Brothers Mike and Mason Williams help bring Jackson Academy basketball to top of MAIS
MADISON — Mike Williams credits himself for the tenacious basketball player his brother Mason Williams has become.
What began as one-on-one battles when the two were younger has turned into dominance on the court.
"I turned him into a dog, so now, he knows what to do when he gets on the court," Mike said. "He played a little harder when he played me, but on the court, he still play hard."
The duo has helped lead Jackson Academy to a 28-1 record -- the loss is to Pascagoula, the No. 1 team in The Clarion Ledger Super 25 rankings -- a shot at the MAIS Class 6A state title since the Raiders last title in 2014.
"He knows what I do, and I know what he do on the court," Mason said. "He's a scorer. I'm a passer, simple as that. I know where he's open. I know where he shoots. When he's on, he's on, he's not gonna miss. With me, he's going to tell me to shoot the ball because I'm more looking at him when I have a wide-open shot or when I'm too passive."
The sons of former NBA player and Jackson State men's basketball coach Mo Williams are flourishing in their first season at Jackson Academy. Mike, a junior, is averaging 18.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.1 steals, while Mason, a sophomore, is averaging 9.1 points and 3.7 assists. They combined for 40 of the 59 points scored in Jackson Academy's 14-point victory over Madison-Ridgeland Academy on Thursday night.
"I think the most impressive thing, and it's not even the orange ball, it is how they bought into us as a coaching staff, the team, the new school and all those things that have embraced them back," Jackson Academy's coach Jesse Taylor said. "I think this has helped them to flourish. It's a total team effort, and these guys have bought into it."
In his second season as Jackson Academy's coach, Taylor has seen the Williams brothers transcend his team to the the best in MAIS and one of the best in the whole state.
"Truly, the most impressive thing to me about them is how coachable both of those young men are and how awesome teammates they are," Taylor said.
The brothers say they have grown past those days of one-on-one competitions when all they wanted to do was to best the other. Whatever is needed for the team to be ahead when the buzzer sounds at the end of the game is enough for them.
"We do whatever for the team," Mike Williams said. "He knows that, and I know that. We won't try to outshine each other. We won't ever do that. If he goes for 30 (points) and I go five, I wouldn't care."
They also understand how special playing together is.
"This is all love," Mason Williams said. "When he's yelling at me is when I hate it. When I'm yelling at him, he also hates it, but he knows it's love at the end of the day."
Mike Williams said an understanding off the court -- the two don't talk much about basketball -- has greatly helped their relationship on the court. That has elevated their games.
"Off the court is great because we can bond and jell," Mike Williams said. "But we don't talk about basketball as much, so we build a relationship outside of basketball, and that helps us on the court, too. .. I can get on him, and he knows why I'm getting on him as well. So it doesn't always have to be about basketball."
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion-Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Brothers Mike, Mason Williams lead Jackson Academy basketball to top
