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Constitution's Williams commits to FIU

03/29/2015, 10:30pm EDT

By Jeff Neiburg

Constitution's Kimar Williams has committed to Florida International. (Photo: Mark Jordan)

Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg)
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On Friday, Constitution High School point guard Kimar Williams left a cold and windy early spring Philadelphia day and landed in sunny, warm Miami for an official visit to Florida International University, the latest of four schools to offer the talented 6-foot-1 guard.

So it was no surprise he didn’t get back on a plane Sunday for Philadelphia before committing his basketball services to FIU and coach Anthony Evans while finishing up his visit.

“It’s hard not to like South Beach,” Constitution coach Rob Moore said.

Williams becomes the second member of Constitution’s three-time state championship-winning class of 2015 to go Division I, joining talented wing Ahmad Gilbert, who is committed to George Mason as of right now.

Moore said that forward Chad Andrews-Fulton will likely play at the Division I level, perhaps after completing a year of prep school starting next fall.

Williams, who played his AAU ball with Team Philly, was a late-riser in terms of his recruiting stock. His other three offers came during this past AAU season. Delaware and Robert Morris offered last April while Rider did in June.

Since the summer, Williams has put on a considerable amount of weight to his frame and had a standout senior season, averaging 16.2ppg running the show for the Generals, who won the PIAA Class A state title.

“Anyone who saw Kimar play this year knows how much he’s improved,” Moore said. “I explained to him why he wasn’t necessarily being recruited higher, in the Big East, American, Atlantic 10 realm, was because a lot of the recruitment is done the summer before [senior year]. He was like 145 pounds last summer, now he’s a little bit above 170 and it makes a difference.”

“He turned the corner. A lot of kids don’t make that improvement in one year.”

It’s likely, Moore said, that Williams could have played at a higher level than Conference USA, especially after a prep season, but Williams just wanted to find a place he was comfortable and get started in college.

“I brought it up to him and he had some prep schools that were interested in him,” Moore said. “He just wanted to get to college. It’s hard to ask a kid to do another year of high school, go to an all-boys school in the middle of the woods in New England somewhere. That’s not ideal.”

Moore, who just finished his sixth year at Constitution, said hadn’t yet talked to Williams but the two spoke via text.

“He thanked me for everything I’ve done for him in four years and I kind of thanked him for everything he’s done for me in four years. It’s a two-way street,” he said.

There’s a level of familiarity Moore has with FIU’s Davis. Davis was the head coach at Norfolk State when Pendarvis Williams attended the school via Bodine High School (where Moore was on staff) and the Hun School.

Moore said Kimar Williams’ situation is very similar to that of Pendarvis, who was an honorable-mention AP All-American and MEAC Player of the Year in 2013.

“Once you get to college, your play speaks for itself,” Moore said. “When he’s an All-Conference player, leading Florida International into the NCAA Tournament down the line – which I’m sure coach Evans will get them there just like he did Norfolk State – then people will be like, ‘We missed the boat.’

“Everybody did with Penny, too. When Penny blew up at Norfolk State, the guys at La Salle and Delaware and all these other schools were kicking themselves. It will be the same thing this time around, I’m 100 percent certain.”

“I think they got a steal, at the end of the day.”