Baby steps: Modesto Christian sophomore Williams returns from foot injury

Tyler Williams darted through a crowd along the baseline, separating from his defender before flashing into the corner for a wide-open three-pointer.

Brick.

The shot missed badly, but in the Modesto Metro Conference where the Modesto Christian High School boys basketball team routinely laps the field, the clank! was of no real concern.

Not yet, anyway.

The Crusaders are just glad to have Williams, a promising sophomore guard, back at full speed. The run along the baseline – so crucial to his open look, so emblematic of his athleticism and instincts – wasn’t possible 10 days ago.

Williams missed two weeks because of a strained tendon in his foot. The injury kept him off the court in practice and games, leaving the key role player rusty upon his return.

“He’s definitely not in 100 percent shape and we kind of need him to be, so it was great that he got a lot of minutes today,” coach Richard Midgley said after a 69-35 victory over Enochs on Friday evening. “I thought he did well in his minutes. We definitely got to work him into shape, so he’s back to the shape he was prior to his injury.”

To that point, Midgley hasn’t put any limitations on Williams, who must wear an ankle brace as a preventative measure. He logged 20 minutes in his return Wednesday against Gregori. He had six points on 2-of-4 shooting in an 84-34 victory.

He played 19 minutes against the Eagles, scoring nine points to go with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

“It felt good getting back to playing,” Williams said. “I just need to get back in shape. Get loose. When I came back, I felt slow.”

On a night when the Crusaders played without two regular starters – forward Josthin Dawkins (suspension) and guard Jordan Hollins-Buckner (knee) – Williams helped provide spark and stability off the bench.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore entered at the 4:34 mark in the first quarter and was immediately fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound. He made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the score 5-5.

“As a younger guy, I try to get my minutes. Coach tells me to bring the energy,” Williams said. “I try to bring it, bring that intensity up, so I can stay on the court.”

Enochs took its last lead, 7-5, but saw its upset hopes dashed by the run-and-gun Crusaders, ranked sixth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Modesto Christian closed the first quarter with a 10-0 flurry and then wrapped up its 22nd consecutive victory with a 28-7 charge to start the second half.

Williams logged the second-most minutes in the first half (11) as senior point guard Christian Ellis battled foul trouble.

Ellis’ combination of court awareness, physicality and acumen may put him in a class all his own among point guards in the Stanislaus District, but Midgley is comforted by the fact he’s developing two clones in Williams and junior Darrian Grays.

“Very athletic. Great rebounder from the guard position. Can shoot it,” Midgley said, reading off Williams’ talents like items on a bullet-point list. “He’s just another similar player (in our system). He’s still young, but has a ton of potential.”

His youth may have contributed to the injury. Williams strained the tendon in his foot while running sprints in practice as punishment.

“I messed up in practice,” he said, “and my foot rolled the wrong way.”

What began as a nagging pain quickly accelerated to a “9” on the pain scale, Williams said. His doctor advised him to sit for two weeks, orders the Modesto Christian staff followed begrudgingly.

“It was tough,” Midgley said. “When you have a group that’s so used to playing together, it just throws you out of your rhythm.”

Two games into his return, Williams is still searching for the touch on his shot and the feel of the ball in his hand. On Friday, he was 0 for 2 from beyond the arc and botched a layup in transition by bouncing the dribble off his foot. He had three turnovers.

It wasn’t an isolated incident. Modesto Christian shot just 23.1 percent (6 of 26) in the first half and 35.5 percent (22 of 62) for the game.

“That was my message after the game. I thought defensively we always do a solid job, but we’ve been missing conversions,” Midgley said. “Tyler had a couple of them, but he’s not the only one. ... That’s something we’ve been addressing in practice and trying to get better at in games.”

Modesto Christian has just three games left in Modesto Metro Conference play before the postseason. With Hollins-Buckner out indefinitely, Williams will be expected to help fill the void.

His fitness and feel on the floor become paramount as the stakes grow. He realized that after Friday’s victory, a game he’ll remember for the bobbles and bricks. Not the makes and the minutes.

“I messed up a couple of times,” Williams said. “I got to stay in the gym, work harder and get back to where I was. Hopefully, with a little progress my game will get better.”

Step by step – sure helps having two healthy feet.

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 1:04 AM with the headline "Baby steps: Modesto Christian sophomore Williams returns from foot injury."