Matt McMahon raves about impact Justice Williams can have in conference play

Sophomore guard Justice Williams is one of the very few holdovers from the previous regime for LSU hoops. After Will Wade left, most of the players did too, while new Tigers coach Matt McMahon brought along a number of his Murray State guys and filled most of the roster out with other transfers. That left Williams and Mwani Wilkinson as the only guys on this year’s LSU team who had actually played last season.

However, the transition to McMahon and a completely new team has been a struggle for Williams. He’s shooting the ball dreadfully from three and averages less than four points in his 14 minutes per night. But Coach McMahon sees some clear improvement of late, as Williams has recovered from an ankle injury that held him back earlier in the year.

“I’m really excited about him,” McMahon shared on Williams at his presser this week. “You know, missed a long stretch of the season and had a pretty severe high ankle sprain in that game against New Orleans. I think it was around four weeks he missed, so that set him back a little bit.”

The Tigers coach went on to tout his promising attributes.

“But I think…great size for the point guard position, length, athleticism, great basketball instincts. Six rebounds the other night. really important for us. He’s a guy who has good vision on the offensive end, very willing and unselfish passer.”

As mentioned, Williams started the year quite cold from the three-point line and didn’t make a three until January. But, since start of the month, Williams has knocked down three of seven to gain a little momentum from deep. Could be a sign of things to come, per McMahon.

“I think his three-point shooting numbers are skewed. You go through a season, you’re 0-1, you’re 1-3, you’re 0-1 and pretty soon you’re you’re a 20% shooter off limited opportunities. But I believe he’s hit a three in each of our last two games and playing with great confidence. And, you know, I always remember…this is supposed to be his freshman year. And so, I think you’ll just see him continue to get better and better.”