University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Williams Working His Way Back
June 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Kenny Williams doesn't want the glow of a national championship to allow Carolina to fall behind.
The rising junior knows the Tar Heels had an incredible March and April. But he also knows other teams didn't just sit on the couch watching Carolina's run to the national title. That's why he got back into his offseason workout routine with only a minimum of days off following the Tar Heels' return from Phoenix.
"Other teams have been working out and have been back in the gym for weeks," Williams said. "We were playing, but we weren't on that offseason grind like they were. We can't fall too far behind as a team. There is nothing like the Final Four, and we want to go back. But you know it's going to be twice as hard now, because we'll have the bullseye on our backs and know we will get everybody's best shot."
The rising junior class of Williams and Luke Maye, of course, has been to the Final Four in both of their Tar Heel seasons. They roomed together on the road throughout the 2017 postseason run, so Williams got an up-close look at some of the hysteria generated by Maye's clutch game-winner against Kentucky.
Not coincidentally, that was around the same time Williams made peace with having to watch the NCAA Tournament from the bench. After suffering a knee injury that ended his sophomore campaign, Williams had some frustrating moments as he was unable to help his team on the court. Eventually, however, he made a decision.
"I had some rough moments before the Sweet 16," he said. "I had some moments where I had to be by myself, or I got a little emotional. That Sweet 16 open practice, that was the last time I had any emotions about the injury. I told myself I had to enjoy what we were doing because we had a chance to go to the Final Four. I wanted to make sure I didn't create any kind of cloud over the team, and I wasn't going to worry about myself individually when our team had the chance to do something great."
Buoyed by the support of a group that included his parents, Justin Jackson, Maye and Hubert Davis—the prime members of his support system as he worked through the injury—Williams was able to enjoy Carolina's run to the 2017 national title. Now he's committed to trying to be an even bigger part of more achievements during his final two years in Chapel Hill.
His first task: get completely healthy.
"We've taken it slow in May and June," Williams said. "Once we get to July, hopefully, I can get to the point that I have no restrictions and I will be able to play. I want to get to the point that I'm not limited and I don't have any hesitations."
Last year, Williams' offseason work was encouraged by one key three-pointer he hit against Pitt in the ACC Tournament, a shot that reminded him after a sometimes frustrating freshman season that he was a viable ACC contributor.
This summer, he has a much broader pool of success. He started 22 games as a sophomore, and had started 18 in a row when he was injured. He was a five-time winner of the defensive player of the game award from the coaches, scored in double figures in three ACC games, and was a key part of a clutch league road win at Clemson.
When Williams met with head coach Roy Williams after the season, the head coach gave him two assignments. "Coach doesn't give us anything unobtainable to work on," Kenny Williams said. "He makes it realistic. And so he said I need to be more aggressive on the offensive end, and I need to do a better job of seeing man and ball on defense. I won't say those are easy things to do, but they're things I'm capable of doing. That's what I'm going to work on every day this summer. I'm the type of guy that if Coach tells me to do something, I do it with no hesitation."
