Williams excited to be a Knight

Matt Williams Signing Photo GalleryClick UCF tapped into the talented local high school pipeline with the recent signing of Jones High School standout Matt Williams, who is among four early signees for Donnie Jones's 2012 recruiting class.Here to view this Link.

"It feels good," Williams said moments after signing his National Letter of Intent last week. "I'm at a loss for words right now. I'm happy that I have an opportunity. This makes my family very happy."

In a small ceremony inside the conference room at Jones High School, Williams' coaches described him as one of the hardest workers to ever play for the school-- in any sport.

"It felt good to hear them say those things," Williams said. "It let me know that I'm becoming a man."

As for UCF, Williams earned an offer following an outstanding camp performance and jumped on board shortly thereafter with a commitment.

"I'm very excited," Williams said. "I just feel like it was the right choice. I had a lot of other big schools coming at me. I just wanted to stay close to home. I didn't want to leave my family. I want to start my own legacy and I feel I have the power to do that."

One of the biggest deciding factors was his relationship with the coaches.

"I knew it once we went into the office and sat down with Coach Jones, Coach Thomas and all of the guys," Williams said. "The way Coach Jones talked to me and made eye contact drew my attention. Another thing is when he told my parents, my mom had tears in her eyes, Coach Jones said, 'If I wasn't a basketball coach, I'd probably be a minister.' That touched me."

Williams, who is 6-foot-5, averaged 15.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a junior as Jones advanced all the way to the Class 3A State Championship.

"Matt is a combo guard who has had a great career at Jones High School. He is a winner," Jones said. "Matt is a hard worker and a great athlete. He is somebody who can instantly help our depth in the backcourt."

Williams, who is thinking about majoring in journalism, plans to be on campus as much as possible between now and next summer when he's set to enroll.

"I got to hang out with most of the guys on my official visit," Williams said. "I've also gotten to know some of the other recruits on Twitter. I'm already going over to work out and get shots up. I will be there as much as I can."

In the meantime, Williams wants to finish his senior year strong.

"For now my goal is to win a state championship," he said. "I also want to be Mr. Basketball for the state of Florida."