One of the best defensive players in college basketball has entered the NCAA transfer portal and will be making a recruiting trip to Kentucky this weekend.
Amari Williams is a 6-10 forward with a 7-foot-5 wingspan who has developed into a top defensive player over the past four seasons at Drexel, a member of the Coastal Athletic Association in Philadelphia.
Williams entered the NCAA transfer portal last month and is scheduled for recruiting visits to Lexington on Sunday and Monday.
On Thursday, Joe Tipton of On3 Sports reported that Kentucky is part of Williams' top three school list for next season. Kentucky, St. John's and Mississippi State are on that list.
Williams' visit to England this weekend will be his last official visit from the transfer portal.
Hailing from England, Williams' defensive credentials are impressive. He has won the Coastal Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year award the past three times and led the conference in blocks in each of his past three seasons.
He was UK's first player from the transfer portal to set up a visit to Kentucky under new head coach Mark Pope. News of Williams' planned visit to Kentucky emerged Sunday afternoon, hours before Pope was officially introduced as UK head coach at a packed Rupp Arena.
Williams played in 105 total games with the Dragons, averaging 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.6 assists per game.
He was named to the CAA First Team in each of the past two seasons and averaged over 12 points per game as a Drexel player in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
“When you hear Amari Williams' name, you think of his defensive presence and great passing ability. That's what drew the attention of NBA scouts to him,” said Drexel head coach Zach. Spiker spoke to Philadelphia basketball publication City of Basketball Love last April. “… Some big guys are wired differently. He's great at blocking shots, he's got great vision for passes. He gets his own buckets. I worked hard to create it.
Last season, Williams outscored Drexel in rebounds (7.8 per game) and blocks (1.8 per game), while scoring (12.2 per game), assists (1.9 per game) and steals (0.8 per game). Ranked number one. Williams also committed a team-high 2.4 turnovers for a Drexel team that went 20-12 overall and 13-5 in league play before losing in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament.
According to KenPom, Williams ranked 28th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage (26.2%) and 65th in offensive rebounding percentage (12.7%) last season. Williams also excelled nationally in block percentage (8.5%, 39th nationally) and fouls per 40 minutes (6.8 fouls, 23rd nationally), according to KenPom.
What did studying the tape and advanced analytics behind Williams' recent college basketball season make abundantly clear?
Drexel, one of the best defensive bigs in the sport, also asked: a lot From Williams on offense.
According to KenPom, Williams ranks 18th nationally in possession usage, which is defined as “when a player's actions end a possession, either by taking a shot or missing a shot that the offense did not rebound. “Is it the credit or responsibility of the player?'' Or commit a turnover. ”
Williams had a possession usage rate of 31.8% for the Dragons last season.
When Williams entered the NCAA transfer portal last month, he also declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, Williams ranks 106th overall in the transfer portal. ESPN does not list Williams as a top 100 prospect for the 2024 NBA Draft.
If he chooses to come to Kentucky, Williams would immediately slide into the projected starting lineup of Pope's first UK national team.
A complete roster makeover is underway ahead of Pope's first season as UK head coach.
Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State University), Joey Hart (Ball State University) and Zvonimir Ivicic (Arkansas State University) are the players who will be transferring from UK's 2023-24 national team to their new schools. Additionally, Adu Tierro and DJ Wagner also remain in the NCAA transfer portal.
Also, from last season's team, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Ugonna Onyenso, and Reed Shepherd have announced their participation in the 2024 NBA Draft. Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves have exhausted their college eligibility.
Of the six players Calipari had in his lineup as part of Kentucky's 2024 recruiting class, five have left the UK program, including all three McDonald's All-American recruits at Kentucky. In-state guard Travis Perry is the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school boys basketball history and is the only one of the six recruits expected to remain at UK.
Combo guard and former BYU signee Colin Chandler announced Tuesday morning that he will follow Pope to Kentucky. Chandler was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class before going on a two-year mission trip.
UK was among the top three schools for former BYU and Charlotte center Aly Khalifa. But on Thursday, Khalifa announced he would be transferring to Louisville and redshirting the 2024-25 season.
College basketball players have until May 1st to enter the transfer portal. The early entry deadline for the 2024 NBA Draft is April 27, and players entering the draft with NCAA eligibility remaining must remove their names from the list and return to school by May 29.
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