Vicky Graff Photo
It was a put up or shut up type of game for Kentucky center Amari Williams.
He is Kentucky’s inside muscle and coach Mark Pope’s team needed him to play well Tuesday night against Texas A&M, one of the nation’s best offensive rebounding teams.
Williams was up to the challenge. He had eight points on 3-for-6 shooting but despite being in foul trouble that limited him to 23 minutes, he pulled off 12 rebounds, including three on the offensive board. He also blocked a shot and made a steal in the 81-69 win.
“Amari Williams is the heart of this Kentucky team,” ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes said. “He is a playmaker, blocks shots, gets out and runs, loves his teammates.”
Pope liked what he saw and called him a “man child” on the boards against the Aggies.
“I was really proud of him tonight,” Pope said after the game. “Amari has played at a much different level of basketball for the last three years. I think what’s fun right now is that he’s been given position by the whistle to actually use his physicality, which he couldn’t use at Drexel.
“He was a much different deal, right? It was like I’m playing against smaller guys, if I touch somebody they’re going to fall over. I’m going to get a whistle. This adjustment for him now where he’s like, ‘Wait, I can run dudes over and it’s okay, like this gets fun.’
“I think he’s having a great time, man. He’s fighting for his team. We talked about this after the last game. He loves this game. He’s just a ginormous, I know that’s not a word but I’m going to use it anyways. But a ginormous heart. I thought he was brilliant today. I thought he was so good.
“He was just a commanding presence on the glass. He was a man among men. That was a bunch of men on the court today. It was super cool.”
Williams said he just did what Kentucky had been practicing the last few days.
“I still get called for fouls, but I still like the physicality for sure, especially the rebounding,” Williams said.”You cannot just put a body, you can actually push someone. The physicality is what it is.
“You just cannot relax. I don’t think you can stand up to play because the bigs are great out here. They are just going to duck you in, so that is something I have done better, but I am still learning at the same time.”
Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said he loved Williams and the uniqueness the big left-handed center adds for Kentucky.
“His assist rate is higher than any on the team other than (Lamont Butler], but (Butler) is getting his assist primarily in the first 12 seconds of the clock,” Williams said. “When he gives it up, the physicality that he brings, that is a difficult matchup.
“I enjoyed watching all of it, but he is a unique talent in regard to his skill set.”
5 Responses
He’s got to stop being so obvious about shoving players out of the way. Other than that, he is playing well right now.
They are shoving him first, but he is so strong you can’t really tell it. He doesn’t realize his own strength when he shoves back.
Perry is looking better and more comfortable the more the year goes on. I said he would be ready by the time we got to the SEC. I think he’s finding his stride. He goes up against Butler who might be the best on ball defender in college basketball and that has helped speed up the process. I can see him either starting at the point next year or getting major backup minutes. He will definitely be very good by tournament time! All he needs is to believe in himself and the rest will come naturally!
Amari Williams is like instant Karma. He does things and I’m like what In the world are you doing. Grab the rebound with 2 hands. Or he throws it to nobody then the very next play he will block a shot lead the break and make a unbelievable play. If he can cut down on his turnovers and grab rebounds with both hands he could be the most dominant big man in college basketball. No other 7 footer can run a fast break quite like him. Butler is like the other teams punching bag. He takes a beating every game. This team isn’t super athletic. We have a couple of great athletes headlined by Oweh. Oweh might be one of the best athletes in the SEC. If he comes back next year he might be a POTY candidate. Garrison should also be much better next year. I have one question is Chandler secretly hurt? Almonor is a smooth operator. I think he should play a little more with Carr injured. You can tell Carr is favoring his back and isn’t as mobile as before the back injury. I would give Almonor about 5 more minutes a game to give Carr more breaks. Other then that Pope is doing a phenomenal job. If Pope doesn’t win Coach of the year I think it would have to go to little brother. Kelsey. He has done a outstanding job considering how bad Kenny Payne let the program go under. I think Louisville has won 6 or 7 straight games. They are also #1 in the ACC and has already won more ACC games this year than Payne won in 2 complete years, and we are just getting started in conference play. So depending on how Kentucky and Louisville finish the year. Kelsey or Pope are deserving of the award. If Pope doesn’t win it I hope Kelsey does because I actually like the guy. I seen him at Denny’s on eastern parkway and I had on a Kentucky hat and jacket. He said ill give you 100$ if you take that jacket and hat off jokingly. He laughed more than I did he’s kinda corny but has so much energy. I declined of course and he said he loves the passion this state has for college basketball he actually gave me a high 5 and said he’s very good friends with Pope.
Anyone out there think Hunter Dickenson might regret not taking U.K’s offer? He did have a big 6 pts tonite vs ISU. I have been wondering about Chandler all season. He has had some big hype preseason and shows nothing if/when he gets in. We do need some additional bench support.