'Do what's right': Why police work is important for former Manual, Illini basketball star
PEORIA — Da'Monte Williams has made a transition from defensive guard on the basketball floor to guardian on the Peoria streets.
The former Manual guard and University of Illinois captain and highly touted defender at the guard position has decided to become a police officer in Peoria.
Williams, 24, a Peoria native and son of Manual and Illini basketball great Frank Williams, was one of 16 men and women recruit officers sworn in by the Peoria Police Department in a ceremony this week at the Peoria Civic Center.
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"This is what I want to do, I've thought a lot about it and I think it's important," Williams said Tuesday night. "This is my path, I just want to help out in whichever way I can and I think this is the way for me."
Da'Monte Williams' basketball journey
The 6-foot-3, 224-pound Williams helped Manual to a third-place finish in the IHSA Class 3A state finals basketball tournament as a junior in the 2015-16 season. He finished that junior season as first-team all-state and the Journal Star All-Area Co-Player of the Year.
His senior year was wiped out by an ACL tear to his knee. Recruited by multiple big college programs, like Indiana and Cincinnati, he signed with Illinois and spent 2017-2022 playing there, finishing with a school record 159 games. He established himself as a guard who could defend the 1-4 positions on the floor, and in his senior year was voted team captain.
After college, Williams played one pro season, in 2022-23, with U.D. Oliveirense in Portugal. He appeared in two games there in a season pre-empted by an injury.
Why he wanted to be a police officer
That brought him back to Peoria looking for a new challenge, to make a difference in his hometown.
"It was more of being able to work with people and be back where I'm from," Williams said. "A lot of kids don't have good role models to look up to when they need it.
"Me being the figure that I am, I want to do what's right. I want to be there for kids in the community, try to help out in whichever way I can."
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Williams will now report to the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana for 16 weeks. A career, and a new mission, await him at the end of it.
"Most of my role models play sports," Williams said. "But I have a family member who is in law enforcement. I have always looked up to him and I still look up to him."
Illini coach Brad Underwood lauded Williams in a Twitter statement Monday:
"So proud of you Monte!" Underwood wrote. "You were always a leader for our team, great to see you now leading in the Peoria community and making a difference in your hometown."
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Da'Monte Williams of Manual, Illini sworn in as Peoria police officer
