When William Navarro first joined Ateneo after jumping ship from NCAA Season 92 champions San Beda at the tail end of 2016, Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin saw a kid who possessed the physical attributes to be a good basketball player.
But like most players that enter a Blue Eagles program whose thrust is centered on development, Navarro had some growing to do in certain areas. In the case of the Athens-born forward, toughness was something that needed to be welded into his core.
"Will has a very soft nature about him as a person. And at the time that he joined us, that flowed over into the way that he played as well," Baldwin told ESPN5.com. "One of the things that we demand in Ateneo is a much tougher representation of yourself, both physically and mentally."
After four years and a thousand hours in the weight room and under the rigors of a demanding Ateneo environment, Baldwin says Navarro is a "vastly different" player from the rarely-used former Red Lion who walked through Ateneo's doors.
"What you see now is a kid who, I think like most people, has a competitive streak," he noted.
It reflects in the way Navarro speaks about himself as a prospect in the upcoming PBA Rookie Draft. At 6'6", the 24-year old offers a lot of intrigue and potential due to his physical profile and winning pedigree, but he's not as highly-rated as other pro aspirants; ESPN5.com's mock draft pegged him at no. 12 in the first version of the draft before he joined the Gilas draft.
"I feel like I'm one of the most underrated players in the draft," Navarro said. "All they can see maybe from me is just being a role player, but that's just because I was in the system of coach Tab and we all have to do our part. But I know that I can do more than that."
Navarro is one of four players who will be drafted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) from this year's special Gilas Pilipinas draft, joining Jordan Heading, Tzaddy Rangel and Jaydee Tungcab. The two-time UAAP champion with Ateneo declared for the PBA before reversing course in favor of further development with Gilas to boost his stock, although Navarro himself admitted that his decision was "rushed."
"But I figured the PBA will be there even after Gilas, while Gilas is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can't be sure if Gilas will get me again because there are more talented players than me. The reason why I went to Gilas is to help the team out, and at same time hone my skills more so I'm PBA-ready when I get there," he told ESPN5.com.
Navarro is adamant he can do more in a bigger role, but some basketball observers may not be privy to that. His numbers don't exactly scream 'superstar'; in his final year with Ateneo in Season 82, he averaged 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.7 steals. Four other Ateneo players scored more than him even as he played 21.3 minutes, the fourth-highest mark team-wide.
But that's the point about Navarro's game: if one is bent on evaluating his performances through points and basic box score stats alone, then they would miss the other hundred things he does that makes him so indispensable.
"I think people, you know, they have a false view of the game of basketball when they when they just look for scores," Baldwin began, "because Will's a good defender -- he can defend multiple positions, he gets a lot of deflections and rebound touches, he keeps the ball alive because of his length and his activity. He's learned to become more aggressive and pursue the ball a lot more, defensively and in rebounding.
"William doesn't make a lot of mistakes, and that's why you see him getting really good minutes," the coach continued. "Sometimes people look at the stat sheet and they don't see big numbers and they're thinking to themselves, 'Why is he playing so much?' And the reason is because he executes the offense, he's always disruptive in the defense, he gets on the boards, he runs the floor, he looks for opportunities, he's a very good cutter off the ball, he sees the defense, and he's a willing passer."
There aren't publicly-available advanced metrics that could provide a better picture of a player's capabilities, but the raw plus-minus could be one good stat that validates Navarro's excellence. In Season 82, he posted a +203 rating -- good for third not just among all Ateneo players, but also league-wide, just behind established star teammates Ange Kouame and Thirdy Ravena.
"You don't find a lot of superstardom in the way that he plays, but you don't find weaknesses either," said Baldwin. "I think so many players today, they have a lot of weaknesses in their game and some of that may be covered up by the fact that they can shoot or they can score a bit. Will's a guy that's kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum."
Navarro didn't get a lot of touches, but he took advantage of the times he did have the ball on offense. He shot 44.2 percent from the field that year, including a potent 56.3 percent of his shots inside the arc.
He isn't a go-to scorer at this point, but Baldwin says Navarro's capable. His shot is improving, but there's still a lot more work to be done for him to be a solid outside shooter. Dragging Navarro's shooting percentage in his last collegiate season was his work from long range, where he only connected on 6-for-31 (19.4 percent) of his shots.
"I think the one thing that probably a lot of people focus on -- and Will does too, maybe even too much -- is the development of his perimeter shot," said Baldwin. "He's put a lot of work into it. We're still not satisfied with it, he's not, and the Gilas coaches aren't. But he's made great strides. He's made himself into a much, much better mid-range shooter. And I think the three-point shot will come as he continues to work at it."
"I can do more than that and shoot better if I am given the opportunity," Navarro expressed. "I was actually working on that in the Calambubble training, and I still have to work on that a lot more because it's kinda something new to me because I was playing the four in Ateneo. But I'm getting better at it, for sure."
Gilas coaches are also working on Navarro's evolution as a ball-handler. He's still in the early stages of growth in that area -- "I think where Will has to evolve a bit more is being able to handle the basketball without thinking about handling the basketball, so it becomes an extension of himself," said Baldwin -- but Navarro already has a couple of things working for him there, including the ability to shift directions and make the right reads.
Shooting and handling the ball better are key areas for Navarro to have a future at the shooting guard or small forward spots, where he envisions his future to be. Traditionally, players with Navarro's height occupy the four or five, but both player and coach believe that shouldn't be the case when he gets to the pros.
"Honestly I want to play the wing position, the three or two. I know I can, so why not? I don't want to settle at the four just because I'm 6'6"," said Navarro.
Baldwin says Navarro doesn't have to be "pigeon-holed into the four position" because he certainly has the ability to defend smaller and quicker players at the two and three.
"For instance, if you go up against Magnolia and you've got Mark Barroca, Jio Jalalon and Paul Lee out there all at one time, who does Will guard? He's guarding the perimeter guy. But that's the point about him; he has developed that ability, and he wants to continue that because he wants to be able to use his height as an advantage in this position, not a disadvantage, 'cause at the four spot there's no real advantage for him," he explained.
All in all, Navarro is in a great spot. He has the tools, he has the background of a winner -- before winning titles in San Beda and Ateneo, he played for the junior squad of Panathinaikos B.C, whose senior team is the most successful Greek Basket League franchise with 38 titles -- and he's had invaluable opportunities of working with Baldwin and playing for the national team.
"One of my biggest strengths is my length. I can definitely play as a guard. I can bring down the ball, I can score, defend, block shots," he said. "Another advantage is playing in Ateneo and Gilas and my experience with the teams, coaches, and opponents, both local and international."
"I came from Europe and the system there and of coach Tab are pretty similar -- his plays and the options. And obviously being around the coaching staff of Ateneo and the hundreds of hours of film study in Moro helped for sure. Sometimes we even stay there for one to two hours and review each detail that we have to perfect," added Navarro.
Being included in the Gilas draft means Navarro will spend the next year working with the national team training pool instead of competing against the country's best professionals. But that also means Navarro has a chance to grow into being more than just a PBA player.
"Honestly I don't know what will happen, which team I'll end up with," he said. "My mindset is that I'll be fine no matter where I go as long as I can play, and I'm sure I can help the team in any way."