Section 7, put on by the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association, is objectively one of the most impressive, expansive summer high school tournaments in the country. It was held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, over Father’s Day weekend and Pro Insight was on hand to cover the event. In between games, we caught up with Cody Williams, the talented guard out of Perry High School (AZ), who also plays for AZ Firestorm (AZ) on the adidas circuit. Throughout the event, Williams highlighted his versatility, natural feel for the game, court vision, defensive instincts, and upside in front of hundreds of college coaches.
As part of the Pro Insight Q&A series, Williams touched on his background, getting compared to Penny Hardaway, what he’s looking for in a school, his off-court interests and more.
For the next installment of the Pro Insight Q&A series, we present 2023 prospect Cody Williams, from Chandler, Arizona:
Pro Insight: Talk a bit about your background.
Cody Williams: I’m from Chandler, Arizona. My brother goes to Santa Clara University right now. My parents are hard-working. That’s a bit about where I come from.
PI: Any other athletes in the family?
CW: No, just me and my brother…well I guess my parents played collegiately for Air Force. Both played basketball.
PI: Describe your strengths as a player.
CW: I’m a 6’7” PG, I can bring the ball up, having that height has an advantage where I can see the floor. I can shoot it, didn’t shoot it particularly well this game, but I can shoot it. I’m long so defense comes really easy for me due to my length.
PI: What are some improvement areas?
CW: I’d say ball-handling, just keep improving on it. Keep improving on my shooting and just getting stronger.
PI: What are some underrated aspects of your game?
CW: I’d say my defense. Especially in 1-on-1 it’s very hard to beat me off the dribble. So that’s one of my strengths, and rebounding with my height.
PI: Any players you model your game after?
CW: Penny Hardaway said that I remind him of him. My dad also says I remind him of him, as well.
PI: What’s the update with your recruitment?
CW: Just looking at schools and doing my research. Not worrying too much about it, just worrying about playing hard and all of that will come.
PI: What are you looking for in your school of choice?
CW: Schools that take interest, you don’t want a school where you’re about to graduate and they’re like, “hey we’re going to give you an offer” — cause then it feels like you’re at the bottom of the barrel. A school with a great education and one that cares for the team. I like to play with fast teams. Those are my main points.
PI: How do you see your role at the next level?
CW: Same as it is here, being a PG, handling the ball, learning to take over. That’s what I’m looking forward to at the next level.
PI: Describe your on vs. off court personality.
CW: I guess you can say I’m kind of quiet, not really on the court, but outside the court I keep to myself unless I’m with the team. On the court I’m vocal and off I’m mellow.
PI: What are your off court interests?
CW: If I’m not sleeping, then probably getting shots up or I play video games occasionally. Or it’s spent watching Netflix in bed. That’s my free time [laughs].
PI: How would you rate yourself on 2K?
CW: I’d start off at like 70-75. Start there, gotta lot of room to improve.
PI: What are four words that describe you?
CW: Athletic. High IQ. Shooter. Long.