In high school, 6'7 Grant Williams was always looking for respect.

In our opinion, he didn't always get the respect he deserved on a national level and especially with regional ACC schools. Many pundits stated Grant was simply undersized as a 6'7 power forward. He didn't have the vertical and explosion. He didn't have the quickness and overall athleticism that was needed to play at that level. You name it Grant Williams heard it all.' He was constantly being told why he couldn't play at the high level.

We have watched Grant Williams countless times in his high school career. He always demonstrated a toughness and competitive spirit that was not often seen in his peers. During his junior season, Grant Williams and Providence Day participated in the Phenom National High School Showcase and went' 'toe to toe' against national powerhouse Huntington Prep. We wrote after the event,''Grant's statue seemed to grow, but many of the high majors were still a bit bashful in terms of offering him.''This was something that Grant continued to hear.

At the prestigious NC Top 80 event, we wrote the following.''Grant Williams showcased a beautiful set of offensive moves. We wrote, 'Grant is a highly skilled face up power forward. He has the strength to over power opponents with back to back to the basket moves, but the ability to step out and knock down the perimeter jumper, especially from the 3-point line. Grant has excellent footwork in the post and passer friendly hands. In addition, Grant is a skilled passer out of the post and his court vision for his size/position is as good as it gets.'

One thing was for certain; Grant always had that burning desire to be the best he could be. You see, for Grant Williams winning always mattered. He did all the simple things that are often overlooked, but more importantly, he had something to prove every time he stepped onto the court. This attitude has carried over to his freshman year at the University of Tennessee. He has completely changed his body and has been an important part of the team's success. This season, he is averaging 24.4 minutes per game In addition; he is averaging 12.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.1 APG and is shooting 54% from the floor. Now, many pundits consider Grant Williams one of the surprise players in the SEC and have a chance to be an all-SEC player. Does this surprise us at all' Absolutely not! One thing we have learned over the years, you can't measure heart and Grant Williams always played with tremendous heart. Last year we wrote,

'Grant Williams always wanted to play at the highest level. He believed in himself simply because he always gave the intangibles and played with an edge. For the naysayers concerning Williams, don't be too quick to judge.' Now, he is proving them all wrong which is something Grant Williams has often done. Just remember, you can't always measure heart.