Marcus Williams heading to Arizona

Before going to bed Monday night, Roosevelt High School basketball star Marcus Williams placed phone calls to a pair of veteran coaches. The first went to Maryland's Gary Williams, the next to Arizona's Lute Olson.

Having already taken official visits to both schools, Williams said he wanted some "final thoughts" before sleeping on what would be the biggest decision of his young life.

Yesterday, when he woke up, he knew. And before leaving for school, Williams picked up the phone once more, this time to give an oral commitment to Olson and the Wildcats.

"It just felt right, just an internal feeling, you know?" said Williams, a 6-foot-7 senior guard, who averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds last season.

Williams visited Arizona last weekend. He said he met with academic advisers, played pick-up basketball, enjoyed a brunch at Olson's home and took in a football game. While he was there, it rained.

"That was a little ironic," he said.

The trip was the second in as many weeks for Williams, who also visited Maryland.

He said he chose the Wildcats because he liked their style of play and Olson's track record of sending players to the NBA, which is where Williams ultimately wants to be. Still, he called the decision "a lot more difficult than I thought it would be."

Williams took only two of the four trips he had originally planned. Last month, he announced he also had scheduled visits to Connecticut and Oklahoma.

"It was a great experience," he said of the recruiting process. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing."

Williams becomes the fourth Seattle-area boys basketball player from the Class of 2005 to commit to a major college program, joining Juanita's Micah Downs (Kansas), O'Dea's Mitch Johnson (Stanford) and Rainier Beach's Terrence Williams (Louisville).

Two others, Snohomish's Jon Brockman and Seattle Prep's Martell Webster, are expected to follow suit in the coming months.

Brockman, a 6-8 forward, has narrowed his list to Duke and Washington, while Webster, a 6-6 guard, is scheduled to take an official visit to Arizona this weekend.

Matt Peterson: 206-515-5536 or mpeterson@seattletimes.com