Drew Williamson isn't ready to give up on basketball.
So one of the most distinguished athletes to come out of Alamance County in decades is back at his alma mater by joining the Old Dominion men's basketball staff.
The former multi-sport standout at Cummings High School is the new director of operations for the Old Dominion program, returning four years after he graduated.
"I always knew I wanted to get into coaching or back into the game somehow," Williamson said last week. "I kind of knew that when I was in college. I didn't know how long I was going to play after college. I knew this was the path I wanted to take.
"The opportunity came a little sooner than I expected."
Williamson spent three seasons playing professionally in Germany after a four-year playing career at Old Dominion, where he earned a degree in sports management.
At the end of his high school career, Williamson was named the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Male Athlete of the Year in 2002-03. He was one of the most prolific passers in state history as a quarterback for Cummings' football team and he was part of two state championship teams in basketball.
Williamson said he envisioned a professional career of seven or eight years coming out of college. He played for three different teams in Germany, making stops at Weissensels (Mitteldeutscher BC), Jena (Science City Jena) and Bayreuth (BBC Bayreuth).
The final season overseas came after he was married in August 2009.
"I still wanted to get it out of my system a little bit," he said. "It was great to continue to play a game. When I grew up, it was just a game. (Then it was pretty neat) to classify it as a job and to get paid to play. ...
"I think I'm hanging the shoes up.You might see me in a YMCA league."
Since last October, he spent time working for Hertz rental car in Raleigh before learning of the Old Dominion opening.
"I was still trying to figure out my path. I knew what I wanted to do and the path to get back into basketball."
Under coach Blaine Taylor, Williamson played in a school-record 130 consecutive games for the Monarchs and he's third alltime at the school with 215 steals and he ranks seventh at Old Dominion with 55 career assists. He's one of two Monarchs to rack up more than 200 steals and 500 assists.
"Drew is one of our own who helped the transition of our program at a critical time as we entered the Constant Center and pushed our status even higher as a basketball program," Taylor said. "... He now crosses the bridge into contributing from a different vantage point."
Williamson, 26, said his familiarity with the Norfolk, Va., campus and Taylor is a plus as he enters this new phase.
"I kind of know the system and how everyone responds to him," Williamson said. "He helped me grow up when I first came in and now I'm hoping he can help me grow into a coach someday."
In his new job, Williamson will be involved in administrative tasks and helping communicate things going on within the Monarchs program.
"It's a good opportunity for me to kind of see the background of everything else other than what goes on for game day," he said. "To see if this is a career (path) I want to go down."
Williamson replaces Joel Hines, who spent three seasons in the role of director of basketball operations.
The Monarchs went 93-37 while Williamson played, twice competing in the NCAA Tournament and reaching the National Invitation Tournament semifinals another year. His impact was immediate as he started 15 games as a freshman.
As a senior, he was an All-Colonial Athletic Association second-team selection. As a junior, he led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio for the second season in a row. Twice, he received CAA alldefensive team honors.
A game-winning basket against George Mason in the 2005-06 season is regarded as one of the most memorable moments in Constant Center history, according to Old Dominion observers.
"It's going to be interesting the first game sitting on the bench and not getting ready to check into the game," he said. "I still feel young."
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