Amari Williams grading out as one of the nation's top defensive players

Amari Williams received some criticism for his six-turnover performance on Tuesday night against Western Kentucky (although he finished that game strong), but his overall impact this season has been critical to Kentucky’s success.

Through six games played, Williams is playing like one of the best defensive players in all of college basketball. In fact, according to EvanMiya, the seven-foot center is currently the nation’s leader in defensive rating. Williams holds a Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating (DBPR) of 4.38, which “reflects the defensive value a player brings to his team when he is on the court.”

Williams actually controls a pretty decent lead in this category too. The next-closest player is Auburn center Johni Broome, who has a 4.03 DBPR. The gap between Williams and Broome is the same between Broome and the seventh-highest-ranked defender. Kentucky guard Lamont Butler is among the nation’s top defenders as well, checking in at 30th with a DBPR of 3.0.

Here are the leaders in defensive rating at https://t.co/cegyfz96ax based on Defensive BPR:

1. Amari Williams
2. Johni Broome
3. Kobe Johnson
4. Joseph Tugler
5. Dillon Mitchell
6. Cooper Flagg
7. Cameron Matthews
8. Eric Dailey
9. Hunter Dickinson
10. Felix Okpara

— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) November 27, 2024

It shouldn’t be much of a shock to see Williams grading out so highly. Built like a tank at 7-foot, 260 pounds, the Drexel transfer is the only player in Colonial Athletic Association history to win Defensive Player of the Year in the league three straight times. Defense is his calling card and that’s what he was brought to Kentucky to excel at.

So far, so good.

Although his steals numbers are down compared to his first four college seasons, his block numbers have held firm. Williams is averaging two blocks in just 19.3 minutes (the lowest amount of playing time since his freshman season) per contest for the Wildcats. But he also closes out defensive possessions better than nearly anyone else in the country. EvanMiya gives Williams a predicted rebounding percentage of 41.9, tops in the nation.

In particular, the native of England is inhaling every loose defensive rebound. Williams is averaging 10.7 total rebounds per game with 8.2 of them coming on the defensive glass. His defensive rebounding rate of 36.6 ranks fourth in the country.

So yes, while the offense from Williams hasn’t always been perfect, he’s been a massive part of Kentucky’s overall team defense being better than expected. KenPom ranks UK 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency so far this season. The likes of Butler and Otega Oweh have helped in that department, but Williams is the engine on that end of the floor.