Terrance “Munch” Williams’ New Book, ‘Here Are the Answers,’ is a Roadmap into the Inner-Workings of AAU Basketball

Perspective is everything. Spectating at an arm’s length, it would be easy for an outsider to simplify grassroots basketball to its barest bones. For a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays, young hoopers showcase their talents to a large, potentially life-changing set of eyes. Think of all the keen-eyed scouts looking to strike gold, or the videographers responsible for all the eye-popping highlights and mixtapes that circulate on social media.

But, as Terrance “Munch” Williams affirms with his newly published book, Here Are the Answers, there’s so much that we don’t see.

“A lot of times, people don’t see what they’re doing Monday through Friday,” says Williams, executive director of the ProScholars Athletics (PSA). “It’s about who’s tutoring the kid, who’s helping them navigate the procedures to help them select the right high school and who’s trying to oversee the kid’s nutrition.”

If an outsider has seen, say, five percent of the world of youth basketball, Munch knows every nook and cranny like it’s the back of his hand. Holding the position of executive director since 2008, Williams transformed the ProScholars Athletics from a collection of after-school students into a renowned grassroots powerhouse. Notably, some of its finest talent—Cole Anthony, James Bouknight, Thomas Bryant, Tyson Etienne, Ty Jerome and Yves Missi, to name a few—are currently earning their stripes in the NBA.

You don’t get this far by taking shortcuts. Shaped through trial and error, Williams and his tight-knit group of coaches have established a steadfast, compassionate culture for student-athlete development. Their unwavering principles extend beyond the confines of the court and into how players conduct themselves academically and communally. This holistic approach has paid dividends, as Williams continues to foster strong bonds with many of the program’s alumni. So amid the ebbs and flows that shift the ever-changing terrain of AAU basketball, it’s the brotherhood of this preparatory program, at the heart of New York City, that continues to be the benchmark of their field.

As Williams is entering a later stage of his career, he wanted to do something different.

“I think that, for me, and where I’m at in my career, it’s about when you walk away, you want to walk away feeling like you gave,” he says.

And Munch’s vehicle to give is through his writing. Three years ago, Williams published his first book, cleverly titled Our P.S.A. With its entry-based structure and interactive, fourth-wall-breaking techniques, Munch drew on his own life experiences to address how young Black men and women can navigate the adversity of everyday life. “[It] is just another component of me giving, and I’m trying to give to the next generation of adults,” he says. But, as Williams prepared for his follow-up, he wanted to go further and get to the heart of his profession.

It’s a common occurrence for Munch to be contacted for consultation, often for the minutiae. Sometimes, parents ask about their child’s college recruitment; other times, they want to come to grips with the process of reclassification. It’s from all these conversations that Williams became aware of the potentially thousands of individuals, such as aspiring directors, coaches, or parents, who wanted to know the intricacies of grassroots basketball but have little to no avenues for answers. “There are a bunch of people I’m not going to be able to meet,” Munch says.

So, when Williams began writing Here Are the Answers, his encyclopedic roadmap into youth basketball, he wanted to broaden the scope. Rehashing on Our P.S.A.’s flurry of topical entries and personal anecdotes, the new book, which resembles a writer’s journal, lets Munch spotlight the overlooked: the trusted mentor who guides the student-athlete through life’s ups and downs, the trainers who deepen a player’s toolbox and all the adults doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

“I understand that, Hey, I’m just a placeholder in this particular space, and someone else is going to eventually have [to take] this baton to lead and assist these young men’s and women’s lives at its highest capacity,” Munch says. “So, I want to give out information as I walk this walk, seeing things and feeling things and going through it, and try to find good practices.”

These entries serve a dual purpose; as Munch gives his flowers to those who keep the operation afloat, he also pulls back the curtains on the lesser-known spaces of grassroots basketball, which have long been shrouded in mystery to those unfamiliar with the business.

“For someone who doesn’t know the space, they can look at this book and say, Oh, wow, I didn’t know all of this stuff is going on at the same time as these kids playing basketball,” Williams elaborates. “These are all the different elements that go on on a daily basis, as opposed to someone just seeing [these players’] college offers.”

Here Are the Answers functions like a blueprint for those who want to break into the grassroots system, with Williams punctuating entries with moments of detail. His playful games of yes-and-no, for example, employ engaging do-and-don’t hypotheticals that could only come from a seasoned veteran of the AAU landscape.

Along with its insightful specificity, Munch’s entries immerse the reader in day-to-day operations through a succinct and easy-to-read presentation. Whether he’s unpacking the fundamentals of team-building or engaging in timely issues—e.g., Name, Image and Likeness (NIL)—Williams delivers the nuts and bolts of each topic in two to three pages. With this framework, Here Are the Answers understands what should be left unspoken. It’s well aware that the work still awaits those seeking insight, that everyone’s path yields different results.

“I’m not telling anyone, Hey, this is the only way to go about it,” Williams says. “I’m just sharing, in these different topics, this is a way of thinking of it, and then [allowing the reader to] figure out how it best fits you and how to best make that your own.”

And, in return, the book leaves enough space to kindle reflection.

“It empowers others to write their version of something similar, bring in their entries or have conversations with their staff and different parents,” Munch explains. “It’s something that can be referred back to.”

Photos via Terrance “Munch” Williams. His new book ‘Here Are The Answers’ is available now.

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