UA the choice for LR Central’s Williams

Kiara Williams of Little Rock Central High School signed to play basketball for the University of Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, at a ceremony at the school.

Michael Green has watched Kiara Williams grow to be a good basketball player. The Little Rock Central coach is eagerly awaiting to see Williams develop into a great player.

"There's no doubt she's going to be great player in college," Green said. "In high school, Kiara has been a two-sport athlete. She's never just concentrated on basketball. ... She can dribble, she can shoot, she can do it all. Once she starts working exclusively on basketball, it's going to be frightening to see how good she can be."

Williams signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of Arkansas on Friday. The Lady Tigers' 6-1 power forward said she once she visited the Fayetteville campus, she considered no other school.

"Even though it's been a recent choice for me, I knew right after I left their campus I wanted to go there," Williams said. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking about who I was going to sign with before I visited. I was pushing that decision back and trying to hear everybody out. ... But after I visited [Arkansas], I knew no other school would be close."

Friday was a momentous day for Central athletic program. Williams and four other athletes signed Division I letters to continue their athletic careers. Williams was one of three Lady Tigers' basketball players to sign and she is the first in Green's tenure at the school to sign with the Razorbacks.

Williams averaged 14 points a game her junior year and scored 10 points a game in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. But Green says her best attribute is "the way she plays the game."

"Her effort, her motor is one of the best I've ever seen," Green said. "She plays the game so hard. She gets up and down the floor. Every ball that comes off the glass, she wants to rebound. It's effort. It's continuous movement on her part. ... And she's been that way since Day One."

With Williams on the roster, Central has won 20 or more games all three years and the Lady Tigers have won two conference championships. Williams says the team has even higher goals for this season.

"We have different talents, but we gel really well together," Williams said. "We all have different personalities, but once we step on the court, we're able to play as one. Because of that, I think we can go pretty far this year."

Other Central students to sign Friday included:

• Alexis Brown, a 5-6 guard, with Alcorn State University;

• Alaysa Ready, a 5-5 point guard, with Stephen F. Austin;

• Thomas Heye, a state champion swimmer in the 50-yard freestyle last spring, with Missouri State University;

• Ladarrien Ledbetter with Arkansas-Pine Bluff for tennis.

Sports on 11/21/2015