KJ Williams taking career-best day against Wake Forest to heart

LSU played on a big stage on Saturday and KJ Williams made the most of it. The transfer big man for the Tigers had one of the best games of his career against Wake Forest in what became a 72-70 win for his team.

Williams said the heightened moment motivated him to play well against the Demon Deacons during his media availability on Monday. He said playing in State Farm Arena on ESPNU was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up and that his teammates deserve credit for getting him the ball during the victory.

“Saturday was a great opportunity for me and the team playing in an NBA arena in front of fans and on national TV. I take moments like that to the heart knowing I could never get that opportunity again,” said Williams. “I had to take that game very seriously for me and my teammates.”

“As far as my performance, credit to my teammates for getting me open,” Williams said. “Then I just felt the hot hand from the beginning of the game so why not just keep doing that?”

Williams came up four points shy of his career-best with a double-double of 35 points and 10 rebounds. He absolutely took over in LSU’s comeback win over the weekend. He scored nearly half his team’s points on 66.7% shooting overall from the field. That included 7/9 (77.8%) shooting overall from distance. That performance, his second 30-plus point effort of the year, earned Williams the SEC Player of the Week award.

The fifth-year senior out of Cleveland, Mississippi is a massive piece of the way Matt McMahon’s team is constructed. He is one of McMahon’s carryovers from Murray State and now is making the most of it at LSU. After leading the Tigers to this big win, though, Williams will look to keep it rolling over this next three-game stretch to wrap up their non-conference slate before they get into SEC play.