Trinity’s Royce Williams not letting transfer slow him down
MANCHESTER, N.H. (BVM) — After Royce Williams transferred from Central High School to Trinity last season, the rivalry game between the two schools would look much different. Now in his second year at the school, Williams is starting to feel much more at home.
“Coming this year I just feel a lot more comfortable,” Williams said of his transfer from Central to Trinity. “The first year when I transferred, I still felt comfortable, [but] Trinity took me in with open arms and made me feel like I had been there my whole three years, and this year it just feels normal. It feels like a place I can call home now.”
Williams was looking for a change of scenery when he made his mind up on transferring from his former school. After going over options, like returning to his birthplace of Florida, Williams and his family decided that staying local and joining a program with a new coach would provide a much–needed fresh start.
For the incoming junior, the move to his new school would pay dividends on the court early on. After playing sparingly on the varsity team his first two years at Central, Williams would take off in his opening year at Trinity becoming the leading scorer in Division I with 21.5 points per game.
“He’s one of the best scorers I’ve seen, he’s dangerous,” Trinity coach Keith Bike said. “He’s still learning all aspects of the game, all facets, but he’s gotten better. [His] practice habits have gotten better and on the defensive end, he’s averaging like six steals a game.
“He’s one of these kids I wish I had him his freshman year and could stick with me for all four years, but it’s been a quick experience with him and I’m trying to prepare him as much as I can for him to play at the next level.”
Even with the division’s leading scorer, Trinity would finish with a 5-14 record in their 2019-20 season. Heading into this year, the Pioneers’ coach wanted to help change the mindset for his senior guard.
“Last year, it really set on [Royce] that, ‘I led the state in scoring but I was on a losing team,’” Bike said. “This year, he’s leading the state in scoring and he’s on a winning team and I think that’s important to him and I think he’s recognized that.
“Do you want to be known as the guy leading the state in scoring on a team that doesn’t win or do you want to be known as the guy who’s leading the state in scoring on a winning team? That’s really what we tried to preach to him so he’s changed a little bit of his habits.”
The idea has been an important one for Williams who has the Pioneers off to a great start in the team’s shortened season as he averages close to 26 points per game. With his focus set on winning, he still has his eyes set on some big individual goals this year like winning Gatorade Player of the Year, but he’s looking forward to the chance at bringing a state title home.
“Last year, we didn’t make the playoffs,” Williams said. “We had a terrible record. This year, we’re off to a great start and I hope we keep it going that way. I want to make the playoffs and make a good run through the playoffs, especially because I’m a senior and I want to end off my year with a bang. Hopefully even win the whole thing.”
Without a normal offseason, it’s been impressive for many to see where the senior has taken his game.
“I wish we had 10-15 more games because I think you would see something much better than even last year and last year he had a great year,” Bike said.
With his focus on this season, Williams is still looking toward his basketball future and he has a supporter in his head coach. With everything on the table, Williams is preparing for a post-graduate year, before making the jump to the next level.
“He can definitely play,” Bike said. “It’s just a matter of a higher-level school taking a risk on him because he can put the ball in the basket, there’s no question about that.”