Pulling Away From the Field
Derrick Williams was a man amongst boys playing in this tournament. Straight up. The sophomore forward for the Arizona Wildcats was already a top prospect in the NBA draft but with Kyrie Irving recovering from a toe injury and with Jared Sullinger announcing his return to Ohio State, Williams proved to be, as of now, the consensus number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft. It seemed like he was playing so well in the regular season that all he could go was down in stock. He may have been playing for the Arizona Wildcats, the Pac-10 regular season champions,
but the team certainly had some questions going into the tournament. The biggest of questions was their guard play. Lamont ‘Mo Mo’ Jones proved to be a solid point guard, but his weaknesses were exposed against Isaiah Thomas and the Washington Huskies in the Pac-10 championship game, and that was his ability to go up against a smarter, quicker guard.
but the team certainly had some questions going into the tournament. The biggest of questions was their guard play. Lamont ‘Mo Mo’ Jones proved to be a solid point guard, but his weaknesses were exposed against Isaiah Thomas and the Washington Huskies in the Pac-10 championship game, and that was his ability to go up against a smarter, quicker guard.
2nd Round vs. Memphis
In the second round game against Memphis, a team that was recently playing its best basketball of the season and consisted of very talented and athletic young players, Williams had a game saving block with 3 seconds left in the game, conserving a 77-75 win. This marked the second time this season that Williams had a game saving block with just seconds left in the game.
3rd Round vs. Texas
Against Texas in the next round, the Wildcats squeaked out a 70-69 victory. Remember that the Longhorns midway through the season were the number 1 team in the country. You look at the box score and Williams didn’t have a great game: 17 points, on four of fourteen shooting. But not only did he get to the line fifteen times, making nine of them, but most importantly he had the game winning three point play, fouled on a layup where it didn’t even look like he could see the basket but rather was more focused on making sure he did not fall on his feet. Williams hit the layup to tie and the subsequent free throw that turned out to be the game winner.
Sweet 16 vs. Duke
In one of the most surprising games in the tournament, certainly in the West region, Arizona blew out the region favorite Duke. In a 93-77 drubbing of the Blue Devils, Williams had 32 points; shooting 11-17 from field goals, including 5-6 from three; and 13 rebounds. He also had an number of insane dunks where it looked like he defied gravity. One of those dunks can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tfzTfXyzQo&feature=related
Elite 8 vs. UConn
Arizona’s tournament ended in the Elite Eight against UConn, but not without a 20 point effort from Williams while going to the line 12 times. It’s safe to say that Derrick Williams had one of the best performances in this years tournament though.
Solidifying the Top Spot
Williams proved this season that he is a rare talent, a point forward who can drain the three in addition to having an uncanny ability to get to the paint off the dribble and finish down low. These points were nailed home during this tournament and barring some unforeseen collapse during pre-draft workouts, Williams should be the number one overall pick in the draft (at the very least top 2, depending on which team gets the first pick).
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