Williams' triple-double spurs SJB

Call Kyle Williams the natural.

With long, gangly arms that, when outstretched, recall the wingspan of a large bird of prey, and impeccable timing that makes him a scavenger under the basket, it's no wonder that one of St. John the Baptist's new starters has made his impact known. He's 6-7. He's 14.

Saturday, taking on Wyandanch at the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic, he was as ubiquitous as he was dangerous. Williams, who had 11 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks, spearheaded a first-half Cougars onslaught in which they outscored the Warriors 10-0 on second-chance points and absolutely dominated on offensive rebounds. Up 39-26 at the break, Baptist cruised to a 73-53 non-league win in front of a packed house at Wyandanch High School. Wyandanch is 2-8.

"His upside is unlimited," Cougars coach Jim Plate said. "He works like heck and to have 10 blocks in a game like this? I'm very happy with his defense and his offense will develop."

Not that Baptist (10-2) is hurting too much on that front, either.

The Cougars never trailed, staking a 20-15 first-quarter lead that would eventually balloon to 23 points late in the fourth quarter. After Donell Jones' three brought the Warriors to within five at the end of the first, Baptist kept Wyandanch scoreless until 4:25 left in the first half. This, despite utilizing a rare zone defense. Baptist generally plays a higher-impact man-to-man, but Plate said that after playing St. Dominic on Friday night, he was worried about overtaxing his players.

"That's the first and last time you'll see me using a zone," he said. "[Wyandanch] is so athletic, and they're wild on offense and defense."

SEE PHOTOSSt. John the Baptist 73, Wyandanch 53

Tournament MVP Keith Williams chipped in 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Dante Thompson had a game-high 17 points, plus 12 rebounds.

Keith, a sophomore transfer from Upper Room, said that Baptist "has confidence in everything . . . The coaching staff is a lot different than [at Upper Room]. My old school didn't pay as much attention to defense and it seems like all we do here is defense."

It's no wonder, then, that Kyle, the team's big man, has become such a key cog in the Cougars' conquests. He shot up five inches to 6-foot in sixth grade.

"It's kinda hard to be 14 and 6-7," he said. "You get used to it, but they need to have patience with me. Eventually, I'll get the coordination."

If there's one area of improvement for Baptist, it's that coordination. The putbacks - the ones on which Kyle Williams or Thompson wait under the basket and tip it back in - came mostly as a result of missed layups or short jumpers.

"We're so used to missing layups," Plate said. "They have this schoolyard ethic where they spin the ball on the layup instead of dumping it in."

With a team this young and this talented, though, Plate said he had every reason to be optimistic. Kyle, at least, has no plans on wilting under the pressure.

"I wasn't scared," he said. "I'm just a natural player."