LITTLE ROCK — When it happened Saturday afternoon near the end of regulation inside Warriors Arena, it wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.
Little Rock Christian junior forward Creed Williamson (6-8, 225), the son of former Arkansas star Corliss Williamson, caught a pass deep in the post, deftly used a spin move and scored a game-tying hoop that sent his team’s benefit game with Watson Chapel into overtime.
Sophomore point guard Layden Blocker (6-2, 160), who delivered the pass, had 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and Williamson 23 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Lions went on to down the Wildcats 69-64 in double overtime.
Both players have offers from Arkansas with Williamson being one of six in-state 2022 prospects with an offer from the Razorbacks.
“It is fun playing with Creed because he is like a big guard,” Blocker said. “I don’t have to have the ball in my hands in transition. He can push the ball up the court and in the paint. He is unstoppable.”
Onlookers couldn’t help but notice how similar the game-tying move was to a patented one his dad used to have major success as a Razorback.
But the younger Williamson notes his dad wants him to be his own player, even though he admits it is tough being compared to his dad as his development continues.
“Yeah, it is,” Williamson said. “He has always encouraged me that, ‘You don’t have to be like me or don’t ever feel like you have to be better than me.' He wants me to better than him, but don’t compare myself to him because we are two completely different people.”
Little Rock Christian head coach Clarence Finley, who previously led programs at Little Rock Central and Little Rock Parkview, has the older Williamson as one of his assistant coaches this season.
“They are totally different,” Finley said. “Creed is kind of laid back and just casual while Corliss was just tough. He wanted the ball, he demanded the ball. Creed doesn’t demand it. I have got to keep working with him, work on him demanding the ball in the post. He delivered some big buckets for us when we got it to him inside.”
Little Rock Christian opens its 2020-21 season Tuesday against visiting Joe T. Robinson.
“We didn’t execute the entire game, but started executing toward the end, started to trust our plays,” Williamson said. “The other team really brought it. They were physical and really put in a little bit more effort than us, but we will bring it Tuesday.”
Creed Williamson, who averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game as a sophomore, has offers from Arkansas, St. John’s, Oral Roberts and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and interest from Kansas, Missouri, Michigan State, Southern Miss and other programs.
He likes what he sees from Arkansas coach Eric Muselman, who was his father's head coach for the Sacramento Kings during his final NBA season (2006-2007), and notes the offer from the Razorbacks was special to him.
“They have done pretty good,” Creed Williamson said. “I like what they are doing over there. He is making players a lot better and they also have a really good offense. They are a pretty good team.”
Corliss Williamson, who led the Razorbacks to the 1994 national championship, a 1995 runner-up campaign and played 12 years in the NBA, is happy to be around his two sons. Corliss Williamson, Jr., a freshman guard, is also on the roster.
“It has been a process from the first time we started picking up a basketball to working out and playing,” Corliss Williamson said. “It has been fun to watch (Creed’s) maturation and progression as a player.
“There were times when I didn’t really think he was going to quite get it and there were times when it was like pulling teeth to get him to go to the gym to workout. But to see him now where he is taking pride in working hard and trying to develop his game and get better and to see the reward from it, seeing him getting better and seeing him understand what all the hard work has given him and how much more he has to go has been a lot of fun.
“Like any dad, I am happy and proud, but as a former player and coach, I want more and expect more.”
Williamson picked up a pair of offensive fouls during Saturday's contest.
“I feel like I played alright, but I think I need to watch the offensive fouls,” Creed Williams said. “They were flopping and I know they are going to be doing that all the time. Also my free throws. I missed a few and made a few – half and half.”
Free throws were also on Finley’s mind.
“I thought if we made our free throws in regulation and made our layups in regulation, we would have probably won by 10 points or more,” he said. “So I think we were a 10-point better team, but I thought Watson Chapel just played harder than us. They got all of the extra shots and the extra rebounds, gave second and third effort. That kind of shocked me. I had talked about it all week.
“That is what is going to hold us back because we are kind of a casual team. I am trying to do everything I can to get them out of being too casual. But we found a way to win, which is important.”