BEFORE NBA
COLLEGE CAREER: 2017-18 (Sophomore): Returned to Texas A&M after being
projected as a first-round draft pick follow-
ing his initial college season to garner Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year
honors as well as USBWA All-District VII accolades as a
sophomore … played in 30 games, drawing 23 starting assignments and averaging
25.6 minutes per game … averaged 10.4 points
per game and an SEC-leading 9.2 rebounds per contest … produced seven
double-doubles on the year to give him a total of 18 for
his two-year career … collected 78 blocked shots, the second most in a single
season in school history and the most by an SEC player
during the 2017-18 campaign … scoring average jumped to 11.9 points per game
during league play … saw his school-record blocked
shot reach 41 games before coming to an end in early January … missed the first
two games of the regular season while serving
a suspension for a violation of Texas A&M policy ... returned from suspension
and began his season with a double-double against
Oklahoma State (11/20) in Legends Classic semifinals, finishing with 11 points
and rebounds to go along with three steals, two blocks
and two assists in 24 minutes ... secured Legends Classic MVP honors with
second-straight double-double in the finale victory over
Penn State (11/21), poured in career-high 21 points on 10-for-12 shooting with
10 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in 23 minutes
against the Nittany Lions ... against Pepperdine (11/24), dished out
career-high six assists in 19 minutes against the Waves ... recorded
four blocks at No. 10 USC (11/26), while also corralling eight rebounds in
first start of the season against the Trojans ... posted his third
double-double of the season with a 12-point and 11-rebound outing against
Florida (1/2), also swatted four Gator shots ... contributed
18 points on 8-of-9 shooting with three blocks against Ole Miss (1/16)
... matched a career-high with 21 points to go along with 15
rebounds to notch a double-double at LSU (1/23) ... put up 12 points (10 on
dunks) and 11 boards for this 16th career double-double
with four blocks in the win over No. 24 Kentucky (2/10) ... dropped in 20
points on 10-of-13 shooting with 14 boards against Arkansas
(2/17) ... swatted a career-high seven shots vs. Alabama (3/8) during the SEC
Tournament ... corralled 14 rebounds during his first
NCAA Tournament game vs. Providence (3/18) … the performance vs. the Friars
allowed Williams to become the 28th member of
Texas A&M’s 500-Rebound Club … scored 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting vs.
Providence to register his 18th career double-double ...
pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with eight points, two blocks and an
assists in the NCAA Tournament second round match up
against North Carolina (3/18) … produced 12 points, six rebounds, three
assists, three blocks and two steals against Michigan (3/22)
during the Sweet 16…2016-17 (Freshman): Stood out as one of the most exciting
and productive rookies in the country, earning SEC
Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-SEC accolades … played in all
31 of the Aggies’ games while making 17 starts
during his rookie year … averaged 11.9 points as well as a team-leading 8.2
rebounds per contest while shooting an impressive 55.8 percent from the field … totaled 11 double-doubles on the season, second
only to Ole Miss senior Sebastian Saiz among all SEC
players … recorded 77 blocked shots, including one in every game of the season,
to own the nation’s longest blocked shot streak and
finish with the second highest single season total in A&M school history …
checked in at 18th nationally in blocked shots per game …
made Texas A&M debut against Northwestern State (11/11), finished with seven
rebounds, six points and five blocks in 20 minutes of
action, became first Texas A&M player to register five blocks in a game since
Keith Davis (12/7/11 vs. Sam Houston State) ... averaged
12 points per game at Wooden Legacy Classic, registered his first career
double-double against Virginia Tech (11/25) with 13 points
and 10 rebounds, followed that up with a 12-point, four-assist, three-block and
three-rebound performance in championship game
against No. 14 UCLA (11/27) ... poured in 15 points against SC State (12/10),
going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor ... scored 17 points
during the Lone Star Shootout against No. 19 Arizona (12/17), was 8-for-11 from
the floor ... notched another double-double against
Saint Francis (2/21), logging 10 points, 10 rounds, four blocks, three assists
and a steal … made his first career start at South Carolina
(1/7), notching another double-double by finishing with 12 points and 14
rebounds in 31 minutes of action ... notched a double-double
against Georgia (1/21), contributing 18 points and 12 rebounds ... at Ole Miss
(1/25) produced 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along
with a 14 boards, two assists and two blocks ... scored 18 points in win at LSU
(2/4), while also chipping in six rebounds and four blocks ... posted another double-double performance against Missouri (2/7), carding 18
points and 16 rebounds in 31 minutes of action ...
collected another double-double on the road at No. 17 Florida (2/11), finishing
with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting along
with 12 rebounds while blocking four Gator shot attempts ... posted his third
consecutive double-double at Vanderbilt (2/16), finishing with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds ... tallied
14 points on 6-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds and
a season-high six blocks against Auburn (2/18) ... notched his final
double-double of the season against No. 9 Kentucky (3/4) in the
regular season finale, finishing with a career-best 20 points to go along with
11 boards … notched nine points and 10 boards against
Vanderbilt at the SEC Tournament (3/9).
HIGH SCHOOL: Emerged as a top recruit nationally while playing for coach Ron
Meikle at North Caddo High School in
Vivian, La. … considered a consensus four-star prospect, with ESPN regarding
him as a member of its Top 100 as well as the No. 1
player in the Pelican State ... Scout.com slotted him as the No. 8 power
forward prospect nationally with ESPN ranking him as the
50th overall recruit in the country … back-to-back Louisiana Sports Writers
Association 2A First-Team All-State selection, earning
Most Outstanding Player of the Year honors as a senior … emerged as a force
during his junior season when he averaged 21.0 points
and 13.4 rebounds per contest and helped guide North Caddo to a 29-4 record and
a showing in the semifinals of the Louisiana Class
2A playoffs, coming within two wins of a state title … during AAU competition,
played for the Louisiana Stars and Houston Hoops
where he contributed 8.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest while shooting
63.5 percent ... an elite shot blocker, he led the entire
Nike EYBL by maintaining a 3.6 block-per-game average.