YOUNG MAN’S JOURNEY
Williams, Buffs look to get on track at UCLA
The season hasn’t gone as planned for Cody Williams, but the same could be said for the entire Colorado men’s basketball team.
There remains time to make amends, but that time is fading fast. For Williams, he will try to shake off the first mini-slump of his injury-shortened freshman season when the Buffaloes look for an elusive road result on Thursday night at UCLA (7 p.m., ESPN).
Although Williams has missed nine games due to various injuries, he has been mostly effective and at times dominant when he’s been on the floor. The talented 6-foot-8 wing has found the sledding more difficult in recent games, but it’s a stretch Williams is confident he can bounce back from as he eyes a strong finish to what might be his only season in Boulder.
“I just feel like I’m still playing my game, trying to get the best shot for the team and ultimately win,” Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of talented guys on our team, a lot of guys that are able to do different things. Just playing together trying to get a win, that’s the only way we’re going to win. Not one person can just go out and win a game for us. We’ve got to do it collectively. So my big focus is just making sure we’re playing as a team.”
Williams still is shooting a lofty .562 and ranks third on the team at 14.0 points per game, but he has endured his roughest three-game stretch of the season. In the past three games (a run interrupted by a one-game injury absence at Utah on Feb. 3), Williams has shot just .350 (7-for-20) with a 1-for-5 mark on 3-pointers. He also is coming off a season-high-tying five turnovers during Saturday’s loss against Arizona.
Certainly it hasn’t been all frustrating for Williams recently. Although he went without a field goal for the only time this season in a Jan. 27 loss at Washington State, he went 6-for-7 on free throws while matching a season-high with six rebounds. He also handed out three assists with 11 points during last week’s win against Arizona State.
Still, any hope of the Buffs (16-8, 7-6 Pac-12) making a February push will be bolstered by Williams staying on the floor and regaining his form. Following Saturday’s loss, head coach Tad Boyle noted he doesn’t want Williams falling into the trap of pressing too hard to make up for lost time.
“The one thing he’s got to
understand, especially against good defensive teams, which Arizona is and UCLA is, when he drives the ball from the perimeter, they’re going to rake and be physical with him,” Boyle said. “They’re going to be physical on the ball, but they’re also going to be physical off the ball. He has to make strong plays.”
As for the Buffs, they will take a 1-6 mark in true road games into Thursday’s battle at UCLA. Although CU’S missed chances are looming large as the schedule hits mid-february, Williams says confidence remains high within the program.
“Locker room spirits are still definitely high,” Williams said. “There’s still a ton of confidence in ourselves and our team. We know we didn’t win a lot of games that we should’ve won, like onepossession, two-possession games. So we know we’re capable of winning those games and we know we’re a good team. So now it’s just about really locking-in and executing. It’s time to go out there and prove it.”