Williams named new bench boss for Bolts

Jerry Williams, the new head coach of the London Lightning, formerly led the Newfoundland Rogues for four seasons, including leading the team to the BSL postseason last year.

(Photo courtesy Newfoundland Rogues).

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Even a guy who coached his way to five straight championships knows you’re only as good as the next one – and that’s what Jerry Williams starts working on today now that he calls the London bench home.

On Wednesday, the former Newfoundland Rogues head coach was named the seventh head coach in London Lightning history, team officials announced.

“I have seen how London fans are, the way the organization is run. It was a place I could always see myself being one day,” Williams said. “During my career, I have seen what a top-notch organization with incredible fan support can do. That’s what you have here. It always ran in the back of my mind that I would love being here to coach. I couldn’t be happier to be doing that now.”

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In Williams, the Lightning have found a coach who plans to put on a show.

“I like to score. I really like to score a lot,” he laughed. “I don’t like boring games. Fans come in and pay their money to see these guys get up and down the court. That’s what I push for, to let these guys go out and show their talents. I don’t like holding players back.”

Lightning GM Mark Frijia admitted that was part of the attraction of bringing Williams to London.

“I have always respected Jerry from afar,” Frijia said. “I like the way he goes about building a team. I trust his coaching ability. I trust him as a person. He sees London as a place where he can grow, as a place where he can take that next step in his coaching career. I agree. He’s going to play an exciting brand of basketball for our fans.”

During the inaugural BSL season, the Rogues (20-17) finished the regular season in fourth place under Williams, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the KW Titans. Despite that, the squad led the league in offense, averaging 116.5 points per game, headed by BSL MVP Armani Chaney’s league-leading 30.3 points per game.

Williams stressed that his greatest coaching move might have been getting out of Chaney’s way and letting him do what he does best.

“He was the smallest guy on the court but averaged over 30 a game because we let him display his talent,” Williams said. “I like to press a lot on defense, get a lot of turnovers. I like to let the guys go out and be happy. They don’t have to worry about anything else except for the task at hand of playing basketball and loving the game.”

Last year, Williams learned quick lessons about how to navigate the new league.

“You cannot take a night off. Not one. This league is competitive. There’s no safe lead. I’ve been up 20 in games, only to lose, and I’ve been down 20 in games, and we won. That is a great thing because it means you’ve got to show up and play every single night, or you get beat.”

Williams continued, “That’s different from other leagues where you have one or two top teams, and they’re going to beat everybody, and the other guys just fall in where they fall. The BSL is totally different. If you don’t show up, even against the last-place team in this league, you will lose. It was proven last year. You had teams that didn’t have great records, but they beat every team in the BSL.”

He stressed that sentiment also extends to TBL teams popping in to play their bigger brothers.

“If you don’t take those TBL teams seriously, you’ll lose to them. What those players are doing is coming in for a job interview. They’re coming to try to play as hard as they can in front of the BSL coaches because they want us to give them a job. So, they’re going to come in and prove a point.”

Williams wears the “players’ coach” moniker with pride. He understands the opportunities his players have because, well, he was one of them. He knows the value of his advice, both on and off the court.

“If I’d had a coach early on who explained things the way I do for my players now, I would’ve been better prepared at a younger age,” he said. “When you’re playing, you’re just focused on doing your job. For coaches, they’re trying to win as much as they can so they can move on to better jobs.

“For me, I like to take basketball out of it for a minute. I like to explain to the guys that basketball life is short. You’re here today, gone tomorrow. You can’t play forever. No matter who you are, you have to stop playing. So, I explain to my players different things outside of the realm of basketball. I talk to them about life and the things I wish I had known when I was their age coming up. I refuse to let my players make those same mistakes of burning bridges and thinking you know everything.”

(Photo courtesy Newfoundland Rogues).

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Williams grew up on the diamond – he had no choice. His mother and grandmother pushed the kids into the game from the moment they could swing a bat. His family played the game coming up, including uncles who had stories of their exploits that may or may not have been rooted in reality.

“They had all these stories. ‘Why, I remember I struck out Josh Gibson,’” Williams laughed. “Baseball was a roundtable conversation in our house. We would sit down and watch it, talk it, live it.”

But basketball was always present. His father played basketball. His mother played basketball at Brewton-Parker College. In fact, his mother was still playing when she got pregnant with Williams. It’s a moment in family history that gets recounted often.

“Every time I did something bad or hurt her, she would remind me, ‘I had to stop playing basketball because I had you.’ Lo and behold, I heard that a lot. That was always in the back of my mind,” he said. “I was better at football and baseball than I was at basketball. Honestly, I only wanted to play it because of my mom, but then something happened. I grew to love basketball. It’s hard to explain, but I just loved the game more than anything. It became something I knew I was always going to do.”

After starring for Cumberland College (Lebanon, Tenn.), Williams played in the British Basketball League (BBL) from 2002-2007, earning Player of the Year honours in 2004 after averaging 23.3 points per game for the Scottish Rocks. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard then joined the Jacksonville Jam of the ABA, where he played for two seasons (2007-2008) and was selected for the 2007 ABA All-Star Game.

His playing career continued across the globe, including stops in Mexico and Tunisia.

“I traveled the whole world because of basketball. I’m fortunate, and I’m thankful for it,” Williams said.

“There were guys who had more talent than me, but the reason why I did better, moved on further than them was because I played hard. I still believe in that mentality. If you play hard and apply effort, the sky’s the limit for any player, any coach, anybody who’s involved with anything in life. The effort has to be there, because that’s something you can’t teach.”

(Photo courtesy Newfoundland Rogues).

He continued, “I always knew I was the underdog. I always felt that way, and I always felt like I had to prove a point. That got me a lot of places.”

For Williams, coaching has been on his mind nearly as long as he’s played the game.

“From the time I was in middle school, my coach made me the captain of the team, and he was like, ‘You’re going to be a coach one day.’”

One memorable moment came during a middle school hoops practice, on an otherwise forgettable day, as the team was goofing off, and Williams stepped up to get his teammates in line. Even as a middle schooler, his coach recognized someone who not only took charge but had a way of getting people to listen.

“I’ve been the captain of every team I ever played on from middle school, high school, college, to professionally. I have always known I wanted to coach; it’s something that stuck with me ever since my middle school coach told me that. I knew then that when I’m done playing, I wanted to coach this game to give back.”

That opportunity came when Jacksonville (Fla.) Bluewaves head coach Kevin Waters took the Jacksonville Giants job in 2010, and invited Williams, one of his players, to join him as an assistant.

“I jumped at the opportunity. I didn’t have a chance to stop playing and just sit there for a few years wondering what I was going to do. I stopped playing that summer, and by fall I was coaching for the Giants. It was a quick turnaround for me.

“I haven’t left the gym since I stopped playing.”

Since then, the 45-year-old hasn’t left the bench, taking over the Giants where he won five straight ABA titles (2016-2021) – with only a season canceled by a global pandemic preventing it from being six.

Starting in 2021, Williams has headed the Rogues from the franchise’s beginnings, following its migration through an alphabet soup of leagues, from the ABA to the TBL to the BSL.

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If the Forest City ever needs a new nickname – and given its present rate of paving paradise that could be sooner than you think – might I suggest Title Town, Canada.

In recent years, London fans have watched the Knights collect sellouts and championships. They’ve seen the Lightning cut down the nets time and time again. The Majors have gone back-to-back. The Mustangs have galloped to victory. And Olympians and world champions have brought home more gold than King Midas.

Admittedly, it’s a daunting place for a coach just walking in the door.

With it was announced head coach Doug Plumb wasn’t returning for the 2024-25 season, you could argue there has never been a coaching opening like the Lightning’s top job – inheriting a team with back-to-back-to-back championships, across two leagues, the league’s best arena, ownership willing to pay for top talent, and a sports-mad town ready to embrace the right mix. 

“It is a challenge, but a challenge I’m willing to accept,” said Williams.

“These are big shoes to fill. But I’m coming from being a professional player, and I like challenges, I like the fact I can get down and dirty and live up to the expectations of the fans and the organization. I want to win. I’m not coming to London just to say I coached in London.”