On Thursday, May 7, the Harvard-Westlake basketball program received a visit from Milwaukee Bucks point guard Michael Carter-Williams. Carter-Williams, who was given the 2013-2014 National Basketball Association Rookie of the Year award for his efforts with the Philadelphia 76ers, was visiting the Los Angeles area after his Bucks were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls in a six-game series in the opening round of the 2015 NBA playoffs.
According to Harvard-Westlake Athletics, Carter-Williams, who averaged 14.6 points per game, 6.7 assists per game and 5.3 rebounds per game during the 2014-15 NBA regular season, emphasized the need for hard work to succeed in life and basketball, before discussing his journey from high school to the NBA. Carter-Williams graduated from St. Andrew’s (Rhode Island) High School in 2011, and went on to play basketball at Syracuse University, where he only averaged 10.3 minutes per game as a freshman but proceeded to lead the Orangemen to the NCAA Final Four as a starter during his sophomore year.
After being selected 11th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the 76ers, Carter-Williams surprised many with his early success, leading to his selection as the league’s Rookie of the Year in his first season. However, in February 2015, the point guard was sent to Milwaukee in exchange for draft picks, where he completed the 2014-15 season with his first career playoff appearance.
Carter-Williams posed with the Harvard-Westlake basketball players in 9th-11th grades after his speech in a picture later posted to the @HWHoops Twitter feed. New Head Coach David Rebibo wrote, “Really appreciate @MCW1 stopping by practice and talking with our guys.”
Rebibo has been holding offseason workouts since the conclusion of the school’s Spring Break period, as he attempts to improve the team’s 14-14 overall record from Greg Hilliard’s final season running the basketball program. The team has already committed to participate in the “War on the Floor” summer tournament from June 17-21, which notably includes Mission League foe Notre Dame and Rebibo’s alma mater, El Camino Real. The 2015-16 regular season non-league schedule for the Wolverines has not yet been finalized, but the locations and dates of the team’s Mission League games can be seen here:
