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As a freshman and sophomore at Saint Mary’s High School in Phoenix, AZ, Cameron Williams knew he was better than what the various ranking sites reflected. The 6-11 power forward remained undiscovered. Unranked.
“I used to always be frustrated,” Williams tells us. “I was like, Man, I know I’m better than this kid, this kid, this kid. That’s the moment I look back on. But now it’s like, Oh, rankings don’t even matter. That’s the mindset I have now. But back then, I used to be so caught up in the rankings.”
It wasn’t until he took the court in his sophomore season that Williams started to realize exactly how much better he was. After years of his father setting up his workouts, Cameron was initiating the lab work on his own. He began tightening up his shot mechanics with his head coach. He dove headfirst into college and NBA games. His pride on the defensive end deepened. And his love for the game soared.
As a junior, he helped lead the Knights to a 4A state title on 18 points, 11.2 boards, 2.6 blocks and 1.8 steals per game. In his senior year debut, a 36 and 12 double-double.
“I feel like I’ve grown so much throughout these years, man. It’s just crazy. I feel like each year, I just got better in some areas. I got stronger. I read the game better. My shooting’s gotten way better,” says Williams, who played for the historic Compton Magic in the adidas grassroots circuit. “I feel like the game started to slow down a little bit. I just kept getting better. People kept saying, Oh, you have a chance to be a pro, and all that stuff. And I was like, True, maybe I do. When other people started telling me, that’s when I really started to realize.”
Midway through his senior season, the rankings reflect a completely different picture—one that’s much more accurate. ESPN’s got him as the No. 2 player in the Class of 2026, while 247Sports tabs him at No. 4. In mid-November, he announced his commitment to Duke, securing yet another top-ranked recruiting class in Durham. And the tape? Overwhelming evidence, your honor.
With a 7-1 wingspan, shots are sent away in a blink. On defense, he’s driven by a motor that leaves ballhandlers hounded by a swarm of pressure and limbs. In transition, he glides effortlessly around defenders and either slams it home with force or lays it off the glass with grace. In the half-court, pull-up middies are plentiful. With his eyes set on back-to-back titles, Williams knows exactly what’s needed of him to turn hopes into reality.
“This year it’s on me,” Williams says. “I’m starting to realize, OK, I need to take over. I need to do this, this, this, this. And I think it’s going to help me in the long run, just leading a team, carrying a team.”
Becoming the head honcho for his squad began with patience. At 18 years old, Cameron Williams’ game is still very much coming together. The building blocks are there—the physical intangibles enhanced by an elevated IQ for his age. He’s still fine-tuning his spots on the floor and adding weight to his lanky frame. But the most recent addition to his bag is one that kids have been trying to perfect since they first touched the rock: nailing the three.
Cameron remembers back to his first two high school seasons, where he and his dad both agreed that threes weren’t in the cards just yet. “My dad was like, Don't shoot threes. You gotta wait till you get stronger. He wanted me to have good mechanics, and all that, right,” Williams says.
It wasn’t until the final few games of his sophomore year, after hundreds upon hundreds of hours in the gym honing his shot pocket and release, that the Arizona native found the confidence he required. The entire season only saw four threes go up, with three of them finding the bottom of the net. And he hasn’t looked back since.
The following summer was all about building on the progress he’d made. For months, Cameron holed up in the gym with his head coach, Damin Lopez, who instructed his star player to start his shooting progression all the way out at half court. The added distance forced Cameron to engage his legs instead of relying on his natural size and putting everything into his upper body.
“So I had the right mechanics, and when I do step in, it's easier. So we did that for, like, a couple of months, like that whole summer. And I think it really helped. Even going into my junior year. I shot a lot, a lot more threes,” Cameron says. “Just consistently making sure that my mechanics are good.”
“I talk to the coaches at Duke, and the main thing with me is to have shot discipline. So when I shoot, make sure everything's good, my shoulders are lined up and my feet are lined up and all that stuff. And then I hold my follow-through in. So it's constantly evolving. It takes time, but I feel like it’s gotten better each year.”
As a senior, the added dimension from beyond the arc has only gotten more precise. Dribble pull-ups, side steps and step backs are employed just as often as he slices through defenders on his way to the cup. It’s opened up the floor for his teammates, too, with teams sending doubles any time Cameron catches the rock around the perimeter. For the first time in his career, he’s got the green light.
With his commitment signed and sealed, the No. 1 power forward in the country is taking the time he has left before he packs up for Durham to fine-tune the skill set he’s built. Gone are the days of stressing about rankings. That self-belief is set in stone. Cemented by persistence. And for the Cameron Crazies and Duke fans across the nation, Williams has a message.
“I just want to win. I want to go. That’s one of the reasons why I went there, because I know they’re one of the best schools in the country,” Williams says. “They haven’t won a national championship in a while, but I feel like with the recruiting class we have coming in next year—me, [Deron] Rippey [Jr], Bryson Howard, and Maxime [Meyer]—I think we’re going to be great.”
