Former Redondo hoops star Ryse Williams honored by tournament and team
Redondo senior guard Zekiah LoVett is off to a fast start this season. File photo
O’Brey Williams knew he would never hear it again so he needed to hear it one more time, just to remind himself of all the good times before the unfathomable darkness of losing a child came into his family’s life five months ago. With his wife Lana and daughter Sienna watching from just a few feet away, he took the microphone and did it himself, his proud voice booming out over the Seahawk Pavilion.
“And now, last but not least, number zero, Rrryyssee Williams,” he called out, drawing out his son’s name the way the Redondo announcers always did when the Sea Hawk star was introduced before every game over the last four years while helping his team win four straight Bay League titles and go deep into the playoffs every year.
The crowd cheered wildly and waves of emotion surged out of the packed stands like heat off a bonfire as the father’s bittersweet mixture of pain and pride was reflected back on him.
Ryse Williams is gone now, but he will never be forgotten. The Redondo Union High School administration made sure of that Monday night when they officially renamed the Pacific Shores Tournament the Ryse Williams Pac Shores Tournament in honor of the 6-foot-3 Sea Hawk shooting star who died suddenly from a rare form of cancer a couple of days before he was scheduled to graduate and move on to Division 1 Loyola Marymount, which had offered him a full scholarship.
When the tragedy happened late last June, at the start of summer, the Redondo community was in a state of shock for weeks on end. Death at such an early age is always stunning no matter who it hits. But as Redondo Athletic Director Andy Saltzman pointed out in his introduction Monday night, this was a special young man, an outstanding student/athlete who was respected as much for how he conducted himself off the court as for his leadership and deadeye shooting on the court.
“Ryse made an impact on all of us, and he will always remain in our hearts,” Saltzman said, before quoting former Redondo Coach Reggie Morris: “Ryse was as fine a young man as I’ve ever coached.”
And Saltzman vowed that no Redondo player would ever again wear Williams number zero, his distinctive trademark all four years. And finally, in a heartfelt tribute by his former teammates, all of them wore red warm-shirts that read #Ryseup.
After the brief but emotional ceremony honoring Williams, the night’s final first-round game of the 66th annual Ryse Williams Pac Shores Tournament was a bit of an anti-climax as Redondo cruised to an 85-55 victory over an outmanned Lynwood team that fought hard but just didn’t have the horsepower to give the Sea Hawks a serious challenge.
The game, which propelled Redondo into the second round Tuesday night, revealed both the promise and the problems the Sea Hawks will have to deal with this season. They are already dealing with a second new coach in the last two years in Ali Parvaz, the former Leuzinger coach who replaced interim Coach Vic Martin, who filled in for Morris last year while Morris took a one-year leave of absence to try his hand at being an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount.
Morris found that he was spending most of his time recruiting players and preferred to get back to hands-on coaching. But instead of returning to Redondo he opted for the head job at Culver City and Parvaz was chosen after a national search.
First, the promise: Redondo has two solid, experienced seniors in 6-foot-8 center Quinn Collins and 6-foot-3 backcourt flash Zekiah LoVett, who has developed a smooth 3-point shot to go along with his mad hops and elite quickness. Collins was a starter last year and LoVett was one of the first players off the bench, one of two super-subs along with the now-departed Jace Bass who won several games for the Sea Hawks by bringing in fresh legs and stepping up the already frantic pace.
The problem is that beyond them there is only 6-foot-4 junior power forward Chjimeze Josh Maduno, who played as part of Martin’s 10-deep rotation last year and a bunch of seniors like Derrick Webb and Kyle Carter who have been in the Redondo program for years, patiently waiting their turn while developing their skills.
How far Redondo goes this year will depend mainly on how much progress those supporting players make towards becoming reliable starters who can compete in the always tough Bay League and handle the big-time non-league schedule left over from the Morris era.
Monday night’s first half was competitive mainly because LoVett was held out for disciplinary reasons. Parvaz said that Lovett had missed a practice and was subject to the same sanctions as applied to the lowliest scrub on the roster. As a result, Redondo led by only 23-15 after the first quarter and by 39-28 at halftime.
But when LoVett was finally put into the game with five minutes left in the third quarter, he made up for lost time and poured in 22 points in just 13 minutes. His full repertoire was on display as he raced to the rack for two rim-rocking jams, drilled several three-pointers, and even drained a 15-foot elbow jumper for good measure.
Collins, meanwhile, dominated the boards with 10 rebounds and a block while scoring 18 points, almost all of them coming on lay-ups and stick backs.
Even though game featured more turnovers than an upscale bakery, Parvaz pronounced himself satisfied with his first game as Redondo’s head coach.
“I wanted us to get off to a good start, and I think we did,” he said. “The kids played hard, and that’s all I can ask.”
Redondo won its second game of the tournament Tuesday with a 62-56 win over Mayfair.
LoVett scored 29 points for the Sea Hawks who will face the winner of the Santa Margarita-St. Anthony contest in the semifinals Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com. Follow: @paulteetor.