But when the Clippers bring the ball up the court, he can sit back and watch.
“I think I may have called two plays tonight,” Williams said after a 65-39 win over Bowie on Saturday in the Prince George’s County Challenge, hosted by Oxon Hill. “The rest is them just playing off each other.”
Williams’s squad has plenty of experience, with many of the No. 18 Clippers (5-1) having played with one another on the varsity level for three years. His group has a collective confidence on offense that powers one of the county’s most consistent programs. That allows Williams to step back and let his players take the lead.
“We see it every night,” he said. “Some of the things they do, it’s not stuff that we practice or work on. It just comes from them knowing each other, knowing where they’re supposed to be at, who’s going to be where.”
Senior captain Madison Williams, the coach’s daughter, is the catalyst of Oxon Hill’s dynamic offense. The Adelphi University commit is a natural shooting guard but plays just about every position. On one possession, she’ll push the ball up the court as the point guard, then on the next she’ll sprint underneath the basket and act as the center.
Early in Saturday’s win over Bowie (3-1), Williams made her biggest impact in the paint. She scored the game’s first points by driving to the rim and banking in a layup, then converted three more baskets in the paint during the first half as her team raced out to a double-digit advantage.
“We’ve been bonding together, and it shows,” she said.
As Devone Williams pointed out before the game, his daughter is far from the only player on the team who can make the defense pay. As the Clippers pulled away, Williams dropped a pass between two defenders for an easy layup by Damia Worthy. Minutes later, Williams found a wide-open Dashani Coleman, who dropped in a three-pointer from the wing.
Coleman (16 points), Worthy (15) and Williams (11) accounted for nearly 65 percent of Oxon Hill’s scoring. Williams also pulled down a team-high 15 rebounds and racked up six assists.
That sort of offensive chemistry bodes well for the Clippers as they aim for their ultimate goal of a state championship. Oxon Hill’s players understand how difficult that path will be, but as Devone Williams watches keenly from the bench, the Clippers’ offensive strategy looks simple.
“We just know how to play basketball,” Worthy said. “We just play.”