UNC Basketball: The emergence of Kenny Williams
Kenny Williams has made big strides, but there’s reason to believe he can contribute even more
On April 2nd, 2015, Shaka Smart took the head coaching position at the University of Texas. The story goes further back than that, though. The story goes all the way back to the 2011 NCAA tournament. A VCU team, coached by Smart, got an at-large bid to the tournament, despite losing to Old Dominion in its conference title game.
Smart took that heavily criticized VCU team all the way to the Final Four that season, sparking rumors that Smart would be in line for future big time jobs. Smart turned down a few jobs until he ultimately accepted the job at Texas in 2015.
UNC was not always supposed to get Kenny Williams, but when Smart left for Texas, Williams reopened his recruitment. Williams narrowed his recruitment down to two schools, North Carolina, and Virginia, before committing to UNC.
When Williams committed to Carolina, the Heels were in dire need of a “three and D” guy. In previous seasons, the Heels had suffered from two of the worst shooting seasons in recent memory. Head coach Roy Williams loves to tell the story about a time he went to recruit Kenny Williams.
“I always thought he was a really good shooter”, Coach Williams said. “But the first game I ever saw him play he made five 3’s, but he also took three charges”. From that moment on, Coach Williams knew Kenny would be a special player.
It took Kenny Williams 23 games to make his first career three in a Tar Heel uniform. But that was not the moment that Heels fans saw Williams would be a huge part of the team’s future. In the ACC title game, Williams was put in to guard ACC player of the year Malcolm Brogdon. Williams proved in that stretch that he could be a dependable defensive stopper.
In the first two games of the Maui Invitational, Williams has shown off all facets of his game. He knocked down a career-high 3 three-pointers against Oklahoma State. Against Chaminade, he did a little bit of everything scoring seven points, corralling four boards, dishing out two assists, and getting three steals. And who could forget that incredible block before the half!
While the stats do not stand up against some of the best players on the team, they also don’t tell the whole story. Williams brings the effort and energy that Coach Williams always demands from his players. As a sophomore, Williams’ skill and work ethic is beginning to come to fruition.
Williams may never average 18 points per game and he may never light it up for a thirty-point outing, but he has shown his ability to affect the game in every way. Williams impressed Coach Roy big time in the Chattanooga game. Afterward, Coach Williams compared Kenny’s outing to those of past Tar Heels.
After Williams recorded 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in a game, Coach Williams said, “That’s a Danny Green kind of stat sheet right there.”
We have seen the importance of Kenny Williams to this team. When Theo Pinson recovers, it is likely he will take the starting spot, and Williams must provide a spark off the bench. Until then, fans should get used to seeing Kenny Williams do a little bit of everything for the Tar Heels.
Most importantly, expect Kenny Williams to bring that ferocious defense presence. After all, Shaka Smart knew exactly what he was going to get from Williams before heading to Texas.