Williams has work to do

Sixteen months ago, the Howard School held a reception to honor Catherine Williams, its first girl to sign a full Division I scholarship in nearly 30 years. She signed with Appalachian State, and the coaching staff there used words like “warrior” to describe the Howard star.

Williams returned to Chattanooga this week for the Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament under a new head coach, Darcie Vincent. And the attitude toward Williams is different. Yes, Vincent said, Williams is immensely talented. But Vincent is still waiting on “Cat,” as the freshman is affectionately known, to display those skills on the court.

“It’s been an interesting task is the best way to put it,” Vincent said after the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga thumped Appalachian State on Friday, 86-53. “Cat has all the ability in the world and all the talent. I think she could be a predominant player in this league without a doubt. The obstacles Cat has to overcome is the adjustment to college basketball and adjusting to my demands.

“I’m not here at Appalachian to stay at the level we’re staying at. We want to be in that top seed. We want to be walking out with that trophy on Monday night. Those are high demands when you’re not ready for them. And I think Cat, mentally, wasn’t ready for it, and all season she’s been fighting that battle.”

Williams, to her credit, admitted after the game she needs “to work on being focused” this offseason. Making her 10th start of the season, she made her only shot attempt and scored four points against the Lady Mocs. She made all four shots she took in a much more active role during an opening-round win over Furman.

It’s been that kind of season for Williams, one typical among freshmen. She didn’t register a point against Western Carolina in February two days before scoring a career-high 17 against Elon. The next game, against Wofford, she scored one point.

“The transition to college basketball has been very difficult,” said Williams, who averaged 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds this year. “I’ve really got to be more focused and work on my conditioning.”

And only then, Vincent said, can Williams truly discover what the college coaches saw during her days at Howard.

“I’m really excited about what she has to offer,” Vincent said. “It’s just there’s a lot of questions. She’s got to be ready for collegiate basketball.”