by LARRY VAUGHT
Sophomore Kam Williams seemed to be getting more and more comfortable in coach Mark Pope’s offense but now he could be out for the year after needing surgery to repair a bone fracture in his foot.
Williams’ father, Greg, believes there were still more things his son had in his game to show UK fans.
“There are things that you haven’t seen that he can do but there’s a dynamic on any team,” Greg Williams said. “When he came to Kentucky, there’s no doubt that this was Otega Oweh’s team. You have to defer to that guy. But then you also have other people who were the guy on their teams.
“Jaland Lowe, he was a leader at Pitt. Denzel Aberdeen, although he was a reserve at Florida, is a very good player. You have to kind of fit in to have everything flow.”
Greg Williams credits Oweh, UK’s leading scorer, and Aberdeen for telling Williams he needed to do more.
“I think Kam got comfortable like that. They are doing the same thing for Jasper (Johnson), Malachi (Moreno) and even (Andrija) Jelavic,” Greg Williams said. “They are saying, ‘If you feel it flow, then do. Just don’t do anything crazy.’”
Greg Williams said Pope “basically wants every player to do what he was brought in to do without fear” and cherish the playing time he gets.
“Jelavic is a 6-foot-11 stretch guy. He can shoot the 3. The last few games he’s not afraid to pull the 3,” Greg Williams said. “He’s out there defending. Jelavic has finally seen Mark Pope’s vision for him and is embracing it.
“What you were seeing from Kam was coach Pope telling him to do what he can do from 3 or backing the guy down. That’s what Pope wants him to do.”
Greg Williams understands the struggles freshman Jasper Johnson has had understanding his role.
“He was brought here to shoot the 3, defend, make a great pass. He is a scoring two guard that’s being asked to be a distributing point guard. That’s tough but Jasper is doing what they are asking of him and doing all he can to help the team.”
