Randoph Williams, a former captain of the Senior St. Vincent and the Grenadines Basketball Team – has been inducted into the hall of fame of the Washburn University in Kansas, USA.
Williams, who goes by the moniker “Sticky”, was a member of the first ever team from Washburn University, 2000/01, to reach the National Collegiate Athletics Association Championship, after winning both the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) regular season and the MIAA Tournament Championships.
During that season, Williams, who played both the point guard and shooting guard positions, averaged 13.2 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Williams, along with the other members of that team, were inducted last Sunday, October 5, 2024, during a Brunch ceremony held at the university’s auditorium.
Reflecting on the momentous occasion, Williams said that it was a feeling of joy and humility.
“It is a good feeling to know that your peers recognize your contributions… It is one of the highest honours that a sports person can get… After you finish playing, all the battles you went through, you can reflect on your journey”, Williams shared.
A journey which he disclosed as having started years ago, while growing up in the community of Calliaqua.
“My journey to this Hall of Fame started as a little boy in Calliaqua playing multiple sports, watching basketball on television and falling in love with the game… Also watching others play at the Calliaqua hard court”, Williams reminisced.
He sequenced that he went on to play for Calliaqua, before gaining a Basketball scholarship before transitioning to the senior national team.
“It was Oral Roberts (former national player), a good friend of mine who got a scholarship to Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana… He spoke to the school about me and I got there in 1997 … I spent two years there, where I was the leading scorer on the team, averaged 20 points per game, between 1998 and 1999”, Williams recollected.
With the added college experience on his resume, Williams gained selection to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior team, a sojourn that spanned several years.
“I have captained the team on multiple occasions, was the Vice Captain in 1999 when we won our first Windward Islands Tournament and again in 2010, when I was captain”, he related.
Williams, who also represented his country in Football, said that he cherished all the experiences he accumulated over the years, which have helped him shape his life.
With his competitive basketball playing days behind him, he has gone on to serve as the Assistant Coach of the National Senior Female Basketball team, and coach of the Calliaqua United Basketball team.
He underscored that he hopes that his recent endorsement as a Hall of Famer will inspire some Vincentian sportsman or woman, to use sports as a tool for personal development
