Talk ‘N’ Text forward Kelly Williams is now putting the finishing touches on his autobiography entitled “Rising Higher” and if there are no delays, the book will be launched in May.
Williams is the perfect storyteller, relating his life from the Detroit projects as a Fil-Am boy to playing in the NCAA Division I with Oakland University and finally, winding up in the PBA where he bagged the Rookie of the Year award in 2006-07 and took MVP honors the next season. He painstakingly wrote down details of the ups and downs in his life and even contracted an editor in the UK to go over his manuscript for spelling and grammar checks.
Williams, the youngest of three children, including an autistic brother, was only seven when his father died of cancer at the age of 69. It was difficult growing up without a father in the notorious 7 Mile neighborhood of the Motor City outskirts but his mother Andrea Castro of Cebu more than made up as a single parent.
“My father was a security supervisor in the hospital where my mother worked as a nurse so they met at work,” said Williams. “My mother has a daughter from a previous relationship in Cebu and my stepfather has three children, also from a previous relationship so I have lots of relatives.”
Williams was born to play basketball and when he broke in with the Martin Luther King high school varsity, he was an instant star. As a senior prepster in 1999-2000, he averaged 35 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots, two steals and two assists to lead the Crusaders to the state semi-finals. The varsity posted an overall record of 68-16 in Williams’ four years. After graduation, Williams recalled he was recruited by La Salle to play in the UAAP.
“I don’t really know how they found out I’m a Fil-Am but they sent me a La Salle gym bag and a La Salle mug with my name on it,” said Williams. “But I chose to stay close to home, playing for Oakland University in Michigan. I did four years with the varsity and after college, Filipino recruiters started calling. I was interested to play in the Philippines but nothing ever happened with those recruiters until coach Chot (Reyes) came along. He was in Detroit to attend a Larry Brown clinic and got in touch. Coach Chot talked about playing for the national team and in the PBA. I eventually wound up in the Philippines and it took coach Chot to make it happen.”
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Before Williams made his PBA debut with Sta. Lucia Realty in the 2006-07 season, he rediscovered Christ. Williams said he was raised a Catholic and often went with his mother to Mass on Saturday evenings as a boy. So the Christian background was solid when he surrendered himself to the Lord as a Christian in 2005. When Williams was picked first overall in the 2006 PBA draft, his mother was in town to celebrate the moment with her son.
While his PBA career flourished, Williams met his future wife Erica Waters through her brother Lamont in 2007. “Lamont’s a good friend of Rob Johnson and they were living in the condo where I stayed,” said Williams. “Lamont’s from Nebraska and Rob’s from Seattle while I’m from Michigan. I met Erica through the internet, thanks to Lamont, and I finally got to meet her face to face in the US during the offseason in 2007. Late that same year, I proposed to her when she came to visit and we were in Boracay.” Lamont and Johnson are both Fil-Ams like Williams.
Lamont played a year with Sta. Lucia and Talk ‘N’ Text and is now a Texters practice player. Williams said his brother-in-law plays in every practice like a real game and pushes the regulars to the limit during scrimmages. Not too many know that Lamont is a retired US Air Force captain whose last tour of duty was in the Afghanistan war zone. Lamont’s mother is from Pampanga.
In June 2008, Williams and Erica got married. And the next year, Williams fell sick with a blood disorder condition called thrombocytopenia where the immune system eats up platelets. “It was during the 2009 All-Star festivities,” said Williams. “We flew to Davao from Bacolod and in the hotel room, I got really sick, throwing up and everything. I had to go back to Manila and was rushed to the Asian Hospital in Alabang where I was diagnosed with the blood disorder. The normal platelet count is between 150,000 to 600,000 but when I got to the hospital, my count was down to 6,000. The condition isn’t leukemia and normally strikes kids who get their spleens removed because of it. But sometimes, it afflicts adults.”
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Williams took medication and a form of chemotherapy to build his count to 8,000 and after four months of treatment, begged for doctors to allow him to play again. Today, his count is about 150,000. He continues to take treatment, mainly steroids, and has blood tests every other week and a blood drip form of chemotherapy every month. Remarkably, Williams is back playing like nothing happened. Sometimes, he wears an arm sleeve during a game, not as a fashion statement, but to conceal the bruises that appear because of his fluctuating platelet count.
His life’s journey is what “Rising Higher” is all about. It’ll be over 210 pages. Williams is thinking of writing an epilogue where he will relate the Texters’ near Grand Slam finish and the incredible rebound in the Philippine Cup this season with teammate Ali Peek’s recovery from a gunshot wound.
“It took me about eight months to write the main part of the book,” said Williams. “I’ve hooked up with a magazine publishing company that’s venturing into books and we’re excited to launch. Erica’s cousin in Pampanga is doing the cover artwork and all the graphic stuff. The book will run straight text then in the end, it will show pictures. We’re now thinking of launch details like where to hold it, what to give away as keepsakes and all that.”
Williams used to live in Alabang close to where Erica worked as a teacher at Brent. But after she gave up the job and is now taking care of their two-year-old boy Charlie as a full-time mom, Williams relocated to a condo in Eastwood which is near where Talk ‘N’ Text practices and the PBA games are played.
“It’s a tell-all book straight from my heart,” said Williams. “I hope it inspires the readers. It’s a special year for our family. So far, we’ve won one PBA championship this season. The book will be launched in May and in August, Erica will give birth to our second child. They’re blessings we want to share with everyone.”