To date, Williams, the senior basketball sensation from Chaminade-Julienne High School, has collected five National Player of the Year awards and is a candidate for a sixth. The latest, presented by Gatorade in Dayton on Wednesday, was especially sweet, she said. "Every (award) is a good one to me, but probably this is the biggest for me because I got to share it with all of you here,'' Williams said to teammates, family, friends and local dignitaries who were gathered at the downtown Crowne Plaza hotel Wednesday afternoon to honor her.
Williams, dressed in blue slacks, a white Chaminade-Julienne polo shirt and wearing bright red nail polish, giggled when Dayton City Commissioner Lloyd Lewis Jr. presented her with a proclamation from the mayor declaring Wednesday "Tamika Williams Day'' in Dayton.
"No school Wednesday!'' she joked.
A presentation of letters of congratulations from U.S. Rep. Tony Hall, U.S. Sens. Mike DeWine and John Glenn, and Ohio Gov. George V. Voinovich followed. Then, to the delight of Williams and her teammates, the true surprise came: an appearance by the members of the musical groups Immature and Sec-N-Sol, who were in town for a performance at Memorial Hall.
The hip, young singers lined up in front of the dais to congratulate Williams, who, mouth agape, hugged each one of them.
"Tiffany is going to pass out'' when I tell her about this, Williams said, referring to her younger sister.
Williams, bound for the University of Connecticut in the fall, received two tickets and backstage passes to the Wednesday night concert and said she was "still debating'' who to take along.
As her giddy teammates sought autographs from the musical stars, Williams reflected on her accolades and the expectations they bring.
"This is the fun part,'' Williams said. "I know next year at Connecticut, we have the `Fab Five' (freshmen) coming in, and the expectations are high. (At last week's national high school All-Star game) everybody kept asking us: Are you going to beat Tennessee?''
On Wednesday, however, Williams wasn't worrying about that. Immature and Sec-N-Sol - whose members were all shorter than the 6-1 Williams - had just challenged her and her teammates to a pickup game, and she was happy to oblige.
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* CONTACT Susan Vinella at 225-7389 or e-mail her at
susan_vinella@coxohio.com
1998 Honors/Awards
Ohio Division I Player of the Year, Ohio Ms. Basketball, Gatorade National Player of the Year, James B. Naismith National Player of the Year, Parade magazine National Player of the Year, WBCA/Nike National Player of the Year, Columbus Touchdown Club National Player of the Year.
COLOR PHOTO: Chaminade-Julienne senior Tamika
Williams thanked her teammates after she was named the Gatorade
Circle of Champions Player of the Year on Wednesday.
PHOTO CREDIT: SKIP PETERSON/DAYTON DAILY NEWS