Home is where the heart is.
For Jeff Williams, the Harlem boys basketball program is more than a job – it’s a full-circle moment for the 48-year-old ball coach.
The Columbia County Board of Education approved the Augusta native as the Bulldogs’ next head coach last month, paving the way for one of the biggest names in Georgia high school basketball and his return to the CSRA.
A Butler High School graduate, Williams is no stranger to the area. He cut his teeth as the JV boys basketball coach at Greenbrier before taking a head coaching gig of his own at Lakeside in 2017. In four seasons, he led the Panthers to a 68-41 record and four state playoff berths before departing for New Hampstead in 2020.
The move didn’t really sink in until he got back to town over the weekend.
“We got in town last night and it just hit me,” he said. “Riding around Augusta, it feels great to be home. Some people leave and never go back to their hometown, but it feels real good to be home.”
Jeff Williams returns to Augusta-area roots to continue basketball journey
Williams is taking over after Carlos Carter stepped down following the 2024 season.
It didn’t take Harlem athletic director Rodney Holder long to find his man.
“Deep connection with the county, fantastic person; that sold me and Casey (Harlem principal Casey Dees) right there, just the type of person that he is,” Holder said. “We had to replace a really good guy, so we were in a situation where we had to find the best man for the job. The fact that he’s an amazing basketball coach is even better. We were super lucky to get him, because he was probably one of the premier coaches right now in the state.”
That last part wasn’t an exaggeration, either.
Over the past four years, Williams led New Hampstead to a 60-36 record. His finest work came this season, as the Phoenix cruised to an unbeaten Region 3-4A mark and a Georgia High School Association 4A elite eight appearance (inarguable the best season in program history).
“We were one bad quarter away from being in the final four. We fell behind a little in that game, but I loved it. You want your kids to see different things and to come back and take the lead after halftime with all the youth we had,” Williams said. “We won 16 straight games and were ranked the highest we’ve ever been in the state. Kids won 23 games and it wasn’t an easy decision. My co-workers, principal and athletic director are all good people.”
The decision to return to his roots wasn’t one that Williams took lightly. After suffering a stroke in February of 2023, a long road to recovery back to the basketball court caused him to adjust his perspective.
“When I got sick, my outlook changed,” he said. “Of course, I want to compete at a high level and this area is somewhere I can do that and be close to family and friends.”
Williams’ drive to coach basketball at a high level never wavered, but he couldn’t shake the desire to be closer to his family. A decade ago, that may have been an either-or decision when it came to the Augusta basketball scene. Those days are long gone.
With three-time defending Class 2A state champion Westside and Class 3A monster Cross Creek (both in Harlem’s new region, by the way), the days of holding out for an Atlanta-based coaching job to lead the state’s top talent are over.
“One of those things I always thought about every time a job opportunity came up, everybody thought I’d be going to Atlanta. Atlanta isn’t a place I really wanted to be,” Williams said. “The whole time I was in Savannah, looking at the success that Westside, Cross Creek, Grovetown and Butler had, I was like, ‘Man, I would love to be in that type of culture.’”
Why Harlem boys basketball was the perfect fit for Jeff Williams
These types of moves are never a one-person decision. Williams, his wife LaVonne and his children all had to sign off. His son, AJ, is also one of the top basketball prospects in the state for the Class of 2027.
In fact, AJ was the biggest reason his father returned to the basketball court after his stroke. It makes sense for the two of them to experience the biggest part of their basketball journey together in their old stomping grounds.
Williams also quickly found out one of the worst-kept secrets of Augusta-area high school sports: while Harlem is one of five public schools in Columbia County, it almost exists on an island. The Harlem community brings a small-town feel that surrounds the school and its athletic programs that few metro-area communities can match.
In addition to that, the cultures implemented from greats like baseball coach Jimmie Lewis and softball coach Mike Leverett become infectious and the rest of the teams just seem to feed off it.
“The thing that was the most appealing to me was the family-type feel. Everyone I talked to said the same thing about the school and the support and I definitely needed something like that,” Williams said. “I want to know that everyone involved has my back and everyone is vested in the program being successful. It makes a difference when the school has a championship culture. The expectations are already there. I know we have a ton of work to do, but it makes a huge difference when everybody is on board.”
At the end of the day, there’s no secret formula for Holder and company when it comes to hiring coaches. He operates by one simple philosophy and Williams fit it to a tee.
“Years ago, I had an old guy that I worked with say, ‘It’s not a secret. You hire the best people that you can, put them around your kids and let them work,’” Holder said. “That’s exactly what Casey and I talked about was finding the best people in any jobs that become available.”