Amari Williams Knows he can be a Big Assist for Cats

Amari Williams is being counted on not only to be a defensive stopper for Kentucky this year but also one of the team’s best passers and potentially even the team assists leader.

The 7-foot, 265-pound Williams grew up in Nottingham, England before coming to the United States and playing four years at Drexel where he was the Colonial Athletic Association defensive player of the year three straight times before transferring to Kentucky this season.

Not bad for an athlete who grew up playing soccer, not basketball. He liked soccer but then his older brother started playing basketball because he hit a growth spurt earlier.

“You just want to play whatever your older brother is playing. I just kind of followed along. Then my growth spurt came along and I couldn’t be playing soccer at 6-10, so I definitely had to switch,” the UK graduate student said. “I always liked soccer more but I had to switch.”

Williams calls basketball a “growing sport” in England and pointed to English professional players who inspire youngsters. While he wouldn’t classify himself as a rock star in England because of his collegiate success in the U.S., he will admit many have noticed what he’s done.

“There’s quite a few of us. We’ve got a few in the NBA, a few at other schools around the country (U.S.),” Williams said. “We just try to do our part to grow the sport in England. I really just started out playing for fun and played against older guys. I eventually got into the national level play where we went against other European countries and that just led me to college basketball.”

Williams believes his passing skills in soccer have translated to basketball. He had eight games at Drexel last year with three or more assists and averaged 1.9 assists per game. His junior season he had 12 games with three or more assists and averaged 2.3 assists per game. During his four years at Drexel, he averaged 1.8 blocked shots and 1.6 assists per game.

Williams had six assists in UK’s exhibition win over Kentucky Wesleyan last week.

Not only does coach Mark Pope believe Williams could lead the team in assists based on how Pope’s offense likes to use the center, but teammates could see it happening, too.

“Amari is a special passer. He can make passes even guards cannot because he sees the court so well with his size,” UK guard Jaxson Robinson said. “He just keeps getting better and more comfortable in the offense. He’s so unselfish and is always looking to pass the ball.”

Robinson played for Pope at BYU where 6-10 center Aly Khalifa averaged 4.0 assists per game last season.

“With the way we play and plays we have, it could happen,” Williams said when asked about leading the team in assists. “I have great shooters and this is the best shooting team I’ve ever been part of. Coach instills confidence to shoot whenever you are open, so when I kick it out I know they are going to make shots. We have a good cutting team, too. I still know I can take guys off the dribble but when I pass, I know there is a great chance someone is going to make a shot.”

Williams finished his Drexel career with 1,081 points along with 732 rebounds and 186 blocks. He averaged 12.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in his four years at Drexel. Williams understands while his passing impressed Pope, his defense is also being counted on heavily.

“We’ve got so many offensive threats on this team, but not a lot of them are kind of defensive minded. So just helping my team in that aspect, I feel like that’s kind of separates me from others,” Williams said.

He also hears the chatter wondering if he can back the jump from the Colonial Athletic Association to the SEC, a league that has eight teams in the AP preseason top 25 poll.

“I mean, I’m motivated by that all the time. Going into games this season, just knowing that that’s what people think of me and going out there and just proving them otherwise is important,” Williams said. “So yeah, that’s something I have in the back of my mind.”