A&M’s one-two punch seeks lasting memory
No time like the NCAA Tournament to leave an impression.
Sophomore Robert Williams realizes he’s one half of a frontcourt with a likely NBA future, and he realizes that Texas A&M’s one-two punch at power forward and center has lacked pop more than he’s cared for this season.
That’s why Williams, a probable first-round selection in the NBA draft this summer, said the time is now for the country to find out about him and Tyler Davis. It better be, considering the NCAA Tournament is at hand and this is shaping up as the duo’s last chance to make long-lasting memories for Aggies.
“We plan on leaving the impression that we’re the best frontcourt in the nation,” Williams said Tuesday. “That’s our mentality.”
Seventh-seeded A&M (20-12) faces 10th-seeded Providence (2113) at 11:15 a.m. Friday in Charlotte, N.C., in their opening game
of the NCAA Tournament. Should the Aggies get past the Friars, the likely opponent in the round of 32 on Sunday would be defending champion North Carolina, the West region’s No. 2 seed.
“I came back so I could play in the NCAA Tournament,” Williams said of why he didn’t turn pro a year ago following his freshman season. “It’s a blessing to be able to play in it. My teammates have told me it’s so much fun, just a great atmosphere. Who wouldn’t want to play in the Big Dance?”
Williams, of Oil City, La., was making the rounds at Reed Arena on Tuesday before practice, perhaps on a somewhat nostalgic sojourn considering the Aggies are underdogs to return to their home gymnasium for more practices following their trip to Charlotte.
“I was a recluse coming out of high school,” Williams said of A&M bringing him out of his shell over his two seasons in college. “Being around the right people here has really helped me. I’ll always be an Aggie.”
Twelve games into the season, the Williams-Davis combo was living up to its preseason hype as one of the nation’s most formidable frontcourts. The Aggies were 11-1 and ranked fifth nationally heading into Southeastern Conference play.
But in large part because of injuries and suspensions to forwards and guards, A&M lost its first five games of league play and wound up 9-9 against SEC competition. The junior Davis, who will mull his pro options after the season, was named firstteam All-SEC by the league’s coaches, while Williams earned co-defensive player of the year honors.
Still, A&M has long been out of the Top 25, and Williams-Davis is largely an unknown beast based on the Aggies’ middling showing in the SEC. Williams knows, too, the Aggies are thought of as underachievers based on missing the NCAA Tournament last year and having to sweat out the last couple of weeks of the regular season this time around.
“We hear what everyone says — we take in what they say,” Williams said of criticism of him and the program. “We just make sure to stay sound and don’t let outsiders get in our heads. We know what we have. Even when people are down on us, we reassure each other about what we have here every day.”
Williams said he makes a point to approach each player with encouraging words, especially when things don’t go the Aggies’ way. Like in an opening-round loss to Alabama in last week’s SEC tournament in St. Louis that sent the Aggies home before they’d even had time to unpack.
“I’ll go up to T.J. Starks and tell him, ‘You’re one of the best guards I’ve ever played with,’” Williams said. “I’ll go up to Tyler Davis and tell him, ‘You’re the best big man I ever played with.’”
And when he’s on, Williams is one of the best forwards who’s played at A&M. He has a wingspan of 7-4 and is one of the nation’s top leapers among big men. Davis and Williams each are 6-10. Davis is more of a grinder, while Williams is a pure jumper and shot blocker.
“He’s a very athletic guy,” Prairie View A&M coach Byron Smith said of Williams. “He’s a young Antonio McDyess.”
Now, the rest of the country gets to find out if Williams is the real deal when it counts the most — his one shot at the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m ready to put it all out there for my team,” Williams said.