Williams finally set for pro life
COLLEGE STATION — When Robert Williams arrived at Texas A&M, the Aggies touted his hometown as Vivian, La. Along the way, his roots on the roster were changed to Oil City, La., nine miles to the south of Vivian in far Northwest Louisiana and near the banks of Caddo Lake.
“I’m originally from Oil City but moved to Vivian in the sixth grade,” Williams explained of his proud “dual” citizenship in two tiny Louisiana towns. “I represent both of them.”
By late Thursday night, Williams will claim a much bigger home to begin his NBA career. The jumping-jack power forward projects as a potential lottery selection (first 14 picks) in the NBA draft, and is a surefire first-rounder.
ESPN compares Williams’ skills to that of the Rockets’ Clint Capela, and Sports Illustrated pitches Williams and his 7-foot-4 wingspan as playing “above the rim in an impressively natural manner.”
A little more than a year ago, the Aggies figured they might lose Williams (6-9, 240) to the draft, because he projected as a
first rounder then, too. But his decision surprised many: Williams returned for a sophomore season under coach Billy Kennedy, to get another year closer to a college degree and to try and lead A&M to college basketball’s promised land.
“I came back to play in the NCAA tournament,” Williams said of putting off a big pro paycheck for a possible collegiate payoff for the Aggies. “Who wouldn’t want to play in the Big Dance?”
A&M fell short of the Final Four in San Antonio, but matched the program’s furthest advancement in the postseason with a fourth Sweet 16 showing since 1980.
“We had our doubters, they said we wouldn’t get that far,” Williams said. “We stuck together, through the trials and tribulations.”
If Williams this past season had any lingering thoughts about returning for at least one more college year, they were wiped out with his three-game suspension (including an exhibition contest) to start the season for an undisclosed “violation of team policy.”
Williams quickly apologized via social media, writing in part, “I realize I let a lot of people down who really care about me and my future, and I am truly sorry.”
What exactly did he take from the suspension?
“I just learned there’s a time and place for everything,” he said. “Business is business, fun is fun and you’ve got to separate the two.”
In his two seasons at A&M, Williams was named SEC defensive player of the year as a freshman and SEC co-defensive player of the year as a sophomore. He recorded 77 blocked shots his first season and 78 his second, leading the league in blocks as a sophomore.
His 9.2 rebounds per game last season also led the SEC, and he pulled down a combined 27 rebounds in his first two NCAA tournament games, A&M victories over Providence and North Carolina. Michigan shellacked the Aggies in the Sweet 16, but it was that previous contest against the Tar Heels that earned Williams national attention.
“We’ve beaten people up over the years, (but) the tables were reversed,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said after A&M won 86-65 in Charlotte, N.C.
The title-winning coach added of the Aggies’ phenomenon, “Nobody jumps any higher and blocks more shots.”
In that regard, Prairie View A&M coach Byron Smith, whose Panthers took on Williams and the Aggies in early December, said the Aggies’ leaper reminds him of a former NBA standout power forward.
“He’s a young Antonio McDyess,” Smith said. Whatever NBA team winds up with Williams hopes so. The similarly sized McDyess (6-9, 245) averaged 18 points and nine rebounds over his first six NBA seasons, with many of the same skills a raw Williams has flashed in his development.
Williams is one of four nonseniors from last year’s A&M roster who declared for the draft — although he’s the only certain selection. Center Tyler Davis and guards D.J. Hogg and J.J. Caldwell also have made themselves available. Caldwell was kicked off the team in February following his arrest on charges of marijuana possession.
As for Williams, A&M hasn’t had a first-round selection since 2007, when guard Acie Law was the 11th overall selection to the Atlanta Hawks, also the highest first-round pick out of the four A&M has ever had. Williams hopes to top it — not bad for a proud Vivian/Oil City prodigy.
“I’ve soaked up the wisdom from people at A&M, and there’s no place like it,” Williams said of his two-year college career. “I’ll always be an Aggie.”