Scottsdale Christian basketball star Elijah Williams to follow NBA coaching father to Detroit
As soon as former Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams got a new NBA head coaching job with the Detroit Pistons, everybody knew Arizona also lost one of the top 2026 high school basketball prospects in the nation.
Elijah Williams, a 6-foot-6 wing, will continue his high school career at Brother Rice High School, The Detroit News reported. Brother Rice is a small all-boys independent Catholic school run by the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers in Bloomfield Township. The basketball team went 22-2 last season, losing its last game to St. Mary's Prep in the state tournament.
Scottsdale Christian head coach John Anderson confirmed that Williams is headed to Michigan with his father, who led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021, then to the best record in the NBA in 2022, before being fired by the Suns after the Western Conference semifinal series with the Denver Nuggets ended in a blowout loss in Game 6.
Anderson said the entire Williams family is moving to Detroit.
"I did hear from him that he is attending Brother Rice," Anderson said in a text message to The Arizona Republic.
Williams was invited to Team USA U16 tryouts in Colorado Springs. He averaged 10 points in a Nike EYBL event in Mesa in May.
Williams averaged 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds for Scottsdale Christian's varsity as a freshman. He made 46% of his 3-point tries and 61% of his two-point shots. While an efficient scorer for the Eagles, he became an elite defender who is just scratching the surface of his potential.
"I know that if Coach Williams chose that school for Elijah, then I am confident that it is a great environment for him to be in, both academically and for his growth in basketball," Anderson said. "When they were deciding where Elijah would attend high school for his freshman year, I know that he did his due diligence in regards to what would be best for Elijah’s growth as a player, and more importantly as a person.
"When he chose to keep Elijah at SCA, I am sure it surprised many people due to the fact that we were a smaller school. But I believe that they chose to keep him at SCA because of who we are as a school and a basketball program, and what it provided for his growth as a person and his growth in his faith. It is our goal to build our players up into young men that seek God, and we want to do our best to glorify Him in all that we do, both on and off the court."
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Elijah Williams, son of Pistons coach Monty Williams, to continue HS hoops career in Michigan
