The last time Kam Williams was a starter, it was met with mixed results for the Tulane transfer.
While Mo Dioubate was sidelined for five games due to an ankle injury earlier this season, Williams was added to Mark Pope‘s starting lineup for four consecutive games. The first outing was impressive: 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 26 minutes during an easy win for Kentucky over Loyola (MD). But after that, he posted seven points and five rebounds against Tennessee Tech. In the two games after that — losses to North Carolina and Gonzaga — he combined for two points and five rebounds on 1-7 shooting.
Pope then pulled Williams from the starting lineup, although it didn’t take long for him to find a rhythm after that, really for the first time all season. After scoring nine points against Indiana and 11 more against St. John’s — both wins for Kentucky — he exploded for 26 points on an 8-10 outside shooting mark against Bellarmine. But a couple of mediocre performances followed in losses to Alabama and Missouri.
Something finally clicked on Saturday in Kentucky’s blowout win against Mississippi State, though. With Jayden Quaintance sidelined due to knee swelling and Jaland Lowe going down early with another shoulder injury, which will now require season-ending surgery, Pope leaned on the 6-foot-8 wing more than he had all season long — on both ends of the floor.
In a season-high 30 minutes against the Bulldogs, Williams finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals on 5-8 shooting, including a 2-3 clip from deep. His +32 in the box score was a team-high by 13. Not only was he knocking down shots, but this was the most aggressive Williams had been all season at getting to the rim. Defensively, his length and athleticism bothered Mississippi State whenever he was on the floor.
“He came out and banged his very first three, but then he got downhill two out of the next three possessions,” Pope said of Williams during Monday’s press conference with the media. “And that’s where he has a chance to be so impactful on the game and really punish teams.”
With two-way versatility and growing confidence, Williams appears to be an obvious piece of the rotation moving forward. He’s up to 35.5 percent for the season on his threes now. He can defend multiple positions. If he can continue to get downhill, his scoring profile opens up even more (for both himself and his teammates). Will that translate into an even larger role for Williams on this team? It sounds like it could soon.
During his weekly radio show on Monday night, Pope was sent a fan question that asked if Williams could potentially move into the starting lineup given his recent play. Here is the exchange between Pope and host Tom Leach.
Leach: One quick question and then we’ll get to a break. From a listener: Is there a point in which you could see Kam Williams moving into the starting lineup to help get off to a better start?
Pope: Yes.
Leach: And what would it take for him to do that?
Pope: Well it could take a season-ending injury to Jaland Lowe. We’ll see how that works out.
Pope and Leach jokingly chuckled during that second answer. Pope was less than an hour removed from revealing on air that Lowe would, in fact, miss the remainder of the season. That certainly paves the way for Williams to wiggle his way back into the starting lineup, especially with the usual starting four-man, Dioubate, averaging just 5.3 points and five rebounds in 19.7 minutes per contest during Kentucky’s first three SEC games. Dioubate saw a season-low 13 minutes a few days ago against Mississippi State.
And if Monday’s practice was any indication, Williams could be starting sooner rather than later. Kentucky’s next game is on the road Wednesday night against LSU. We’ll have to wait and see if it actually happens.
“Kam was so good in practice today. My goodness, he was good,” Pope told Leach.