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Stanford Basketball: Crucial for Cardinal to land five-star wing Ziaire Williams

By Bryan Mauro

MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 27: Stanford Cardinal fans pose for a photo during a regional semifinal of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Dayton Flyers at the FedExForum on March 27, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 27: Stanford Cardinal fans pose for a photo during a regional semifinal of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Dayton Flyers at the FedExForum on March 27, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Head coach Jerod Haase of the Stanford Cardinal looks on during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Head coach Jerod Haase of the Stanford Cardinal looks on during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Impact of possible Williams commitment

Dwight Powell, Chasson Randle, Reid Travis, KZ Okpala, and Daejon Davis. These are all names of some of the best players to have donned the Cardinal and White over the years. None of them were top 10 five-star recruits. Williams, the player from Sierra Canyon is a five-star and currently ranked the number six player in the 247 sports 2020 player rankings. If Williams commits, he would be the first five-star recruit to commit to Stanford since brothers Brook and Robin Lopez.

The Cardinal does not currently have a single player signed for the 2020 class. What a class it would be if Williams became the first member of that group. If he does choose Stanford, the Cardinal would win a recruiting battle that included Arizona, North Carolina and Duke. Those schools are some heavy hitters in the college game, and their names bring clout for every college player. Does Williams want to be the guy, and play at a school where he can be the best player on the floor every night, or does he want to go play with a ton of other five-star players where he will be just another player?

Regardless of what he chooses he is only going to be in college for a single season. Williams is an elite offensive player capable of averaging 20 points per game. The Cardinal are also not going to lose a thing when they play him on the defensive end of the floor. He is a complete player and will shine wherever he plays.

It should be noted that Williams has already taken one of his official visits to the campus in Palo Alto. Williams is a great two-way player who can it do it on both offense and defense. His commitment is most important to coach Haase. If Haase can secure arguably the best wing in the 2020 class and a player who can score as Williams can, it would help convince the Athletic Department at Stanford to let Haase lead the team a little longer.  The time for Haase may be running out especially if he cannot get the Cardinal to the tournament soon. Would Williams really improve the outlook of the team that much?

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