Post by jhb on May 21, 2021 13:06:15 GMT -5
Jay Williams
PG
6'2"
195
21
Duke
One of the prospects that TMBSL scouts are most abuzz about after joining with fellow draft prospects Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy to lead Coach K's Blue Devils to three consecutive finishes at #1 in the AP Poll and one national title. During those three seasons, Williams was the point guard for the #1 or #2 offense by points per game each season. He's highly decorated, with a list of awards that includes the Naismith Award, Wooden Award, USBWA Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year, Rupp Trophy, 2-time NABC Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, 3-time All-ACC Tournament 1st Team, ACC Tournament MVP, 2-time All-ACC 1st Team and one All-ACC 3rd Team, 2-time Consensus All-American 1st Team, ACC All-Freshman, and NCAA All-Tournament and All-Region honors during their national championship run. He had seasons where he led NCAA or ACC in field goals, field goal attempts, three pointers, three point attempts, three point percentage, points, and points per game. He registered WS/48 totals over .210 in his final two college seasons. He's simply one of the more productive college players of recent history and he gets rave reviews for his competitive spirit and tenacity.
Williams is an impressive leaper and a very strong guard that has a TMBSL-ready body. That will allow him to absorb contact and overpower point guards attempting to defend him. He has outstanding court vision and does a tremendous job using spacing to create opportunities for himself, but especially for his teammates. He's a prolific three point shooter and is capable of hitting them in transition, spotting up, off the catch and shoot, or off the dribble. That deadly shot from outside forces defense to respect his shot and allows him opportunities to blow by his man and have a lot of space to operate...that helps open up his very nice mid-range game. He has an excellent crossover and a quick first step, he's a very good ball handler but falls victim to turning it over too much because he plays out of control and can make bad decisions at times. Another thing scouts want to see from Williams is some improvement in his consistency from the free throw line...for a player who is one of the better college three point shooters we've seen he's never broken 70% at the free throw line, which is baffling. Defensively, scouts love Williams' tenacity. He has excellent lateral quickness and harasses his assignment. Accumulated a lot of steals that led to a lot of transition opportunities where he is an excellent operator in the open court and finishes well in transition.
