WHITEHALL – Ca’Mar Ready is quiet by nature. At times, the Whitehall senior can be the loudest person on the court but still may not say a word.
Generally, he makes statements with his athletic gifts and gravity-defying talents. Take, for instance, his jaw-dropping feats during a Gus Macker dunk contest last summer. Whitehall basketball coach Christian Subdon was left dumbfounded.
“My first thought was, ‘Wow!” I would have been cool with grabbing the rim in high school, and this 5-9 dude is jumping over a dude. He is an absolute freak,” Subdon said.
Ready lists himself at 5-foot-11 but, as Subdon alluded, that may be generous.
It may be the only time Ready cares about any kind of stats or numbers. The starting guard for Whitehall’s unbeaten and Division 2 second-ranked basketball team selflessly plays whatever role it takes for the Vikings to continue winning.
At 22-0 in the regular season, this is the first squad in Whitehall basketball history to post a perfect record. That will be put to the test tonight (Feb. 28) when the Vikings take on Spring Lake in a Division 2 district semifinal showdown at Orchard View at 7 p.m.
Ready considers himself a Swiss Army knife, speaking to his versatility and willingness to do whatever is needed. He is averaging 9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 46 percent overall from the field (85-of-185).
Subdon said that on any other squad, Ready could be averaging a double-double. Same goes for Ready’s role on Whitehall’s dominant football team, for which he was a shutdown cornerback and electric playmaker on offense but never received too much fanfare.
Photo by Courtney Jimison | CatchMark
“Ca’Mar is great at whatever he puts his mind to. Ca’Mar works hard and is willing to do the things that are not always the glamorous things,” Subdon said.
“On any other football team, he is the best player, and on our team, he blocked his butt off and was one of our best corners for many years. In basketball, he is the same. He could average 18 and 10, but he just does what is best for our team and does whatever he can to make sure that we are successful.”
As a starter on Whitehall teams posting perfect regular seasons in football and basketball during his senior year, the word “success” qualifies.
With somebody of Ready’s talent level, he could make it about himself but never does.
“My personal goal is to be able to look myself in the mirror after it all and say I gave it my all,” he said. “And my team goal is to play at the Breslin.”
In Subdon’s opinion, Ready is critical to the Vikings’ hopes of a deep postseason run.
“He is of the utmost importance,” Subdon said. “Again, he does things that make you just wonder if he is our best player. He can be on any given night. He gives us leadership and again he just wants the team to win and is willing to do whatever to make that happen.”
When it comes to being a true team player and leaving an ego at the door, Ready is considerate of other people.
The 17-year-old son of Shacarra Williams and younger brother of Terrell Harris and Tanya Williams, Ready enjoys his psychology class the most because it teaches him about his feelings and others.
Harris is a former standout Whitehall athlete, who played football at Hope College before recently transferring to complete his career at Davenport University. He’s Ready’s biggest inspiration, although Ready spares few feelings when it comes to comparisons between the brothers and their athletic talents.
“We definitely have a little secret rivalry, which he’s got me in football but I definitely got him in basketball,” the soft-spoken Ready said in his way of playful banter.
Subdon said that Harris and Ready both have a drive that is unmatched. He added that they’re both “phenomenal” athletes, but better people.
Photos by Scott DeCamp and Shayla Hardy for CatchMark
On his Whitehall basketball team, Ready is just fine serving as a complement to junior standout Camden Thompson, who draws a lot of attention and is at the top of every opponent’s scouting report. That means more open shots for Ready & Co.
Even if he’s not getting a lot of shot opportunities, Ready can impact games in other ways.
“Ca’Mar is the guy that is a captain, and the guy that is selfless,” Subdon said. “He can be the top scorer in the game or he can score six, but you look back and just say, ‘Wow!’ He can rebound, defend, shoot. He doesn’t care about personal accolades — he just wants to win.”
According to Ready, his highlight moment this season was tossing an alley-oop off the backboard for an impressive Thompson dunk in a runaway home win against Oakridge.
His proudest moment as a Whitehall student came when he assisted classmate and teammate Kyle Stratton for a “No More Sidelines” camp.
“Seeing how happy they all were is just heart-warming,” Ready said.
Ready is undecided on what he might pursue for his future.
With his involvement in athletics at Whitehall and playing key roles on historic Vikings squads, he should be ready to tackle whatever he decides.
“(Sports) taught me that things get hard sometimes but are you gonna do something to better that or fold?” he said.
While it’s fun to score touchdowns, put up 20-point games, or throw down dunks, Ready embraces his roles.
This basketball season, in particular, has been an absolute thrill for Ready.
“Unmatchable,” he said, “and a great team I wouldn’t trade for the world.”
