Roscoe Williams never intended on having a life filled with basketball memories.

• Photos

File/Staff

Roscoe Williams' time as official clock operator at Augusta State will end Tuesday after 40 years.

Related Stories

• ASU clock man says his time has passed

Advertisement

As a junior at Laney High School, Williams was content working at a local restaurant. Then, legendary coach John Tutt called upon him to play for the boys varsity team.

"I was comfortable making money," Williams said. "But if Mr. Tutt asked you to come out, you didn't question him."

That one meeting in the early 1950s snowballed into six decades worth of time spent on the hardwood for Williams as either a player, a coach or a game official. He will end his 40-year run as the official clock operator at Augusta State at the conclusion of the NCAA Division II Tournament Southeast Regional, which runs Saturday through Tuesday.

Augusta State athletic director Clint Bryant said Williams represents the spirit of Augusta, with his long basketball résumé. Bryant added that Williams has given Augusta State more than the school could every pay back in return.

Williams was one of the first people Bryant met when he interviewed for the men's basketball job in 1988. They became golf buddies and remain close.

"He has such a pleasant, sincere personality that when he talks to you he makes you feel special," Bryant said. "He's just a tremendous colleague, a tremendous friend."

Williams also was a tremendous basketball player. He made an impact in his first game at Laney. Williams came off the bench six minutes after the tip and swished four of his five field-goal attempts, including the game-winner.

During his high school years, Williams pulled off several interesting feats. He made the last basket at Bethlehem Community Center (Laney's old gym). Then, Williams made the first unofficial and official baskets at the school's new basketball court.

After varnishing the floor of the new gym, the contractor accidentally left the door open. Williams and his friend, Curtis Bell, darted through the opening, racing to make the first basket -- Williams won the challenge with a layup.

In Laney's first official game in its new home, Bell dished a pass inside to Williams for a layup, the first two points in the gym.

As a 6-foot-1 guard with seemingly unlimited range (he played before the advent of the 3-point line) Williams starred at Paine College, averaging 32 points a game for his career.

As a freshman, he shot 61 percent from the field. Williams later became just one of just two athletes (former Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver John Stallworth the other) in the inaugural Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1992.

During his college tenure, the Lions didn't have a lot of success on the court. But Williams remains proud of the fact every one of his teammates graduated.

"That was just par for the course," he said. "We were a lot more balanced toward academics."

After graduating in 1958, Williams taught at A.R. Johnson and then moved to Josey High School when it opened in 1964. While he taught in the public school system, Williams also coached the men's basketball team at Paine from 1963-67 -- he told his alma mater he only wanted to coach for four years. He later returned to Paine as the executive assistant to the president from 1999-2008.

Williams began working at then-Augusta College in the fall of 1970 as the assistant Dean of Students before later becoming the longtime Dean of Students.

Williams started behind the clock during the Jaguars' initial run of success -- the team advanced to the NAIA national tournament for the second year in a row in 1970-71. In 1978, the Jaguars made their first Division II playoff appearance. Augusta State wouldn't qualify for the playoffs again until 22 years later when Gary Tuell took the Jaguars to the Division II Tournament in back-to-back years.

Now, coach Dip Metress has led Augusta State to its fourth consecutive Division II Tournament appearance. The Jaguars will play host to Brevard at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Southeast Regional first round.

"For me, you've had this continuation of good, quality basketball," Williams said. "It's been very gratifying to meet so many people -- athletes who I've seen in several different ways."

Working the clock has not always been easy. When Williams has accidentally gotten the score or the time incorrect, he's heard about it from coaches and fans. He said working the clock has gotten tougher over the years with the pace of the sport getting faster.

"You have to pay attention to what's going on," he said. "The biggest challenge is -- and the older you get the more susceptible you are to this -- you can't get caught up in the game. And that's kind of hard to do for someone who's played the sport."

Williams is married to Bertha (they will celebrate their 43rd anniversary this year) and has five adult children (three engineers, one working on an engineering degree and a teacher) and two grandchildren. He said when basketball season ends he'll continue his hobbies of gardening, photography and refinishing furniture.

Williams also has plans to get involved with the community as well. For that reason, he didn't want to reveal his age.

"I work with some young people and once they find out you're as old as I am, they won't listen to you anymore," he said.

Williams said he'll continue to attend Augusta State basketball games. But next season, the view will be much different.

"It's time to move on and to sit up in the stands and observe like everybody else," he said. "I'll be doing that for the first time in a long, long time. I've kind of wondered what it'd be like to look at it from up there."