The junior forward caught the ball in the corner with an Ohio State defender charging at him. He pump-faked and let his defender fly out of bounds and drove along the baseline. He then jumped toward the basket and was fouled on the arm before double clutching and finishing a reverse layup.
He would make the free throw for his 23rd point of the game, a season high for Williams.
“Just got to read the plays,” Williams said. “You’ve got to read the situation of the game. I mean, that’s really it, just reading it.”
The fact a close-out was even necessary shows the difference between last year and this year for Williams. Last season, Williams only attempted 13 3-pointers during the entire season. This season he has attempted 24.
While he may not make the shot at a high percentage, it still has forced opposing defenses to close him out on the 3-point line, opening up driving lanes for the athletic 6-foot-7 forward.
He attempted four 3-pointers Sunday, making two of them. He also made five layups against the Buckeyes.
Some of those layups came after driving lanes were opened because of an outside-shooting threat.
But where Williams is most dangerous is in transition, IU Coach Tom Crean and senior guard Yogi Ferrell said.
“He has got to get out and run more, because when that happens, you see just like today, layups, anything he wants,” Ferrell said. “He’s too athletic and nobody can stop him.”
But perhaps the best part of Williams’ game Sunday was what he didn’t do. Against the Buckeyes, Williams tied his season-low for turnovers with one.
Some of this was due to Williams not forcing anything, Ferrell said. He wasn’t over-penetrating and was picking when to attack the opposing defense.
Crean actually said this decrease in turnovers was due to Williams attacking, but also credited the decreased total to Williams not having to do as much.
The Hoosiers focused on ball reversals and spacing against Ohio State, Crean said, creating open shots from behind the arc and around the rim. Williams wasn’t forced to create offense by himself, but let ball movement and IU’s offense create opportunities for him.
This is not to say Williams isn’t creating any of his own offense, it’s just made easier. On Williams’ final points of the game, he certainly created offense for himself.
But the creation was made simpler because his defender was forced to scramble to close him out, allowing Williams to show off his athletic ability.
“We wanted to get the ball reversed, have great spacing, have sharper cuts, better screens and then attack off that dribble, and Troy was a product of all of that,” Crean said. “And the fewer turnovers was the result.”
