Drexel Athletics Photo
Dick “Hoops” Weiss of the New York Daily News is one of the nation’s most respected college basketball writers and has watched new Kentucky signee Amari Williams play at Drexel where he was a three-time Colonial Athletic Association defensive player of the year.
“He is a major defensive presence with a 7-5 wingspan. He’s big and can block shots. He’s a definite rim protector,” Weiss said. “He went to prep school in England but he is pretty fundamentally sound.”
Williams has played in 105 games at Drexel and averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.6 assists per game in his career. Last season he averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
“I don’t see him as a focal point offensively for Kentucky,” Weiss said. “He was the biggest kid in the league but only averaged 12 points per game and you kind of think he should have done more.
“The SEC will be a big adjustment for him. It’s not like he played against a lot of athletic bigs in the Colonial. He is a three-time defensive player of the year but I don’t see him being Anthony Davis. He is a good kid and I think he will fit the mold of what they are looking for.”
Fitting that mold could be partially due to his passing ability because coach Mark Pope’s offense likes to utilize a center’s passing ability.
“He’s not a bad passer. He sees the floor. But I have not seen a lot of his perimeter game,” Weiss said. “He was the best pure center in Philadelphia last season. He blocked some big shots during his career at Drexel but I really don’t think anybody expected him to be on the radar of Kentucky, Mississippi State and St. John’s like he was.”
15 Responses
You can’t coach size, especially height and bulk. Williams will be ok as he will be practicing against a pretty athletic 6’10", 245 kid in Garrison.
To me with Williams your getting Ugo back for another year. His game is defense. Ugo is a better rim protector but outside of that he is completely raw. I think Williams is Little more sound all around,but basically they are one in the same. For 6’10" he’s not a above the rim type guy. He will be a 8-10 ppg 6-8 rpg 1.5 bpg type of guy in the SEC. One thing that sticks out to me is his minutes per game at Drexel wasnt that much as a senior he averaged 22 mpg. That tells me he needs to get in shape. I expect him to play about the same role he played last year maybe 20 mpg at Kentucky. Garrison and him will get equal playing time. Whoever is having a better game might get the nod for a couple more minutes. I also think Garrison will average about the same as Williams but he’s a little more athletic. Williams will be a 5th year senior and Garrison will be a sophomore and is probably a little better than Williams. I think they will compliment each other perfectly. Now we need a back up for Carr. I would also add another wing and another guard. We will probably have a 12 man roster this year. So Pope is about 75% done with the roster. The next 2-3 guys he gets one or two need to be shooters and I still think you go after the best defender you can find.
“Adjusting to the SEC” means “prepare for FB style play in BB games.”
It is the thug style SEC conference play which typically results in early exits for most SEC teams, with few exceptions. When SEC teams go to the Big Dance, they quickly find out “stepping on feet” (pushing, shoving, knocking) is not an acceptable dance move.
I think some articles have addressed this problem through the years.
For decades, UK was the only real SEC BB team. The away games were a thug feat for UK opponents and even some games fans got to hit UK players by sitting behind the bench & using a wound up towel to hit UK players. Mike Casey personally confirmed this when I got to meet him the year he did not play due recovering from his broken leg. A specific place notes was at Florida.
I’m thrilled to have a couple of big bodies on the team who can stand their own during SEC conference games!
I agree and what makes it even worse is the refs try to control it but you really can’t. In the SEC I’ve noticed the games have much more fouls then when I watch the big east or the big 12 or the big ten. When there is 5 minutes to play in the half most teams are in the double bonus. Other conferences usually have a foul to give or are right at the bonus at the end of the half. The flow of the game never gets established because fouls are always stopping the play. This also hurts during the tournament because the refs let teams foul a little more and it seems like guys in the SEC just drive to the basket and hope for a foul to be called to bail them out from circus shot. It has gotten very bad the last couple of years.
Trent Noah from Harlan, KY has been released from his national letter of intent to sign with a school where he can play closer to home. I hope Mark has contacted this kid. He would be a nice freshman addition to our program.
Noah should be a very obvious first call from Pope for all the right reasons. The question that is creeping thru my feeble mind is, has the Popester pushed the panic button just a little to get bodies on deck coming out of the blocks? Have we gotten the quality we really needed with apparently only 3 positions left? I know we all have to be patient and would like a quick fix. Some outside influences suggesting they not as strong on some of our picks as we in the BBN might be.
I am surprised that Thiero and probably now D.J. are still wanting to drink the Cali-Fraudi Kool Aid. Guessing we may never know how hard Pope might have pursued either. Also surprised to learn that Z had a twin with his like-type skill levels. I know Z owes Cal the world for taking him in but do not feel he was used to his best attributes, and I have always been on the Z train even though he didn’t show a lot of dog for those levels.
Cal will never use big z properly. His offense is supposed to be a guard heavy offense the ol scribble scribe offense. A big with his talent is in that wrong hands and Cal knows that but doesn’t care to ruin his game. Big Z would be a perfect fit at a Gonzaga or Purdue or even a Michigan state. Cal cannot do anything with 7 footers. He had 3 of em this past year and they looked more bad as the year went on I didn’t see any improvement.
Mark came into a sabotaged program in the eleventh hour and was not the first choice for the job. He had one recruit, Perry on the roster, and had to meet with him to make sure he was staying here. Signing Chandler was an understandable move also. Getting Williams, Carr, and Garrison on the frontline was huge…literally. Brea was a nice get as he always wanted to play here, but Calipari was a OAD guy. I don’t know as much about Oweh and Butler, but what I have learned about them is they are team guys and solid defenders. Kriisa could be another version of Dillingham…flashy scorer, good assist guy with just as many turnovers, and an ole` defender. All are 4 star rated players who will be more coachable than the 5 star prima donas that Calipari recruited. Noah would be a nice get as he is a Kentucky native who can shoot and wanted to play here but Calipari wouldn’t hear of it. I would be willing to go to battle with those 10 guys and who knows who Mark will pick up by the month’s end. We will be a respectable team. We are an unknown in terms of the way too early rankings, but that’s ok, we will earn our way up the rankings and come SEC play, we should be competitive. Pope has a sophisticated offense that demands team play and rewards good movers/shooters…Perry should benefit from it immensely. Mark is creative on the defensive end too and will not tolerate a lack of effort there. Pope is all about Kentucky; any other hire would have made it all about them. He will sign some key in-state talent for 2025, and has proven he can go to the portal to fill any holes that may develop. My gut says those holes will be due to expired eligibility or good enough to go pro. I think BBN will be pleasantly surprised with the 2024/25 season and will be even more pleased with the 2025/26 season to come. I would go all in on the Berke kid from UCLA and the Robinson kid at BYU if they don’t stay in the draft. Missi, the 7’0" freshman from Baylor, could still be in play too. Bring on a couple of walk-ons and we have a team that will be a lot of fun to watch.
I’m not.. Their fathers played for Cal, they are close, similar to family. DJ, Thiero, and Richmond, all fathers, played for Cal.
I’m seeing a pretty rough start – but good things ahead.
Hope the Cal haters don’t start on Mark early – you know who you are !
Paul, Mark Pope is nothing like John Calipari. I was one of the biggest Calipari supporters ever, until he threw the Wisconsin game just so Andrew Harrison wouldn’t get his feelings hurt. Calipari earned every bit of the criticism that us "haters" threw at him. Mark has won BBN over in a big way…except for all of the Calipari "lovers" who are still mourning the departure of the fraud. Mark has put together a staff and an almost complete team in 3 weeks. Where do you see a "pretty rough start"? All of you Calipari "lovers" need to shut the F up…we know who you are too! The FRAUD is gone and good riddance!
That makes no sense to me. It’s the Cal lovers that are more likely to be Pope haters.
Trent Noah signed with UK (in his own mind) the moment he was released from SC. Our real coach, Mark Pope, & his select Assistants, are all aboard planning follow-up if needed (but not likely needed) to sign up Noah.
Welcome aboard, born & raised Kentuckian Noah!
In the Oakland game, Thiero and Z played 7 and 13 minutes, respectively. I don’t think either were hurt, were they? Z got 1 shot – not an offense that suits his game. Cal obviously didn’t trust Thiero enough to play him. Perhaps Mitchell and Thiero at the 5 and 4, respectively would have been a better matchup. And now these two kids have signed up for more. Please, sir, I want some more? For the kids’ sake, I hope it works out.