Bulldog to Globetrotter to Championship Coach - John Williams Continues His Impact

Story written by Mike Gore

John Williams never dreamed about coaching high school girls' basketball.

But thanks to an unexpected event, he accepted an offer to be the head girls coach at Asheville Christian Academy eight years ago. And things have worked out well for the Williams family and the Lions hoops program.

John and his wife Whitney were planning to start a family back in 2014 but Williams was playing for the Harlem Globetrotters and was in his fourth year with the world-famous basketball troupe.

But while in France and with the Globetrotters ready to head to Egypt, John talked to his wife who was feeling sick at the time.

"I talked to Whitney and she wasn't feeling very well and wasn't sure why," said Williams. "I needed to come home and see her and try and see what was wrong. The Globetrotters were nice enough to tell me that it would be okay for me to go home and check on my wife. And if everything was okay, I would meet up with them in Egypt."

The pyramids would have to wait. When John and Whitney went to the doctor, they found out the reason why she was sick. Whitney was pregnant.

"We wanted to start a family once I stopped playing. I was planning on one more year with the Globetrotters but once I found out Whitney was pregnant, I realized it was time to come home and take care of my family," stated Williams.

Coming home was wonderful for Williams but what would he do? John had been hosting his High Intensity Basketball Training clinics in the offseason when he wasn't touring around the world with the Globetrotters. One day he dropped brochures off at Asheville Christian Academy and happened to meet with Lions' Athletics Director Joe Johnson.

"Joe Johnson offered me a job to coach his girls' team at ACA. I wasn't planning on taking it because I was getting ready to go back with the Globetrotters," explained Williams. "But then things changed. When I got back home, I called him up and luckily for me the job was still there."

Being a coach had never really been in Williams' plans. He enjoyed a spectacular career at UNC Asheville as an undersized power forward with incredible jumping ability. He helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2008 Big South Conference regular-season title as a freshman and as a senior led Asheville to the 2011 Big South Tournament championship, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a win over Arkansas-Little Rock in the First Four. Williams' jumping ability had thrilled Bulldog fans for years. A few of his dunks had been featured on ESPN's Play of the Day. He even set a Big South Championship Game record with six blocks in the title win over Coastal Carolina.

For his jumping ability, he became the first Asheville player to be invited to the annual Slam-Dunk contest at the Final Four that year in Houston. Williams never missed a dunk but finished in second place. His work in the Dunk contest did not go unnoticed and soon the Harlem Globetrotters were calling.

Williams had coached a little AAU ball but had never thought about becoming a high school basketball coach. He also had never thought about coaching a girls' team.

"Coaching in high school was never in the cards for me or at least I thought that but this proved to be a great situation," said Williams. "I was able to continue my training business and I got a chance to coach in high school."
He admitted coaching in high school demanded patience.

"Coaching girls is different than coaching guys but you need patience no matter who you're coaching," admitted Williams. "What I tried to teach my girls was that sometimes you're going to have small failures but that's part of the process of building a team. How you learn from those small failures is important to how you develop as a player."

Williams played at UNC Asheville for veteran head coach Eddie Biedenbach. John might not have thought about going into coaching when he was a Bulldog player but the lessons from Coach Biedenbach came in handy when Williams joined the coaching profession.

"I learned so much from Coach Biedenbach and maybe I didn't appreciate it as much when I played but I sure appreciated it when I started coaching," stated Williams. "Coach Biedenbach used to say control what you can control. You can always have a good attitude and always give a great effort. You can always play hard on defense and keep your hands down when you're defending. You can always box out when you rebound."

"Maybe you'll have a bad shooting day or maybe you'll go up against an opponent who is bigger and stronger but regardless - control what you can control," he added. "If you control what you can control then you'll be in a better position to win."

Williams steadily built the ACA program, improving with each season. The Lions reached the state title game in 2018 before falling to crosstown rival Carolina Day. In 2020, right before the pandemic, ACA reached another championship game. The Lions would play Concord Academy and would win a close game, 35-32.

While the team celebrated, Williams and his assistant, another former Bulldog player, Joey Harrell, were still in coach-mode.

"Concord Academy had a real good three-point shooter and in the timeout prior to the final play, we had emphasized knowing where she was and where she would try to shoot from," said Williams. "Well she got open and had a great look at a three-pointer to tie the game. Luckily for us, the shot missed and we won but Joey and I were wondering how the heck did that girl get so open. We really didn't process the win for a little bit because we were so disappointed that we had such a breakdown defensively on such a big play."

"But we settled down once everyone started hugging everybody and we could see how happy the girls were," added Williams. "But when we both got home after the game, the first thing we looked at on tape was how the heck did she get so open!!!"

When a school wins a state championship, there's usually months of celebrating and recognition. The pandemic ruined all of that for Williams' first state title team.

"We played our state championship game a few weeks before the pandemic shut down everything. We were lucky to get a chance to play our state championship game as I know others weren't so lucky," declared Williams. "But we couldn't get together to celebrate the state championship due to the pandemic. We wanted to order rings for our team but no one was meeting at that time so that got delayed for several months. It was a little bittersweet. I was so proud of that team for winning a state title but they didn't get to celebrate like most teams do."

ACA got to the state championship game again in 2021 before losing to Concord Academy, 57-56. This past year the Lions returned to the state title game for the third straight year and won a dramatic overtime thriller against High Point Christian Academy, 48-44. It was an amazing championship for ACA as it won the title despite having only six players on its roster.

"Started the year with seven and then one of our best players tore her ACL and was lost for the year," said Williams. "We were able to win the title with six players."

And the lessons that Williams had been drilling into his team from his first year at ACA really came through this past year.

"We learned to control what we can control," said Williams. "Play defense hard every time down the floor. Have a good attitude and box out every time a shot goes up."

"We did those things all year and found a way to win another state title," added Williams. "Joey and I had to get a little creative with six players but the team worked hard from the first day of practice to the state championship game."

For the coach who never thought about being a girls basketball coach, that gives Coach Williams two state titles and two runner-up finishes in his eight years of coaching at ACA.

Williams has found a great partner at ACA where he holds his training camps for high school basketball players.

"What we try to do at my camps is more than just basketball," explained Williams. "We have skill development but after the skill development we go into strength and conditioning."

"My wife got her degree in nutrition and she teaches a class. She explains how important it is to eat the right foods to get the best performance on the court and in life," added Williams.

"We're very proud of the camps that we've held over the years and it's been nice to see that some of those players have moved on to play college basketball. We hope we've helped a little bit," he said.

Williams still gets advice from Coach Biedenbach.

"I talk to Coach Biedenbach as much as I can," said Williams. "I'll tell him about some issue that we've had on the team and he'll give me advice on how to handle certain situations. Or I'll tell him what I did before talking to him and he'll let me know if he thought I did the right thing or not."

"Coach B is a wise man and it's great that I still get a chance to talk to him about not just basketball but life, as well," he added.

Things have worked out for Williams since leaving France eight years ago. John and Whitney are the proud parents of two daughters, Selah and Izzy. His high intensity training camps are as popular as ever and he owns two state titles as a head coach of the ACA girls' team. What's next?

"We're already working on trying to win another state title in 2023," said Williams. "But to do that we have to trust the process and do the little things that help you win."

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Bulldog to Globetrotter to Championship Coach - John Williams Continues His Impact

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