Troy Williams, the most scrutinized, debated, criticized and polarizing player of the past few seasons, might be leaving for the NBA Draft. Well, he might not be. Even that’s not clear.
The junior forward announced Monday he is declaring for the draft, but not hiring an agent. Williams is taking advantage of the NCAA’s Jan. 13 decision to allow players to go through the combine process and gain more information on their draft position before officially deciding.
One could argue Williams is the poster child for what this process may provide. It’s always seemed like Williams wanted to go pro as soon as possible, but his stock has never matched.
He’s always looked like an NBA prospect. He’s 6-foot-7, explosive and long. His putback dunks and fast break burst oozed NBA potential.
But there’s the turnovers, the inconsistent defense and the occasional tunnel vision. Williams became the guy everybody kept expecting to make a huge jump each year.
He came to IU right after the height of the praise for IU Coach Tom Crean’s development of players like Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller. While he improved each season and has developed into a very good college basketball player, he never underwent that dramatic, Oladipo-like jump.
And people seemed to always resent him for it.
His shooting improved, as did his rebounding. But his turnover-to-assist ratio has remained a concern. DraftExpress has Williams listed as the No. 83 prospect available, which, in theory, wouldn’t be good enough to be drafted.
Williams’ relationship with Crean has always been one of the more interesting aspects of this team.
Crean probably shouts at Williams the most on a game-to-game basis, yet Williams is consistently given a large ball-handling role from the coach, who tends to focus on Williams’ strengths over his weaknesses. It’s a paradoxical relationship.
The best example may be the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. In the first-round matchup with Chattanooga, Crean was screaming at Williams more than ever. He could be heard from within the huddle yelling after Williams didn’t look for a teammate on a drive.
Two days later, against Kentucky, they were buddy-buddy. Williams made some mistakes, and as Crean went to him on the bench, Williams was quickly nodding his head in agreement.
A few minutes after that, Crean yelled something at Williams from afar during a timeout. Williams gave him a massive smile and a thumbs up.
Crean liked pushing Williams into an occasional point-guard role. Despite having the worst offensive efficiency rating of all IU rotation players, per kenpom.com, he had a greater percentage of possessions used than even point guard Yogi Ferrell.
Crean credited Williams for running the point with Ferrell on the bench during a crucial 9-2 stretch against Kentucky.
The truth is, I’ve never known what to make of Williams. He is a premiere talent and third team All-Big Ten. He has moments of absolute greatness and others that cause fans to pull their hair out.
Yes, IU is a better team with Williams back, especially with Ferrell gone. But this team has plenty of depth at both forward spots. If there is anyone who can improve his stock with combined performances, it would be the physically impressive Williams.
I don’t know how this will go for him. What I do know is that people will continue to debate about Troy Williams and nobody will be able to come to a consensus.
brodmill@indiana.edu
