She played basketball for Wes Moore at NC State. She’s coaching against him in Sweet 16.
Wes Moore is one of the best offensive minds in college basketball.
When N.C. State (22-2) takes on Indiana (20-5) in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA women’s tournament on Saturday, Moore will have to get extra creative with his offensive game planning.
Part of that has to do with the Hoosiers defense, which has held its first two opponents in the tournament to under 50 points. Another part will be a familiar face on the Indiana bench who knows Moore’s sets inside and out.
When Moore looks down towards the Hoosiers’ bench, one of his former players, Ashley Williams, will be looking back down at him.
Williams, who played her high school basketball at Green Hope, played four years at N.C. State (2013-2017) for Moore. She started her career as a walk-on, but quickly became one of the more important players in the rotation, becoming a starter by her junior year.
Williams started her coaching career at Furman.
As a member of the Pack, Williams played in 117 games, averaging 5.2 points for her career. One hundred and seventeen games under Moore means Williams has a pretty good understanding of how N.C. State wants to attack Indiana.
“She played for us just a few years ago,” Moore said. “So she knows just about everything we do, so that’s going to be interesting. I might have to switch up the signals a little bit or disguise things and try to be as covered up as I can be.”
If Moore does switch it up, Williams still might be able to catch on.
She earned a degree in industrial engineering, graduating with a 3.9 gpa. One day, though, she came into Moore’s office and told him she wanted to get into coaching. It was a move Moore didn’t see coming.
“I said ‘Ashley until this moment I thought you were very intelligent,’” Moore joked. “No, it definitely carries over, she has a passion for the game, so because of that she works really hard at it and like I said she’s very intelligent.”
Williams was named the ACC Kay Yow Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2016, was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and was All-ACC Academic Team/All-ACC Honor Roll three times.
Williams was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Kay Yow Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2016, was twice tabbed CoSIDA Academic All-District, and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team / All-ACC Honor Roll three times. With the combination of brains and hard work, Moore wouldn’t be surprised to see Williams running her own program soon.
“She’s been moving up the ladder quickly,” Moore said. “I could see her being a head coach at a very young age.”
NC State vs. Indiana
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Watch: ESPN2
