Knights’ Williams works to impress Heat
Ankle injury limited shooting guard in Orlando
Matt Williams’ first professional basketball points came in a way that would not surprise any UCF fans.
As the third quarter was coming to a close in the Miami Heat’s Orlando Pro Summer League game against the Detroit Pistons, Williams got the ball on the wing.
With the clock about to expire, he quickly pulled up from beyond the arc, beating the buzzer to tie the game going into the fourth quarter.
He had to wait until the fourth day of the summer league, but Williams was finally in the boxscore.
“It just felt good to see the ball go through the basket,” said Williams, an Orlando Jones High alum. “I tried to make sure I played hard defensively and if I play hard defensively, you know, the offense will take care of itself.”
Williams, who went undrafted out of UCF this year, had hoped to get on the court and show NBA scouts what he could do much earlier in the week.
But during his first day practicing with the Heat, he sprained his ankle and ended up missing Miami’s first three games.
With each game he sat out, Williams was missing the opportunity to impress teams who might be willing to sign him. But the coaching staff made sure he remained cautious.
“The Miami Heat staff did a great job of telling me to be patient,” Williams said. “They just did a good job of just making sure I was getting back to playing form.”
Coming back quickly from an injury and adjusting to a pro level of play is very difficult, and that showed during Williams’ first game back. His buzzer-beater was his only made basket of the day, and he often looked hesitant while pulling up for shots.
But Williams joined the Heat competing in the Las Vegas Summer League, and he was happy to get a couple games under his belt in Orlando.
“It felt good, man, to finally get on the court, finally play,” he said. “Just take a little time for me to get my legs under me, but I felt like we played, we competed hard.”
While he didn’t get to play in as many games as he would have liked, Williams has enjoyed being able to continue to play in his hometown and keep in touch with college coach Johnny Dawkins.
“Coach Dawkins has been doing a very good job of supporting me,” Williams said. “I hit him [up] when I got through the injury, let him know. He told me stay positive, you know, ‘Miami Heat is a good organization; those guys know exactly what they’re doing.’ ”
On the final day of Orlando’s summer league, Williams got on the floor again for the Heat and looked much sharper. Despite still shooting a relatively low percentage, he led the team in points scored with 14 and made four 3-pointers.
The Miami coaching staff had already been impressed with Williams’ attitude off the court and were happy to see him improving.
“You can see he’s getting his legs under him. He’s getting a little more comfortable out there,” Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn said. “He was able to make some shots, which helps. We need the shooting that he can give us and we look forward to seeing a lot of him in Vegas.”
Williams said he is looking to impress by doing whatever is asked of him and being a good teammate.
“If they need me to play three minutes or play 30, they need me to score 20 or three points, whatever they need from me,” he said. “I’m just gonna go out there and try to do it for them every night.”