Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope was happy to add center Amari Williams through the transfer portal this offseason. He’s talented and experienced. An injury might cause him to miss a game or two, but he was still recognized for his potential on Friday.
Williams is officially in the running for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the nation’s best center every year. He’s one of the 20 players named to the watch list.
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During his four seasons at Drexel, Williams was named the Colonial Athletics Association Defensive Player of the Year in three of them. He averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game last year, before coming to Kentucky for 2024.
The nominees for the award will be narrowed down to 10 during the season before the winner is announced at the Final Four. Hopefully, Williams can get healthy quickly, and play well enough to win the award.