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A member of the heralded 2020 class, Jaylin Williams emerged as a key contributor down the stretch as a freshman and took his game to another level as a sophomore this past season.
The Fort Smith Northside product started the final three games of Arkansas’ run to the Elite Eight in 2021, helping it end a 25-year drought of not reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and had heightened expectations heading into his sophomore campaign.
Fans anticipated Williams taking a major step forward as he looked to lead the Razorbacks’ front court and have more responsibility as a leader and on the court.
Like most players this past year, Williams’ season could be separated into two different sections: one encompassing the first 14 games and the second taking into account the final 23. For all intents and purposes, Williams was a completely different player over the two stretches.
The 6-foot-10 big man wasn’t bad through the first 14 games of the year, but the difference was night and day when head coach Eric Musselman altered the lineup and changed his role on both ends of the floor.
Williams started the year as an interior 5 man who would step out onto the perimeter to help run the offense and set ball screens, but not too much more than that on the offensive end. His primary role was as a passing big and consistent rebounder who could score with garbage buckets. He filled that role well, averaging 6.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in 28.6 minutes through non-conference play and the first two SEC games.
It has been widely documented that the turning point of the season — and, as a result, some players’ production — came when Musselman changed the starting lineup and rotation. While Williams was initially used as a stonewall defensively to draw charges, grab rebounds and occasionally score off put-backs and filling for a rotating defender, the turning point for his season started in the first Texas A&M matchup, but really showed in the road victory at LSU.
