Tag: Amari Williams

Kentucky takes its first home loss of the season against Alabama

Kentucky played well, but dropped a close game to Alabama on Saturday.

The January schedule for Kentucky basketball has been a brutal one. Saturday’s matchup with the fourth ranked Alabama Crimson Tide is their fourth ranked SEC opponent in five games. They won the previous three, but came up short against the Tide, 102 – 97.

The Wildcats played very well in the loss. The out-shot Alabama overall and from three-point range, but lost the rebounding battle. Alabama also shot 14 more free throws, which was the biggest difference.

Related: Kentucky in the final three for Caleb Wilson

Otega Oweh led seven Wildcats in double figures with 21 points. Lamont Butler added 17 points and 8 assists. Amari Williams had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The loss is Kentucky’s first at home this season. Losing a close game to a national championship contender is nothing be upset about, though.

The Wildcats are now 14 – 4 on the season, and 3 – 2 versus the SEC. They play Vanderbilt next, before another big showdown with the Tennessee Volunteers to close out a difficult January schedule.

Kentucky basketball bounces back with a blowout win over Brown

Kentucky basketball got a win over Brown to close out their non-conference schedule.

Kentucky basketball had to wait ten days to try and bounce back after their ugly loss to Ohio State. Finally, they got their chance, and took advantage of it, beating Brown 88 – 56 on New Year’s Eve.

The win moves the Wildcats to 11 – 2 on the year. That ends their non-conference schedule, and the complete 2024 ranked 11th in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The win over Brown was a dominant one, and a team effort.

Related: New Year’s resolutions for Kentucky basketball

Andrew Carr led the way for Kentucky, with 14 points. Otega Oweh had 13 points, as did Amari Williams and Koby Brea. Everyone got involved, however, with nine different Wildcats scoring at least four points.

It was a close game for the first several minutes. The Cats got it going, though, and 12 at the half. The second half was all Kentucky and they pulled away.

Kentucky begins SEC play on January 4th against the Florida Gators, who haven’t lost a game to this point. It should be a fun game.

Kentucky defeats Bucknell with a balanced offensive attack

Kentucky basketball got another blowout win on Saturday against Bucknell.

Game two of the 2024-25 Kentucky basketball season went much like the first game did. They opened with a 103 – 62 win over Wright State. On Saturday, the Wildcats took on Bucknell, and came away with a 100 – 72 victory.

Kentucky didn’t shoot the ball as well as they did in the opener, but they dominated the boards and played tough on the defensive end, setting up a lot of open shots. As promised, they took a lot of three-pointers, attempting 36 of them. They made 13.

Related: Jay Bilas puts Kentucky 15th in his rankings

Koby Brea led six Wildcats in double figures with 20 points. He was 6-of-8 from three-point range. Amari Williams recorded another double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Meanwhile, Kerr Kriisa led the team in assists with 12.

The Wildcats have scored 100-plus in both of their games so far, and have won each convincingly. The Duke Blue Devils are up next, though, and it will not be as easy to win. It will be a good test of where Kentucky is at this season.

A Kentucky big man is nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award

Kentucky center Amari Williams is nominated for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.

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.

Related: Kentucky wins big over Minnesota State

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.

Kentucky could be without Amari Williams to start the season

Kentucky center Amari Williams could miss the season opener with an injury.

Kentucky’s two exhibition games allowed fans to see what Mark Pope and his offense can do, and it was fun to watch. The Cats’ second game saw them take down reigning Division II champion Minnesota State, but it didn’t come at a cost. Amari Cooper was injured during the game, and left it early.

Pope initially said things looked good, but they were going to wait for further testing. Fans were understandably concerned with the season about to begin.

Related: Best photos of Kentucky’s win over Minnesota State

On Thursday, Pope reassured fans that Williams didn’t suffer a serious injury. He says Williams is day to day, and that they hope to have him back soon. They’re going to be cautious, however, and that probably means he won’t play in the season opener against Wright State.

Hopefully, it won’t keep him out of many games, and he’ll recover quickly. He figures to be an important player for Pope and the Wildcats in this transition season.

Amari Williams is officially out of the NBA draft and is a Kentucky Wildcat

Center Amari Williams has pulled out of the NBA draft, and is a Kentucky Wildcat officially.

Former Drexel center Amari Williams announced his commitment to Kentucky basketball more than a month ago. He was one of the first transfers to announce his decision to join Mark Pope in Lexington, and helped begin a run of really good players to become Wildcats.

There was a bit of a scare early in May, where Williams considered re-entering the transfer portal, but Pope was able to convince him to stay. Now, it seems as though all the steps are complete, as Williams has officially pulled out of the NBA draft, and appears set to be a Wildcat next season.

Related: Kentucky basketball roster tracker for 2024

The 6’10, 225 lb Williams has been one of college basketball’s better defenders over the past few years. He was named the Coastal Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year the past three seasons. During that time, he averaged 11.8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.

Mark Pope is building his 2024-25 roster around defense and shooting ability. Williams won’t be asked to shoot the ball a lot, but his defense will be a big key to the Wildcats’ success next season.

Amari Williams has decided to remain with Kentucky basketball

Amari Williams will stay with Kentucky basketball after a meeting with Mark Pope.

In what has been a wild few weeks of Kentucky basketball news, it almost got even crazier. Newly committed big man Amari Williams had some second thoughts about his Wildcats commitment after the signings of Andrew Carr and Brandon Garrison.

New coach Mark Pope ended up having a meeting with Williams, and according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the former Drexel center has decided to stay in Lexington for the 2024-25 season.

With the transfer rules being as they are, players can easily change schools at any moment, and if they don’t like a situation, they can go elsewhere. Williams would certainly like to be the starter for the Cats, and probably had some concerns about a crowded frontcourt.

Pope likely had some wisdom on that, having played with multiple talented big men himself when he was with Kentucky as a player.

Williams is an important piece for Pope and the Wildcats. He’s an elite defender who is certain to be featured next season. If he can take the next step offensively, he’ll be a start.

Drexel transfer Amari Williams commits to Kentucky basketball

Former Drexel center Amari Williams commits to the Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team have landed another transfer in former Drexel center Amari Williams. He joins former BYU recruit Collin Chandler as the first additions to the Wildcats under the new coach.

Williams is a 6’10” forward/center who is a defensive specialist. He won the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year award three consecutive seasons averaging eight rebounds and two blocks per game during that time.

Not a big-time scorer, Williams did average 11 points per game as a starter. He brings needed toughness and intensity to the frontcourt for Kentucky.

As a fifth-year Senior, Williams has one year of eligibility remaining, but his experience will be welcome. As a former frontcourt player, Pope figures to be able to get the most out of him.

Williams is a solid addition for Pope and the Wildcats. However, they have numerous spots still to be filled, and are still in contact with a multitude of available transfers.

Duke reportedly contacted former Drexel forward Amari Williams in transfer portal

The Blue Devils have reportedly reached out to former Drexel forward Amari Williams as a potential transfer target.

Duke is still in the process of ironing out its 2024-25 roster, and former Drexel forward Amari Williams might be on the shortlist of candidates.

On3’s Joe Tipton reported on Monday that the Blue Devils contacted Williams in the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 12.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a senior last year. He spent four seasons with the Dragons, and he’s averaged at least 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in each of the last three years.

Duke’s frontcourt will be loaded regardless next season with blue-chip prospects Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach in the incoming freshman class, but the Blue Devils struggled with rim defense at times. Adding Williams to the 2024 recruiting class would not just solve the problem, it would create an embarrassment of riches.

Williams has already scheduled official visits with St. John’s, Crieghton, Florida, and Indiana, according to Tipton’s reporting, so the Blue Devils have lots of competition for his commitment.

Florida working to get former Drexel forward on campus for official visit

This big man could really help bolster the Orange and Blue in the paint next season.

Florida basketball continues to comb through the NCAA transfer portal in search of replacement pieces for this season’s departures, and so far, Todd Golden and his staff already have a few good targets in their sights.

Former Drexel Dragons senior forward [autotag]Amari Williams[/autotag] is among those under consideration for the Gators’ open roster spots. The 6-foot-10-inch, 265-pound front-court player is a two-time Coastal Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year award recipient.

Originally from Nottingham, England, he is planning an official visit date with the Orange and Blue in the near future, according to Swamp247. Before then, Williams also plans on stopping in to see the Creighton Bluejays, Indiana Hoosiers and St. John’s Red Storm.

He has also declared for the NBA draft in addition to entering the transfer portal. He has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Stats

Williams ranked 18th nationally in total usage, leading the Dragons in ball-handling during the 2023-24 campaign. He shot 52.1% from inside the arc while ranking among the nation’s top rebounders last year with a 12.7% offensive rebounding percentage and 26.2% defensive rebounding mark.

He also ranked 39th in the country in block percentage — an area Florida needs to fill with the departure of Tyrese Samuel and Micah Handlogten’s severe leg fracture.

Transfer portal rankings

Williams is a four-star transfer portal recruit according to 247Sports, ranking No. 35 in the nation overall and No. 9 at the center position.

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