Jim Williams is in his seventh season in charge of Waubonsee’s women’s basketball and 10th overall with the program. His inaugural squad finished 18-13 and captured a share of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference title. It was the second straight league crown and fourth in a five year span for the Chiefs' program. Coach Williams was around for most of that, having served as assistant coach the previous three seasons. He helped guide the Chiefs to unprecedented heights during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons as Waubonsee captured the Region IV title and finished 11^th nationally at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament both of those years. The Chiefs also completed an undefeated Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) title on their way to setting the program’s single-season mark for wins with 27 during the 2015-16 season. Williams' 2021-22 team finished 23-6 overall, placing in the top-25 nationally in 10 different categories, including leading the nation in assists with an average of 22.0 per game. The Chiefs were also sixth in free throw percentage, seventh forced turnovers, 11^th in offensive rebounds, 12^th in steals, blocks, total rebounds and points, and 13^th in defensive rebounds.

Williams brings a well-rounded resume to Waubonsee’s bench, having coached basketball, baseball and football at the prep and youth levels ever since he was just 22 years old. Williams is a 1987 graduate of Marmion Academy in Aurora where he was a standout three-sport athlete. He earned All-Conference honors in football, basketball and baseball, while also being named the Cadets’ Most Valuable Player on the court and the diamond. His senior year he was named the Aurora Beacon-News “Player of the Year” averaging 19.0 points per game and 87 percent from the free throw line. Williams went to Rosary College in River Forest, now called Dominican University, on a full basketball scholarship, where he led the NAIA Mideast District in free throw percentage two years in row. He later transferred to Aurora University and finished ninth in the nation among NCAA Division III players in free throw percentage.   

Coach Williams was inducted into Marmion’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998, where he has also coached basketball and baseball for the last eight years. Besides his coaching duties he is a manager for Accuperf, Inc., a flexible packaging company. In his spare time Wiliams gives lessons teaching basketball skills, ball-handling and shooting techniques. He and his wife Regina were married in October of 2020 and reside in Naperville. Williams has two grown children, daughter Jessica, who is an elementary school teacher in Schaumburg, and son Tyler who is an Internal Auditor for Wintrust in Rosemont and serving as a Volunteer Assistant Coach with the Chiefs this season.  

Coach Williams' Record at Waubonsee

2017-18          18-13                           11-3          **ISCC Co-Champs         

2018-19          16-13                             8-5           4th place in ISCC

2019-20          12-18                             4-6           4th place in ISCC   

2021 Spring       4-0          Exhibition season due to Covid pandemic

2021-22           23-6                             10-2           2nd place in ISCC

2022-23          14-18                              7-7           3rd place in ISCC

2023-24            8-23                              3-11         7th place in ISCC

7 seasons        (95-91)   51.1%           (43-34)   55.8%