One moment perhaps sums up TJ Williams’ play as of late.
A referee stopped to have a chat with Wichita State men’s basketball coach Paul Mills last Saturday against Temple after the redshirt freshman continued climbing for rebounds.
Number four is crashing the boards too hard.
Mills laughed. “No such thing,” he said after the game.
“And I appreciate that,” Mills continued. “They told him (Williams) kind of to calm down, and it was like, ‘You better not, bro. You better stay turned up the whole time.’ I think that was a huge compliment.”
Back on the film, you could see the tenacity in the Wichita Heights High alum’s eyes. Mills said he shows the team whether they’re squinting when they box out, based on close-ups when they get them.
The Shockers just so happened to get close-ups, and Williams’ eyes were far from shut.
“It’s an indicator that you don’t really want to be involved in this fight versus the guys whose eyes actually get bigger. You can see his eyes get bigger,” Mills said Tuesday during his media availability.
More eyes will need to be big at 8 p.m. Thursday when Wichita State (18-10, 10-5 American) tips off against Memphis (12-15, 7-7) at FedExForum. Though the Tigers have struggled with inconsistency all season, they only snagged four fewer rebounds when the Shockers won 74-59 on Jan. 24.
That’s why Williams’ play as of late is crucial.
“It’s the old Al McGuire quote: The best thing about freshmen is they turn into sophomores,” Mills said. “But you’re watching a player this late in the year, he looks like he’s on sophomore level rather than his freshman level.”
Apprehension showed up in the box score for a nine-game stretch following a concussion Williams suffered against Rice earlier this season, where he averaged a meager 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds a game after averaging 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in the 15 games prior. He also lost his starting role.
Williams admitted to feeling timid himself after sustaining it, but has gotten over the worries.
“Coming back, you don’t really want to go in there and hit or get hit because of your head,” he said. “So, you’re kind of just a little timid about that and getting over it, obviously. Now, I’m just back 100%. I feel like I can just go in there and take a blow.”
His return to form was undeniable in Wichita State’s last two outings.
Instead of taking blows, Williams threw a career-high 27 against East Carolina last Wednesday at Minges Coliseum and tacked on eight rebounds. When the Shockers scrapped in double-overtime, it was Williams who delivered the go-ahead dagger in a 92-89 win.
He followed it up with a 12-point, five-rebound performance against Philadelphia’s Owls on Saturday. It’d be hard to have back-to-back career nights off the bench, but Mills said he thought Wichita State doesn’t win either ball game without Williams.
“More so his aggressiveness,” Mills said. “We usually get on him pretty hard about getting ‘suburban rebounds’ rather than ‘city rebounds.’ We call a ‘city rebound’ anything that you can snatch at the rim with two hands, and he’s getting ‘city rebounds.’”
Williams’ refresh, especially on the glass, could be pivotal against Memphis.
Despite their record, the Tigers average 13.1 offensive rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the conference. And given that they shoot the ball 60.9 times per game, controlling the boards will likely be a margin that decides the outcome.
Memphis also has a player in senior guard Sincere Parker, who didn’t play in the Jan. 24 game due to an ankle injury, that the Shockers will need to contain. Parker has scored 20 or more points in three of his last six outings — including a 40-bomb against UAB earlier this month. He shoots 42% from the floor.
“Sometimes when that match gets lit, it’s really, really difficult (to put out),” Mills said. “Just because of the way that we construct our defense. I mean, we threw everything but the kitchen sink at Jordan Riley (against ECU) last week and did a number of things.”
If Williams and the Shockers can continue to grab “city rebounds” and limit Parker, they could find themselves with a fourth-straight win and first-ever season sweep over Memphis.
Game information
What: Wichita State (18-10, 10-5) at Memphis (12-15, 7-7)
When: Thursday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. CST
Where: FedExForum (18,400), Memphis, Tenn.
How to watch: ESPN2, John Schriffen (pbp) & Chris Spatola (analyst)
How to listen: KEYN (103.7 FM), Mike Kennedy (pbp) & Bob Hull (analyst)
Probable starters
WSU
- Karon Boyd, forward (10.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg)
- Kenyon Giles, guard (19.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.7 apg)
- Dillon Battie, forward (5.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.7 apg)
- Mike Gray Jr., guard (8.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg)
- Emmanuel Okorafor, center (6.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.5 apg)
Memphis
- Dug McDaniel, guard (12.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.6 apg)
- Julius Thedford, guard (8.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.8 apg)
- Curtis Givens III, guard (9.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.4 apg)
- Aaron Bradshaw, forward (9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.6 apg)
- Thierno Sylla, center (2.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.4 apg)
*Probable starters information comes from the most recent lineup in the teams’ notes provided before the game.
American Conference standings
- South Florida: 11-3 (19-8)
- Tulsa: 10-5 (22-6)
- Wichita State: 10-5 (18-10)
- UAB: 9-6 (18-10)
- Tulane: 8-6 (17-10)
- Charlotte: 8-6 (14-13)
- Temple: 7-7 (15-12)
- Memphis: 7-7 (12-15)
- North Texas: 7-8 (16-12)
- Florida Atlantic: 7-8 (15-13)
- Rice: 5-9 (11-16)
- East Carolina: 4-10 (9-18)
- UTSA: 1-14 (5-22)
