Hot Rod Williams (62 views)

[jhb]

Hot Rod Williams
PF
6'11"
215
23
Tulane

A four-year star in the Metro conference, Williams won the Conference Player of the Year trophy as a junior before returning as a senior and putting up similar numbers. Born "John" Williams, Hot Rod earned his nickname as a very young child for making engine noises as he scooted around the floor. Rumor has it he still likes to make engine noises on the basketball court, but these rumors remain unconfirmed. There are some major concerns about Hot Rod and how he projects at the next level due to playing in the weak Metro Conference, but also because sources at Tulane say that Williams was nearly academically ineligible several times despite taking a cake schedule designed to keep him in school and almost was kicked off the team multiple times for missing practices. He was also arrested as a senior and accused of point shaving after being found to have taken nearly $10k from a bookie to influence spreads against SMU, Memphis, and VT. He was ultimately found not guilty, but it remains one of the main reasons that Hot Rod was not a two-time Conference Player of the Year and gives scouts major concerns about his long-term upside because of the character concerns.

What Hot Rod does do well is that he's extremely quick and bouncy. He's got electric leaping ability and uses that to throw down some thunderous dunks and embarrass opposing bigs with some heinous blocks into the third row of the crowd. He has the tools to be a very good defender at the next level with the quickness to defend wings on the perimeter and the shot blocking ability to protect the rim, but he has had concerning lapses of concentration that have caused him to lose his man at times. He doesn't have the strength to hold up on the low block defensively and that lack of strength causes him to get wiped out on the defensive boards where he's a bit of a liability. Offensively, he relied mostly on his quickness and explosiveness to score in the Metro conference and he'll have to work to develop a more refined post game to score in TMBSL. The good news is that he's got a very good jump shot that he can use to be a threat in the mid-range. He repeats his mechanics well and approached 80% from the free throw line his final two years of college. He's not much of a passer, but he does use his explosiveness well on the offensive end to be a threat on the offensive boards, where he loves to throw down the putback slam.