Mark Pope labels Amari Williams as 'a man among men'

Mark Pope had nothing but praise Kentucky Wildcats big-man Amari Williams following his performance in their win over the Texas A&M Aggies on Tuesday evening.

Williams played 23 minutes, and in that time he amassed eight points, 12 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Nine of those 12 rebounds came on the defensive side of the court, helping quell one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation from getting to their bread and butter against Kentucky.

It’s easy to see how Williams’ contributions led to a 12-point win for the Wildcats, and Pope recognized it throughout the night. Afterwards, he made sure to point out how impressed he was with the forward, and why the sky is the limit for him while playing inside the SEC.

“He looked like a man-child on the glass, didn’t he? My goodness. He was a man on the glass. I was really proud of him tonight,” Pope said, regarding Williams’ performance against Texas A&M. “You know it’s interesting, Amari’s played at a much different level of basketball for the last three years. I think what’s fun right now is that he’s been given permission by the whistle to actually use his physicality, which he couldn’t use at Drexel. I mean, it was a much different deal, right? It was kind of like, ‘I’m playing against smaller guys. If I touch somebody, they’re going to fall over, I’m going to get a whistle.’ So, this adjustment for him now is like, ‘Wait, I can run dudes over and it’s okay?’ Like, it’s fun. I think he’s having a great time, man.

“He’s fighting for his team. We talked about this after the last game, but he loves this game. He’s got a ginormous heart. I thought he was brilliant. I thought he was so good. He was just a commanding presence on the glass. He was just a man among men. That was a bunch of men on the court today. It was super cool.”

All told, Pope’s first season as the leader in Lexington couldn’t be going much better, and the decision to bring Williams with him from Drexel is working out perfect. Kentucky is 14-3 on the season after this win against Texas A&M, as they took down a team that had a ton of momentum heading into the game. They’re now 3-1 inside the SEC, as well.

Looking ahead, Kentucky and Mark Pope have an all-important showdown with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday at Noon ET. Amari Williams will be looking to keep performing for Mark Pope, and keep the good times rolling for his team.