Thursday, March 27, 2025
One of the greatest gifts a high school coach can ever experience is having the opportunity to coach a son or daughter in their respective sport.
For Oglesby boys’ basketball coach Larry Williamson, that happened this season when Tiger's point guard Evan Williamson, 14, made the varsity squad.
While most coaches would consider it a major coup to experience this phenomenon just once in their career, for Larry, this is opportunity number three.
“My wife and I have been blessed to have three sons,” Larry said. “I have had the pleasure of coaching all of them in some capacity from when they were young until they graduated high school. It is one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced in coaching.”
Larry said that he is pleased with Evan's efforts so far this season and said he continually shows signs of improvement.
“He has had a good freshman year so far,” Larry said. “There were some highs and lows, but there have been way more positive moments than negative. Every game this season he has either led us in scoring or been in the top three. Our main focus has always been on the defensive end, and he is second on our team with about four steals a game.”
Evan said he enjoys playing for his father, and said it provides him with a unique opportunity for feedback.
“With my father coaching, I’d say it's pretty much normal for me whether it's through the coaching position or father position,” Evan said. “I would describe playing with him as playing to an expectation. I feel that many people don’t have that, a special one that you get to have seeing you practice and play games and seeing at home.”
Besides basketball, Evan also runs track and takes part in UIL activities at OHS and said that, despite being the coach's son, he does not really feel he is under special kind of scrutiny on the court.
“I don't really feel pressure as the coach’s son,” Evan said. “I’d say many people think that it would feel odd or strange, but as I stated before, I always found it casual for my father to be coaching me.”
Evan said that while he enjoys all of the time he gets to spend with his father, the ones that stand out involve time outside of school with him and his brothers.
“Some of my most fond memories take place on the court, just shooting with my brothers and father,” Evan said. “Whether it was H.O.R.S.E or just Around the World, I never wanted to pass up on a moment to show my father I was improving as a young kid.”
Evan said that something people would not know about him from watching him play basketball is that he always tries to remain calm, on and off the court, and said he tries to bring versatility to the team, saying “whether we need a bucket in one game or I need to stay manned to their best player another game, just know no matter the case the job will be done.”
As for Larry, his expectations for his son are pretty straightforward.
“I expect him to be coachable and be a good teammate, which is something I honestly expect from everyone,” Larry said. “I never give them individual expectations, because we coach them to play for each other and to play hard. Evan has individual expectations for himself that he has voiced to me for the season and after high school. He wants to play basketball in college, and I believe that he has the physical ability to accomplish his goal.”
Evan's Favorites
Favorite Athlete: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Favorite Sports team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite Food: Pasta
Favorite Movie: “Carry On”
Favorite TV Show: “Vinland Saga”
Book Currently Reading or Last Book Read: “Ali Cross”
Favorite Musical Group or Performer: Beabadoobee
