UNLV assistant brings Seattle AAU experience to Rebels

It’s been an eventful couple of months for new UNLV assistant Jamaal Williams. Arriving in Las Vegas just days before the team left for its preseason tour in Canada, he didn’t even have his passport to fly with the team.

Luckily for Williams, it wasn’t much of a problem. The former Washington forward and longtime Seattle resident still had his Washington state ID, which allows residents to cross the border.

So while the rest of the UNLV men’s basketball team flew into Vancouver, British Columbia, Williams landed in Seattle, then made the three-hour drive north to join the group. Williams said the extra effort to reach Canada was worth it.

“We got to spend that quality time together,” he said. “We got to know each other. They got to pick my brain, and we could talk. It’s been seamless since then.”

Williams’ college coaching resume is short. The upcoming season will only be his second at this level after he spent one year with Portland State during the 2021-22 campaign. In Seattle, though, Williams’ name is synonymous with basketball excellence.

“He knows basketball,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “He knows how to talk to the guys. He’s excellent on the recruiting trail, knows everybody. I don’t think anything is too big of a jump for him.”

Before taking the job at Portland State, Williams spent five seasons leading Seattle Rotary, one of the premier AAU teams in the Pacific Northwest. NBA first-round talents such as Jaden McDaniels and Paolo Banchero — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft — both played for Williams at Rotary.

It wasn’t Williams’ only coaching experience. Beginning in 2016, he teamed up with former Washington teammate Brandon Roy at two of Seattle prep basketball’s powerhouse programs: Nathan Hale and Garfield.

He coached NBA draft picks such as Jaylen Nowell — current UNLV wing Shane Nowell’s brother — Tari Eason and MarJon Beauchamp during two stints at Garfield, and worked with Michael Porter Jr. at Nathan Hale. Williams says all the great players he worked with have had one thing in common.

“They work,” he said. “They put the time in. They’re fully committed to the game of basketball. Any waking moment they have, they’re trying to get better at it.”

Williams tries to match that intensity and commitment as a coach. After accepting the Portland State assistant job in 2021, he moved three hours south to Oregon to make sure he was available whenever the program needed him.

However, his wife and children were still living in Shoreline, Washington, north of Seattle. So every free weekend, Williams made the long drive back home to see his family, before returning to Portland 48 hours later.

Kruger had seen Williams’ commitment and effort firsthand. They met in the early 2000s, when Kruger was playing at Arizona State and Williams was at Washington. As the duo began their coaching careers, they consistently ran into each other at events and stayed in contact.

Williams felt the UNLV opportunity came at the right time for himself and his family. “It just worked perfectly,” Williams said. “It was perfect timing.”

Williams also has his own personal connection to UNLV, though it’s not one Rebels fans will likely want to remember. Before playing at Washington, Williams spent two seasons at New Mexico. He scored his Lobos career-high 25 points and added 15 rebounds in a game against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center, though New Mexico lost.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.