East Chicago Central senior Greg Williams exudes a quiet confidence.
That’s in keeping with his performance for the Cardinals. The 6-foot-7 forward just goes about his business but makes a significant impact.
“Greg’s a glue guy,” East Chicago Central coach Alaa Mroueh said. “He’s done quite a lot around the rim for us. I know he probably doesn’t really show up a lot in the offensive stats categories. But just his presence inside, being able to disrupt offensive players around the rim, has been major. His presence inside shows up at all times.”
Williams is averaging 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Cardinals (19-8), who won a sectional title for the second straight season and will play Hanover Central (15-11) in the Class 3A Michigan City Regional on Saturday. He understands his role on a team that features senior guard/forward Dominique Murphy, who passed E’Twaun Moore this season to become the program’s career scoring leader, and senior guard/forward Yamauree Wallace.
“I’m just trying to stay focused and stay active,” Williams said. “Just rebound the ball and try to get everybody else going and just try to be the best team player I can be.”
Like the Cardinals are trying to be the best team they can be. Last season, East Chicago Central won a 4A sectional title, its first since 2017, but lost in the regional. Williams and his teammates have a different mindset this season.
“It feels good,” he said of winning a sectional title again. “It felt better last year. It feels good this year still. I just know we can go farther this year. I’m just excited.”
Junior guard Jamarie Pollard, who is in his first season at East Chicago Central after transferring from Bowman, has been excited to play with Williams.
“He’s a big piece to the team,” Pollard said. “He’s the tallest guy on the court for us, so we expect him to get a lot of rebounds, box out well, be able to do the small things that we can’t do as a team being big.”
Williams has elevated his game late in the season for the Cardinals, who reversed a regular-season loss to West Side in the sectional championship game last week.
“In the tournament, Greg’s really controlled the middle for us,” Mroueh said. “Some of that stuff doesn’t show up in the stats. But he’s been a big reason why we’ve been successful down the stretch in a lot of games. Just his presence inside has been major.”
That trend could continue in the regional. Williams could be a key against Hanover Central, which features standout senior forward/center Brad Rohde.
“They have a really good player inside in Brad Rohde,” Mroueh said. “We have to limit him and make things tough for him, stay on our feet guarding him, because he has really good footwork. We just have to do what we’ve been doing in terms of the tempo we’ve been playing and just dominating the glass. We dominate the glass.”
Mroueh believes his players are ready.
“They’re excited,” he said. “It should be a good game, and most of our guys have stacked their experience from last year’s regional, and their expectations this year have changed.
“They have a different level of focus. They’ve been here before. It’s a good formula to have.”
The Cardinals last won a regional title in 2007, when they won the 4A state championship.
“It was a very special year that we’d love to re-create,” Mroueh said.
Williams, whose college options include Marian Ancilla, has been preparing for this challenge.
“I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” he said.
