Julian Williams, the leader of Northwood Temple's formidable frontcourt, has the Eagles eyeing a repeat after rout of Trinity Christian
Rodd Baxley
The Fayetteville Observer
After winning its first state title in program history in 2020, the Northwood Temple Academy boys’ basketball team needed someone to fill the void left by Reggie Raynor.
Enter 6-foot-9 forward Julian Williams, who has the Eagles eyeing a repeat in 2021 with his ability to snatch rebounds and score at the rim.
All of his ability was on display Thursday night in Northwood Temple’s 80-65 rout of Trinity Christian at the John D. Fuller Recreation Center.
“We’ve just been going through practice and staying aggressive,” said Williams, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles, who were relentless in attacking the rim and controlling the glass.
“We wanted to attack their big men because they’re slow, keeping them on their toes, keeping them in foul trouble and just playing hard in the paint.”
Northwood Temple (11-7, 1-1) accomplished that mission against the Crusaders (6-3, 2-1), who had two post players finish with four fouls and another foul out.
“Our focus was to get it inside and get them in foul trouble,” said Northwood Temple coach James Strong. “I saw they were kind of shorthanded a little bit, so that was the plan.”
A transfer from Village Christian Academy, Williams has averaged a team-best 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in his first season with the Eagles.
Those marks nearly match what Raynor did as the NCISAA Sandhills Player of the Year — 19 points and 8.8 rebounds per game — in his senior season before heading to UNC Greensboro.
Doing all of his damage around the rim and at the free-throw line, Williams set the tone early and often Thursday with his presence in the paint.
He scored 12 of his points in the first half to spark a sizzling second-quarter flurry for the Eagles, who trailed 12-4 in the first quarter before using an extended 33-10 run to blow the game open.
“It’s what we do in practice,” Williams said. “We work on getting offensive rebounds, getting putbacks and just going harder than our opponents.”
Northwood Temple carried a 41-27 lead into halftime and never looked back, building a 20-point lead late in the second half.
It was the first meeting between the teams since Northwood Temple claimed a 68-65 win against the Crusaders in the 2020 NCISAA 1-A semifinals.
The Eagles, who went on to earn their first state title in program history, are aiming for a repeat with a trio of veteran guards to surround the formidable frontcourt anchored by Williams.
Jaquantae Harris (18 points) and Brady Rankin (17 points) combined for 35 points in the backcourt, but Williams and his partners in the post helped open things up on the perimeter.
Harris also logged six steals, five rebounds and four assists to lead the Eagles offense. In addition to Williams’ production in the paint, seniors Angel Dean and Yohann Axel-Sam combined for 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Those three post players — the team’s top rebounders — and senior guard Manny Sepulveda have hit the court in each of the Eagles’ 18 games this season. Dean and Axel-Sam are each averaging just over six points and five rebounds per game.
“Yohann and Julian, even Angel Dean … they’re pretty special on the glass,” Strong said. “They work hard around the rim and they go get it. I’m looking forward to coaching those three guys the rest of the season and seeing what can come out of it.”
Dean scored nine points to go with seven boards and Axel-Sam, who said Northwood Temple's “mentality was just to drive to the basket every single time," added eight points and five rebounds.
That approach helped the Eagles dominate a worthy opponent on Thursday. Axel-Sam hopes the aggressiveness yields even better results down the road.
“The sky’s the limit for us,” he said. “We can win another state championship. That’s our goal again.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
Support local journalism with a subscription to The Fayetteville Observer. Click the "subscribe" link at the top of this article.
Rodd Baxley
The Fayetteville Observer
After winning its first state title in program history in 2020, the Northwood Temple Academy boys’ basketball team needed someone to fill the void left by Reggie Raynor.
Enter 6-foot-9 forward Julian Williams, who has the Eagles eyeing a repeat in 2021 with his ability to snatch rebounds and score at the rim.
All of his ability was on display Thursday night in Northwood Temple’s 80-65 rout of Trinity Christian at the John D. Fuller Recreation Center.
“We’ve just been going through practice and staying aggressive,” said Williams, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles, who were relentless in attacking the rim and controlling the glass.
“We wanted to attack their big men because they’re slow, keeping them on their toes, keeping them in foul trouble and just playing hard in the paint.”
Northwood Temple (11-7, 1-1) accomplished that mission against the Crusaders (6-3, 2-1), who had two post players finish with four fouls and another foul out.
“Our focus was to get it inside and get them in foul trouble,” said Northwood Temple coach James Strong. “I saw they were kind of shorthanded a little bit, so that was the plan.”
A transfer from Village Christian Academy, Williams has averaged a team-best 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in his first season with the Eagles.
Those marks nearly match what Raynor did as the NCISAA Sandhills Player of the Year — 19 points and 8.8 rebounds per game — in his senior season before heading to UNC Greensboro.
Doing all of his damage around the rim and at the free-throw line, Williams set the tone early and often Thursday with his presence in the paint.
He scored 12 of his points in the first half to spark a sizzling second-quarter flurry for the Eagles, who trailed 12-4 in the first quarter before using an extended 33-10 run to blow the game open.
“It’s what we do in practice,” Williams said. “We work on getting offensive rebounds, getting putbacks and just going harder than our opponents.”
Northwood Temple carried a 41-27 lead into halftime and never looked back, building a 20-point lead late in the second half.
It was the first meeting between the teams since Northwood Temple claimed a 68-65 win against the Crusaders in the 2020 NCISAA 1-A semifinals.
The Eagles, who went on to earn their first state title in program history, are aiming for a repeat with a trio of veteran guards to surround the formidable frontcourt anchored by Williams.
Jaquantae Harris (18 points) and Brady Rankin (17 points) combined for 35 points in the backcourt, but Williams and his partners in the post helped open things up on the perimeter.
Harris also logged six steals, five rebounds and four assists to lead the Eagles offense. In addition to Williams’ production in the paint, seniors Angel Dean and Yohann Axel-Sam combined for 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Those three post players — the team’s top rebounders — and senior guard Manny Sepulveda have hit the court in each of the Eagles’ 18 games this season. Dean and Axel-Sam are each averaging just over six points and five rebounds per game.
“Yohann and Julian, even Angel Dean … they’re pretty special on the glass,” Strong said. “They work hard around the rim and they go get it. I’m looking forward to coaching those three guys the rest of the season and seeing what can come out of it.”
Dean scored nine points to go with seven boards and Axel-Sam, who said Northwood Temple's “mentality was just to drive to the basket every single time," added eight points and five rebounds.
That approach helped the Eagles dominate a worthy opponent on Thursday. Axel-Sam hopes the aggressiveness yields even better results down the road.
“The sky’s the limit for us,” he said. “We can win another state championship. That’s our goal again.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
Support local journalism with a subscription to The Fayetteville Observer. Click the "subscribe" link at the top of this article.
