K-State’s Williams ready for pro hoops in Russia
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Peyton Williams is as decorated an athlete as you’ll find from Topeka and now she’s taking her game overseas — Russia, to be exact. She’s headed to hoop in Moscow, but she’s still working on the language.
“I know like ‘Dah’ and ‘Nyet’ are yes and no, ‘Privet’ is hello, so I’m getting there,” Williams laughed.
The Cair Paravel graduate signed with women’s powerhouse Spartak, luckily, basketball is a global game and buckets speak louder than words.
After an all-time K-State career in two sports, Williams had her sights on the WNBA, but with limited draft spots and workout periods, it didn’t come to fruition, but it wasn’t a downer.
“So I knew it was a slim shot, and of course, compounded that with COVID, I wasn’t able to have the chance to go to a training camp.”
The closing of one door opened quite a few others, once she hit free agency, teams all over the globe called.
“I had some offers from some teams in Italy, Poland, a team in Hungry, some teams in Turkey I believe.”
One of the last to do so was Spartak, they have a rich history in women’s pro basketball. American stars like Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird spent time there, and Williams will now follow the same path.
“To have that associated with somewhere that I’m now going to be associated is really cool and obviously, big shoes to fill but I think it’ll be a really fun challenge.”
At one point growing up in Topeka, Williams wasn’t even sure if college basketball was for her. But as she grew as a player, so did the possibilities and visions.
“I always want to go out and beyond but for it to be a reality is completely different…I was just thinking about where I was then and the dreams that I had were so much smaller than what I now have the opportunity to think about, it’s really so cool.”