Paolo Banchero addresses Jaylin Williams ability to draw charges
Paolo Banchero knows he has to stay aware of where Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams is at all times. The 6-foot-10 Williams has shown a knack for drawing charges this season, and enters Saturday’s Elite Eight contest against Banchero and Duke with 52.
Williams was a big factor for the Razorbacks in their upset victory of No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday, finishing that game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He has recorded a double-double in all three of Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament games thus far, averaging 12.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.
Paolo Banchero and the Blue Devils now face the task of slowing Jaylin Williams down if they hope to reach the Final Four, and they know it won’t be easy.
“He is a key player for them,” Banchero said in a recent press conference. “Definitely seems like he kind of keeps them together. He is able to pass, shoot, really do everything at the five spot for them. He is a great player, and then, like you said, the charges, that’s not something that you see a lot, a big man taking that many charges. It’s really unique. So you have to be aware of him at all times, just where he is at on the floor.”
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The Razorbacks will also want to do their part to stop Banchero, who enters the game as a projected top-five NBA Draft pick. The freshman phenom is averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season, and has no shortage of talent surrounding him. AJ Griffin, Wendell Moore and Mark Williams are all also projected first round picks for Duke, so Arkansas will have its hands full.
However, the Razorbacks should be used to the underdog role by now. Many experts predicted them to lose in the first round to Vermont and even more thought they would fall against Gonzaga, yet they found ways to win both of those contests. Now in the Elite Eight for the second straight season, they’ll have to get through another blue blood to reach their first Final Four since 1995.
The Elite Eight matchup between Arkansas and Duke tips off at 8:49 p.m. ET on TBS.