programs after showing interest in playing for an HBCU on social media.[18]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mikey Williams PG	Huntersville, NC	Lake Norman Christian (NC)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	—
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 5  247Sports: 2  ESPN: 5
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

Williams' father, Mahlon, played basketball for Sweetwater High School, where he was an All-CIF-SDS selection. His mother, Charisse, played softball for Kearny High School and Hampton University.[6]

Williams has established a large social media following. He had over one million Instagram followers before starting high school.[19] By the end of his freshman year of high school, he had almost two million followers on Instagram, including musician Drake and basketball players LeBron James and Kevin Durant.[20][21]