Tag: vince williams

This photo of Vince Williams smiling while guarding Stephen Curry is absolutely incredible

This is a legendary photo of the Grizzlies wing.

The injured Grizzlies defeated the slumping Warriors on Martin Luther King Day and Vince Williams Jr. enjoyed a breakout performance.

It was an outstanding showing for Williams, who posted his NBA career-best marks in points (24) as well as 3-pointers (3) and free throws (9) while in the starting lineup. But perhaps his best contribution to the game was his defense guarding Stephen Curry.

He finished with two steals and one block, forcing multiple turnovers against the two-time MVP.

RELATED: Get to know Grizzlies’ Vince Williams Jr., a 3-and-D standout

The 23-year-old former second-round pick seemed happy with himself while on the court, too, and flashed a massive smile during while assigned to Curry in the first half. It was great to see him, like his teammate GG Jackson, truly appreciate the joy in the game.

This play was captured by USA TODAY Sports photographer Petre Thomas. Although this was perhaps the most photogenic moment, Williams drew the assignment against the legendary 3-point shooter for most of the game.

He showed no fear against Curry and was an irritant the entire night.

Williams guarded Curry for 42.0 partial possessions during the victory, according to NBA.com. The four-time NBA champion was held to 3.3 points per 100 possessions fewer than his season average during these opportunities.

This season, Williams is one of the best defenders at the point of attack. He currently ranks 97th percentile in the catch-all metric Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (D-EPM), per dunksandthrees.com.

His two-way contract was recently converted to a three-year, $7.9 million deal. That was the most guaranteed money ever given to a player after his two-way contract was converted, via ESPN.

While the injuries to key players on the Memphis roster are unfortunate, it is also great to see that it has led to opportunities for players like Williams and Jackson to contribute at a high level and enjoy themselves in the process.

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Statistical proof the Grizzlies are picking extremely similar players in the NBA Draft to support Ja Morant

These stats are insane.

The Memphis Grizzlies made four picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, selecting Jake LaRavia, David Roddy, Kennedy Chandler, and Vince Williams Jr.

During his introductory press conference, Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins stressed the versatility that he sees in each of these prospects. Jenkins also emphasized their abilities as playmakers, adding that the “film matches up with the stats” and they all play hard on defense.

We correctly identified LaRavia and Roddy as first-rounders in our final mock draft projections. We also had Roddy projected to Memphis in March and LaRavia to the Grizzlies last month. Roddy, however, was otherwise not often mocked in the first round and LaRavia was rarely considered a top-20 projected pick.

So why was Memphis go against consensus opinion for these two players, even trading away a valuable player in De’Anthony Melton to get the deal done?

When a franchise has a cornerstone like Ja Morant, they do everything they can to work around that building block. So my guess is that these players are individuals the team feels are best suited to support Morant.

But what is it about these players in particular? The data helps provide some context. Last year, based on brilliant research from Shawn Coleman, we speculated about the Grizzlies’ draft philosophy that brings them to target certain types of players in the NBA Draft.

By reverse-engineering statistical profiles, we noticed some notable trends that may intrigue the front office and the scouting department in Memphis. The results for this year yielded three college basketball players who reached the following thresholds last season:

EFFICIENT SHOT SELECTION: EFG% above 57%

VALUE BEYOND SCORING: D-REB% and AST% both above 14%

DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKING: BLK% and STL% both above 2%

Those players (of course) were Wake Forest’s LaRavia, Colorado State’s Roddy, and VCU’s Williams. The Grizzlies literally drafted all three. We also featured all three in our pre-draft interview series!

Chandler, who is the outlier in this group, was a hometown product widely projected to go in the first round. So when he was available in the second round, it was simply too much value to leave him on the board.

Otherwise, however, one reason why those numbers mentioned above are particularly interesting: Some other recent players who also accomplished as much while in college include Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tilllman, and John Konchar. All three, of course, are currently on the Grizzlies.

It’s clear that Memphis wants players that are able to contribute even without the ball in their hands. They are also targeting guys who are ready to make an impact right away, per Grizzlies executive Zach Kleiman:

“As we’ve done with a lot of our prior picks, I think we have mature rookies coming in … Guys who are a little bit more experienced. We feel like we were able to bring in a group that fits what we’re about, and that’s going to help us move the needle.”

The Grizzlies led the league in stocks (steals plus blocks) last season. It’s unlikely, based on what we have seen so far, that they would draft someone with low effort or productivity on that end of the floor.

So what does this mean? Aside from the fact that these are players who can help the Grizzlies straightaway, this exercise can help us identify future NBA prospects who could fit on this roster.

Next season, players who produce at similar levels of productivity as we saw from LaRavia and Roddy ought to be considered targets for Memphis in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Some of the players who were at least relatively close to reaching those aforementioned marks last season and are returning to school include Kris Murray (Iowa), Norchad Omier (Miami), Jalen Slawson (Furman), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Will Richard (Florida), Makhi Mitchell (Arkansas), Kevin Cross (Tulane), and Coleman Hawkins (Illinois).

Perhaps none of them end up going to Memphis, and the Grizzlies try a new philosophy altogether. But regardless, it’s interesting when patterns like this emerge with regard to talent evaluation.

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NBA draft sleepers: Get to know VCU wing Vince Williams Jr., a 3-and-D standout

VCU wing Vince Williams Jr. is one of the more enticing sleepers in the 2022 NBA draft. But he may not stay under the radar for much longer.

VCU wing Vince Williams Jr. is one of the more enticing sleepers in the 2022 NBA draft. But he may not stay under the radar for much longer.

Williams is a senior who has already played four years of college basketball. But he will still be 21 years old on the night of the draft, which makes him younger than sophomore Keegan Murray, a projected lottery pick in this draft class.

Once you look into the statistical profile for Williams, it’s easy to see the appeal. Williams, who says his wingspan is nearly 7-foot, is the kind of role player who can have a high impact in the pros.

Opponents were just 4-for-29 (13.8%) on jumpers off the dribble on possessions when Williams was the nearest defender, per Synergy. According to CBB Analytics, during the minutes when Williams was on the court, other teams shot worse than 30% on non-corner 3-pointers and from the midrange.

He was an irritant and menace on the defensive end of the floor, constantly forcing turnovers for his defensive unit, which fares significantly better with him playing relative to when he was not.

Very few players have notched the level of productivity Williams just showed when it comes to key defensive metrics (block percentage, steal percentage, defensive box plus-minus) and offensive metrics (assist percentage and 3-point attempt rate).

Some of the other players with that impact in recent years include: Herbert Jones, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Draymond Green. Within that group, Williams had the highest field-goal percentage both at the rim (68%) and on 3-pointers (38.7%).

Jones, who was a standout rookie during his first professional season in New Orleans, is a particularly interesting comparison for Williams — who sees the similarity in their games.

Williams will have a chance to show what he can bring to the next level while participating in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago between May 16 and 17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. If he fares well there, he can earn an invitation to the NBA Combine.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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How Vince Williams’ retirement shakes up Steelers depth chart

A look at the Steelers depth at RILB with the recent news of Vince Williams retirement (and it’s not pretty).

Vince Williams dropped a bomb on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart plans one day into training camp. He announced suddenly that he was retiring from the NFL and, in doing so, shook up the team’s depth on the right side.

Williams was an integral part of the inside linebacker corp, especially after Devin Bush went down with a season-ending knee injury. He played north of 70 percent of defensive snaps in 10 games, and his 14 tackles for loss last season — eight in the first three games alone — was fifth-best in the NFL.

The defense will immediately feel the loss of a veteran talent like Vince Williams. The Steelers could look to free agency when they already had needs in the secondary to address. Or, they could move pieces around and hope they fit. Either way, not ideal.

Here’s a look at what the right side of the Steelers depth chart currently looks like without him:

Steelers’ LB Vince Williams retires from the NFL

Vince Williams, who spent his entire eight-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, longtime Steelers linebacker Vince Williams is retiring from the NFL.

Williams,

3 takeaways from Vince Williams coming back to the Steelers

The return of Vince Williams is huge for the Steelers defense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans got some great news when it was announced that linebacker Vince Williams was coming back to the Steelers on a one-year contract. The team had released Williams earlier in the offseason as a cost-cutting move but brought him back for one last run with Pittsburgh.

Here are three big takeaways from the return of Williams.

He’s baaaaack: Vince Williams re-signs with the Steelers

The Steelers made official the re-signing of veteran linebacker Vince Williams.

Suddenly, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense doesn’t look so depleted.

A few weeks ago, tackle Tyson Alualu was off to Jacksonville. Nearly a month to the day, the Steelers terminated the contract of veteran linebacker Vince Williams.

The Steelers would be without two key contributors on defense… or, so we thought.

Alualu decided to remain in Pittsburgh after all and it was reported yesterday that Williams would also be back in the Black and Gold. The Steelers made the signing official on Thursday.

Williams, signed by Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in 2013, is being signed to a one-year contract. Financial details of the contract are still unknown.

Williams started 14 games in 2020 and stepped up big when players around him went down. When Williams missed games due to COVID, the void was immediately felt. He had 70 tackles, four quarterback hits, three sacks and two recovered fumbles.

14 of his tackles were for a loss (career-high), which ranked Williams sixth in the league.

In eight seasons overall with the Steelers, Williams has played in 121 games, with 69 starts. He has 444 career tackles (48 for loss), 43 quarterback hits, 20.5 sacks, five passes defended, five fumble recoveries and two interceptions (one for a touchdown).

The games haven’t even started and we’re already glad to have Vince Williams back in the fold!

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REPORT: Vince Williams is returning to Pittsburgh

Per sources of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, linebacker Vince Williams will again be a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Per sources of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, linebacker Vince Williams will again be a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Williams was released as a cap-saving measure in March. With his return, the linebacker position is expected to be six players deep with Devin Bush, Williams, Spillane, Ulysees Gilbert III, Tegray Scales and Marcus Allen.

The Steelers signed Williams as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He started 14 games in 2020 and stepped up big when players around him went down. When Williams missed games due to COVID, the void was immediately felt. He had 70 tackles (14 for loss), four quarterback hits, three sacks and two recovered fumbles.

More to follow as details are announced by the team in the coming days.

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