Wednesday will be an emotional one for Naperville North’s Luke Williams.
The senior guard will celebrate his 18th birthday and be playing his final competitive basketball game of his career.
Williams will be shutting it down following the Huskies’ matchup with St. Charles North. The torn labrum he’s been playing with the entire season, the injury he suffered while playing football in the fall, will be repaired Thursday with surgery.
“Knowing it’s my last game playing organized basketball, they will be super high,” Williams said of the emotions he expects to feel. “I will go in there with a great attitude, play hard and play my heart out, especially for coach [Gene] Nolan who has supported me, who I’ve leaned on through this and is a mentor to me.”
The 6-1 guard was an All-Area performer last season as a junior. He’s already surpassed 1,400 career points and has been one of the most productive players in the Class of 2024. Every team and coach would relish the opportunity to play with and coach Williams. There is no selfishness to his game.
But it all comes to a crashing halt this week as Williams begins to prepare for a college football career at Purdue, starting with getting healthy and his body right with Thursday’s surgery.
In football, Williams was an All-Area performer and the first four-time all-conference player in the history of the DuPage Valley Conference. He chose Purdue over Illinois and a lengthy list of power five offers.
With a Big Ten football future, Williams didn’t need to play basketball this season. He could have put his sole focus on football. But there was never really a decision to be made whether or not to play basketball.
Lost with so many players today, Williams valued playing for his school and community. He cherished the chance to compete with friends he’s known since elementary school. He didn’t think twice about giving up basketball too soon.
“To be able to play with guys I grew up with, like Cole [Arl] and Bryce [Welch], who I’ve known since first and second grade, is all I’ve wanted to do,” Williams said. “It’s a joy to be able to play with this group. These are my guys. I’m going to miss everything about it.”
Plus, there is no quit in an athlete who has excelled at playing two sports at a high level throughout his high school career.
“I always finish what I start,” Williams said. “I couldn’t imagine not playing this season.”
So Williams set out to play as long as he could tolerate the injury this season. The injury was starting to become too much. The torn labrum has led to his shoulder popping out several times, both during games and in practices. But over the past few weeks it’s been happening more frequently.
While his athletic exploits are easy to notice and quantify, Naperville North coach Gene Nolan calls Williams an “inspiration” while watching him on an everyday basis.
“It’s pretty amazing to watch how hard he goes in the most basic basketball drills in practice,” Nolan said. “He only knows one way of doing things. Those are the great habits he has established. He’s unselfish, shows tremendous character and is a great leader.”