A new start can help a player take the next step in breaking out as a star. Devin Williams, who was a highly touted prospect back in high school, is looking forward to his next chapter with head coach John Jakus and the Florida Atlantic Owls.
Williams is gearing up for the third year of his collegiate career, his first with the Owls. He spent his first two years with the UCLA Bruins, appearing in some games off the bench.
Joining FAU this past offseason, Williams is excited to help the program win a lot of games while playing a big role in the team's success during the upcoming campaign.
“Very excited, man. I think we have a really good chance to do something special here in Boca Raton. We have great pieces, great coaching staff. I think we all have a chip on our shoulder to do something special this year. That's exactly what we're gonna do,” Williams said during an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints.
How Devin Williams played at high school, UCLA
Devin Williams came out of Centennial High School when he joined the UCLA Bruins for his freshman year.
The athletic forward stood out as one of the best prospects in the 2023 class. He averaged 12 points and seven rebounds during his senior season and secured first-team All-Big VIII League honors. His high school career was successful, obtaining individual awards while helping the school win three consecutive CIF Southern Section Open Division titles in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
As a prospect, Williams had a four-star ranking with a 92 score on 247Sports. He stood out as the 15th-best player from the state of California, the 16th-best power forward, and the 81st-best player in the entire class.
Williams played sparingly throughout his freshman campaign, taking part in just 10 games. With an average of 3.2 minutes, he averaged 1.4 points and 0.7 rebounds. His best games were when he scored six points against Long Island on Nov. 15, 2023, and when he got four points and a block against USC on Jan. 27, 2024.
Unfortunately, his playing time was nonexistent in the 2024-25 season. He redshirted for the entire year as he entered the transfer portal in late-March. Looking for a destination that would allow him to have a bigger role while showing significant growth was important for Williams, which had John Jakus and FAU's pitch stand out to him the most.
“Coach Jakus has a great resume of terms of winning [and] great coaching staff with a bunch of former players that's been at the highest level that played against some of the top players. It was kind of hard to say no. Such a great guy off the floor, man, I could talk to him about anything I need. Great coach on the floor that holds you accountable and that's just how things should be. Man, he's a great coach, great person overall, and I love playing for him. It's a great place to be,” Williams said.
“Being at UCLA, I learned a lot, man. I had great coaches over there, even better people. It just didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, and that's okay. And coach Jakus emphasized that he's welcoming me here with open arms. He tells me that he loves me every single day, and he gives me confidence in showing my abilities here with all my teammates as well. They're saying they're not upset with me shooting the shots that I shoot, or the things that I may do, and we're all very family-oriented, let us know that everything is just supposed to be the way it's supposed to be here. With me coming from UCLA, I feel as though I took a lot of learning and applying a little bit of here and there to where I learned.”
What Devin Williams is looking forward to at FAU
For Devin Williams to transfer from UCLA to FAU was huge, showcasing the need for him to adapt to living on the East Coast instead of the West Coast.
Fortunately for the redshirt sophomore forward, it wasn't difficult for him to get comfortable to life in Boca Raton. He thanked his teammates and coaching staff for helping him out in that area, citing the need for him to do everything possible to help the team win big games over the course of the season.
“I feel like I got to do everything that contributes to winning, setting the standard every single day, coming ready to work every day. Winning is not easy. In college basketball, I was able to see that and learn off the bat. It's very hard. Anybody can beat you at any time, so you have to come prepared. I feel as though I just want to do everything it takes to win. My teammates also know what it takes to win as well and everyone's going to do what it takes to win. Eventually it's going to be a one-floor machine, and we're going to be hard to stop,” Williams told ClutchPoints.
Jakus has a bright outlook on Williams' ceiling with the Owls. He believes that the tall forward's size and skillset will benefit the squad in many ways once the season gets underway.
“It's hard to get guys taller than 6-foot-9. We go overseas to get a lot of them, but they get a former top-75 version of that who's 6-foot-10 and can play center, protect the rim and roll and lob, and is willing to learn our European-paced system. He's a really special fit,” Jakus said during the team's media day on Oct. 8.
FAU will begin its season at home. They host their second-ever Power Five matchup, taking on the Boston College Eagles on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. ET. After that, they will take part in the annual Field of 68 events, facing Charleston on Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. ET and Liberty on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. ET.
