Benny Williams Named to Jordan Brand Classic Roster

The SI-99 Syracuse signee earned the recognition from one of the top high school all-star events.

Mike McAllister | May 22, 2021

Benny Williams Named to Jordan Brand Classic Roster /

The Jordan Brand Classic may not be playing the game this year, but that did not stop them from releasing a roster of players that would have played. The game was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Included on the roster was Syracuse's lone member of its 2021 class, SI-99 forward Benny Williams.

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"Great way to wrap up my high school career with one o my goals since I was a kid," Williams said of the honor.

Sports Illustrated Director of Basketball Recruiting Jason Jordan is high on Benny Williams.

"What I really liked about him is the growth in his game across the board," Jordan said. "Covid really showed who's going to work for it and who's going to say, 'oh man I didn't have any competition' or 'I couldn't get in this tournament.' What I've learned is that the elite guys have really found what it means to go out and work on their game. How beneficial that has been. He's obviously one of the guys that has done that. I just really like how he's a do it all guy, yes, but I feel like as a playmaker, he's grown substantially.

"Benny's on a traveling all-star team with Efton Reid, we'll start with him, and then Charles Bediako. It's just a traveling all-star team. Let's just be honest. You'd probably make the intelligent case that he's the best player on the team. I hate to say positionless because that's become a little bit of a cliche, but he really is. He's best when he's a playmaker, making plays from the wing. As he's improved his ball handling, I could see him at the point forward position. He's such a great playmaker, so heady, great basketball IQ, great passer. He can score when he wants to, but he has just a great feel for the game. And you can tell that's grown year over year."

Published May 22, 2021

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.