Even on off nights, Amari Williams is Kentucky’s recipe for success

Amari Williams struggled more against Western Kentucky than she has all season. Western Kentucky challenged him at the top of the key, causing additional frustration. Since a five-a-side player is expected to carry out an important part of the offense from the point, he has to be sharp, otherwise the ball will inevitably be lost. He had four turnovers in the first half and also missed a few easy shots. He was hard to watch at times, but that’s not the whole story.

He actually started the game with an assist and picked up two more in the first half. He also had a block that could help defensively. However, the turnovers and missed shots drove Kentucky fans crazy.

He managed to clean up a bit more in the second half and only had two turnovers, which is a much more realistic total than four in one half. However, the confusing thing about Amari Williams’ frustrating play is that he was also really good. What?! Exactly.

Additionally, Evan Miyakawa released new stats and ratings the morning after the game, stating that Amari Williams is ranked as the best defensive player in the entire country – not one of the best, but the absolute best.

Looking at Miyakawa’s ratings, he is ranked as the best defensive rebounder and projected defensive rebounder. He is also listed as the best DBPR. This is a ranking based on how much better a team performs when a particular player is on the field. He does all of this in less than 20 minutes per game, 19.3

In postgame comments, head coach Mark Pope didn’t specifically mention Amari Williams, but said they won the game because of their defensive performances. Williams had 4 blocks and 10 defensive rebounds. He was one basket away from recording a double-double. So we have to ask ourselves: Are we expecting too much from him? Or maybe it’s Mark Pope?

Pope doesn’t seem to think so; He actually sees his development as only increasing rapidly over the course of the season.

Williams may have had a bad game against Western Kentucky, but he’s such a good player that he still had a good statistical game at the end. It feels like Kentucky accomplished the same feat. They also had a bad day offensively, but still won by 19 points.

Amari and Kentucky have a close bond and he is a key to Kentucky’s success, especially on defense. It is part of the success plan.