Plattsburgh State Athletics

One of the most prolific scorers in men’s basketball program history, Anthony Williams helped lead Plattsburgh State to SUNYAC championships in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 during his tenure in a Cardinal uniform. 

He earned NABC First-Team All-America honors in 2007-08 and NABC Third-Team All-America recognition in 2006-07 in addition to receiving D3hoops.com Second-Team All-America kudos in 2007-08. Anthony was the D3hoops.com East Region Player of the Year in 2007-08 and earned D3hoops.com First-Team All-Region honors in both 2006-07 and 2007-08. 

He also was a two-time NABC All-Region honoree in 2006-07 and 2007-08. A two-time SUNYAC Player of the Year in 2006-07 and 2007-08, he earned a pair of First-Team All-SUNYAC laurels and was selected to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team on three occasions, including SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors in 2007-08. Anthony holds the career program record in free throws made (409) and ranks second all-time in scoring (1,734 points).

Date of Induction into Cardinal Sports Hall of Fame:
April 22, 2022

Where is he now: 

Anthony is currently the Assistant Principal of Student Support at Middletown High School in Middletown, N.Y. A newly developed department he has led for the past four years, its focus is to serve scholars in need of additional supports, academically or environmentally, to avoid dropping out of school. Through the work of his department, they have successful decreased the dropout rate each of the last four years. He is also the Lead Coordinator for the My Brothers Keeper Program in his school district, which an Obama Initiative designed to serve as a mentor program for young boys of color in grades 8-12. “In 2020, my wife and I cofounded it,” Anthony said “Because it matters 24/7 in response to the pandemic and social unrest for our local youth with a mission to strengthen community ties and provide programs to bring awareness and more diverse opportunities to our local community. Our slogan is ‘Community is a VERB!’”

He currently lives in Middletown, N.Y., with his wife Yaa Yaa Whaley-Williams and has four children: Anthony Williams Jr. (17 years old), Leah Tiffany Williams (10 years old), Kobe Jamal Ife Williams (6 years old) and Mia Simone Abisola Williams (5 years old).

“Professionally, I truly believe that my job is my calling and due to this, my professional accomplishments are all very personal to me. I started my high school educational career at PTECH in Crown Heights Brooklyn in the same high school I attended as a teenager. To witness the first cohort of scholars I served in my role earn their master degrees, earn competitive salaries at companies like IBM and be able to support their families comfortably is special. It speaks to more young people from communities such as the one I grew up in breaking some of the generational curses for a better future. When I think about those special years, it feels like just yesterday when Barack Obama visited our high school and communicated to the world that every district in the country needs a PTECH. I feel that working on the flagship PTECH team changed how I viewed secondary education; it enhanced my definition of what it means to be successful and gave me the ultimate opportunity to give back to my community. This approach has been my professional model everywhere I have worked.”

Favorite Plattsburgh State Sports Moment: 

“My favorite Plattsburgh State memory is from spring of 2007. We had a national game against University of Rochester, which was probably one of the most disrespectful crowds I played against in my entire basketball career. The irony of this memory is not only that I hit the buzzer beater to win the game, but earlier that day at practice, I got scolded by Coach Curle during our shootaround. He wanted me to ‘practice shots that I will take in the game.’ The half court shot he scolded me for taking at shootaround turned out to be the exact spot I hit the shot from to win against Rochester.”