NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (October 29, 2020) - SUNY Delhi men's basketball alumnus Aaron Williams ('03) was recently awarded Alumni of the Year by the New Rochelle Boys and Girls Club. Williams, who serves as director of his home town's Remington Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle, attended SUNY Delhi from 2001-03 and was a star player on the men's basketball team that won 30 games and a regional championship in 2002-03. His performance that season earned him NJCAA National Player of the Year and First Team All-American, which led to an athletics scholarship opportunity at NCAA Division I Delaware State. Williams helped the Hornets to their first MEAC Championship and a NCAA Tournament matchup versus Duke University.
From the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle:
Born and raised in New Rochelle, NY, Aaron was always taught to be a "Positive Person, Role-model and a Leader" by his parents Lisa and Robert Williams. At the age of five, Aaron became a member of the Boys and Girls club and remained a member until his senior year in high school. During his time at the club, Aaron participated in and excelled in Track and Field, Basketball, Softball, Chess/Checkers Club, Pool and Table Tennis. He also received a Boys and Girls Club scholarship of $1,500 for college his senior year for his volunteer service throughout his years at the club.
After not earning a full scholarship to college immediately after high school, Aaron attended SUNY Delhi, where he decided to major in Architecture, which quickly changed to Sports Management/Sports Recreation. He also walked-on to the basketball team, where he excelled and was named "NJCAA's Player of the Year" which helped earn him a Full Athletic Scholarship to Delaware State University. At Delaware State University, he helped his team get to the NCAA Tournament for the first (and still only) time in the school's history by hitting the game-winning shot of the MEAC (Mid-East Atlantic Conference) tournament championship game against Hampton University, and played against Duke in the 1st round. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management and Minor in Marketing with a 3.25 overall GPA.
Following College, he is renowned for his work on the NYC Streetball circuit, where he was named nicknamed "The Problem." He has played professionally in the ABA (American Basketball Association), NBDL (National Basketball Development League), Canada, Dominican Republic, Russia and New Zealand. He has been employed with the Boys and Girls club since 2013/2014 and has been promoted through the ranks from YDP (Youth Development Professional), Teen Coordinator, Passport to Manhood program leader, Athletic Director and now the top position at his site, Clubhouse Director.
Recently, Aaron Williams, Director of the Remington Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle partnered up with an international non-profit organization called "There's A Better Way (TABW)" from New Zealand, from CEO Glen Green, which uses 3 on 3 basketball as a way to get through to youth to help keep them off the streets, out of gangs & out of trouble. TABW built a brand new, 1/2 million dollar court in Papakura, a rough neighborhood in New Zealand, where kids could play basketball at for free. The main comp was based on New York vs New Zealand. The NY team was represented by Aaron "The Problem" Williams, Director of the Boys and Girls Club in New Rochelle, Rob "RoboCop" Johnson, New Rochelle Police officer and Dave "Super Dave" Seagars, overseas professional basketball player. Also, through TABW and the Boys and girls club of New Rochelle, Williams was able to bring a Teenager (Keion Jones) from his "Passport To Manhood" Program along for the cultural journey, free of cost. They are in the works of making this a yearly event, to help get kids their passports & getting more kids to travel abroad free of charge to get a different type of cultural experience while competing & have a lil' fun. From that trip, Officer Rob Johnson and Aaron Williams have partnered up to start "There's A Better Way charter here in New York (@BetterWayNY).
Also, after Hurricane Maria destroyed a big population in Puerto Rico, Aaron took five kids, one staff and a volunteer from his Passport To Manhood program to Puerto Rico to help with the rebuilding process. While there, they partnered with Habitat For Humanity and helped prepare meals and passed them out to homeless people around 3 different cities. They also visited 3 different Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico where they ran programs, held competitions and gave out gifts to the children.
