7-footer Amari Williams acts as a 'second point guard' for Kentucky

Mark Pope has a pair of capable and experienced lead guards on his Kentucky roster in veterans Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa, but the seven-footer down low might just be a better playmaker than both. And I don’t mean that as a slight at Butler or Kriisa — Amari Williams just keeps receiving more and more praise for his passing skills, to the point where one of his teammates believes that he’s basically a point guard in the body of a 7-foot, 260-pound big man.

“Amari can pass the rock,” Jaxson Robinson said this week at SEC Media Days. “There’s a lot of passes that I don’t think a lot of guards can make that he makes. He’s almost like our point guard, our second point guard. It’s been amazing just to see his progress throughout the summer and leading up to this year.”

If that sounds familiar it’s because it should. We’ve been hearing similar lines all offseason long from Pope and the rest of Williams’ teammates. Pope likes to build a chunk of his offense around a passing center who operates from the top of the key, serving as the hub with the other four players on the floor operating around his gravity as a passer.

That ability makes life easier for everyone around him. Whether you’re a shooter or non-shooter, Williams can get his teammates easy buckets.

“He’s a outstanding passer,” Butler said of Williams at SEC Media Days. “He allows us to cut hard and we know he’s gonna find us.”

“It gives everybody confidence,” Robinson added. “Just to know that your big man is so unselfish and is looking to pass the rock and not only the big man but the rest of your teammates. It’s just an unselfish offense. That’s how Coach Pope does it. Just gives everybody confidence.”

Robinson hasn’t played with Williams before this season, but he’s not unfamiliar with Pope’s philosophy of playmaking centers. At BYU last season, Pope ran an offense that utilized 6-foot-10 Aly Khalifa, now at Louisville, as the hub up top. Khalifa averaged 4.0 assists per game in 2023-24 with Robinson benefitting plenty via open shots. Robinson, who many expect to lead Kentucky in scoring this season after winning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24, should be able to quickly establish the same chemistry with Williams that he had with Khalifa.

You can’t go this far talking about him without mentioning Williams’ defense though. After all, he was the first-ever three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner in the CAA, which he accomplished the previous three seasons at Drexel. Robinson believes that Williams is still improving on that end.

“Amari’s presence down low — I know you guys know he was Defensive Player of the Year in his conference. But I think he’s taken huge strides in that area,” Robinson said. “And then also offensive and defensive rebounding. Those are two areas we’re gonna need them a lot in, especially in a big physical league like the SEC. I love what I’ve seen so far.”

Sophomore center Brandon Garrison, a talented and versatile defender in his own right, told us at Kentucky’s Media Day last week that he can step out to the perimeter and defend all five positions, something that is being encouraged by associate head coach Alvin Brooks. Butler added at SEC Media Days that Williams has the ability to guard one through five, too.

Kentucky might not have the nation’s top defense this season as a team, but there will certainly be plenty of capable defenders at multiple positions.

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