Former Bloom star Keshawn Williams transfers to NIU

Keshawn Williams, who was among the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top dozen prospects in the Class of 2020, is coming home.

The athletic 6-2 guard from Bloom decided to leave Tulsa following a freshman season where he averaged 3.1 points a game in limited minutes. He will be transferring to Northern Illinois to play for coach Rashon Burno, who was hired earlier this month.

Blessed with explosiveness in the open floor and above-the-rim athleticism, Williams becomes the highest ranked player from the Chicago area that NIU has landed in years.

“The Tulsa coaching staff was great, but it just wasn’t a perfect fit for me,” said Williams. “The opportunity to play close to home and to help turn a program around excites me. I connected with coach Burno. He trusts me and will allow me to play through the good and the bad. That’s important to hear from your coach.”

For Burno, it’s the second player he’s landed in a week. Burno received a commitment from Noah Kon, a senior point guard out of Houston. Kon is the all-time leading scorer in Houston Christian program history.

But in Williams, Burno has immediately landed a Chicago area recruit who was targeted by several mid-major programs after entering the NCAA transfer portal.

As a senior at Bloom, Williams, a three-star recruit according to Rivals, was part of a team that began the season ranked No. 1 in the Sun-Times Super 25 and finished 28-6 on the year. Williams dazzled in a monster matchup with Thornton as a senior, scoring 23 points and handing Thornton its only loss of the season.

In two season Williams helped the Blazing Trojans to a combined 54 wins.