When you are nicknamed “Bean” in honor of Kobe Bryant you had best be a heck of a scorer…and Charles Williams lived up to that lofty legacy. As a freshman at Howard he averaged 15.7 PPG and was named MEAC ROY. As a sophomore he scored 20.4 PPG and was named 1st-Team All-MEAC. As a senior he became the all-time leading scorer in MEAC history and graduated with 2404 career PTS. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Charles about being a great scorer and playing pro basketball. Today is the 4th anniversary of Charles becoming Howard’s all-time leading scorer on November 30, 2019, so we take this time to remember his remarkable college career.
You were born on 9/11/96: what do you remember about your 5th birthday? I do not remember it too well because I was so young. A year or 2 after that is when I started to understand the significance of that day and how it affected a lot of people.
Your nickname growing up was Kobe Bryant’s middle name of “Bean”: who gave it to you, and how did you like it? I loved it! My teammates at Howard gave it to me when I was a freshman. They saw that I had a lot of confidence shooting the ball and saw some similarities between my game and his. The entire name they wanted to give me that nobody really knows was based on 3 masterminds of the game “Tony Bean Jackson”: Tony for Tony Allen (who used to play for Memphis), Bean for Kobe, and Jackson for Phil.
You were born/raised in Virginia: what made you choose Howard? The relationship that I had with the previous coach, Kevin Nickelberry. My official visit was during their homecoming, which put some extra icing on top of the cake.
What makes Coach Nickelberry such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He was heavily invested in me both as a player/person. He came to my school to watch me practice but also called me a lot to check up on me and see how I was doing. He built a level of trust with my parents, which meant a lot to me. I admired his understanding of the game and how it translates over to life. I was thrust into a leadership/scoring role as a freshman but after he recruited RJ Cole the next year it was huge for our school. In 2018 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and he was the main guy in my corner for anything I needed to talk about. He was not just a basketball guy but like another family member so I have high praise for him.
In January of 2017 you scored a career-high 37 PTS/15-25 FG in a 3-PT loss to Savannah State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone? I think so. If I remember correctly I think I started the game 1-5 from the field but my teammates knew that if they kept getting me the ball then I would get in positions to score. It eventually felt like everything I put up was going in: I did not realize I had that many PTS until late in the game when I saw that I had 33 PTS. It was cool to come in as a freshman and score so many PTS: I wish that we could have won the game but we missed a last-second shot.
As a #11-seed in the 2017 MEAC tourney you beat Coppin State/Morgan State before losing to Norfolk State in the semifinals: what is the key to pulling off an upset in March? Just going out there and understanding the moment but not deviating from what you bring to the team and that night’s game plan. Each game gets harder as you advance so you have to lock in and get your rest and look at your scouting report so that you are prepared to give it your all.
In 2017 you scored 15.6 PPG and were named conference ROY: what did it mean to you to get such an outstanding honor like that? It meant a lot to me. James Daniel III had been named conference ROY in 2014 and he was in my ear all year to help me play my game. I went back and forth with Jermaine Marrow at Hampton: he would win Rookie of the Week and then I would win it the following week.
You finished your career as the leading scorer in MEAC history with 2404 career PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Picking/choosing where you get your buckets from on the floor. I am blessed to be a 3-level scorer: I am quick enough to get to the basket but can make a pull-up jumper, which goes back to me watching a lot of tape of Kobe. You also need to put in the work and have the mindset, not just in games/practices but on off-days.
After going undrafted you ended up in Luxembourg where you were named ROY in the Total League: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? It is a lot more physical overseas: the rules are very different and I had to get used to guys knocking the ball off the rim after FT attempts. I thought that college basketball was fast but European ball is extremely fast. The guys here are very smart and know how to manipulate the game in their favor. All pros are big/fast/can score but your basketball IQ will really separate you.
Your father Charles Sr. played basketball at Virginia State: who is the best athlete in the family? That is me! Pops thinks he can still take me on the court but I am no longer 11 years old so he cannot bully me in the post. I will dunk on him: put that in the article so he understands that! He can still shoot the ball but if he gets to making too many then I will lock in.