Mark Pope calls Amari Williams a 'one of one' center in the country: 'I'm asking him to do an impossible job right now.'

Amari Williams celebrated his 23rd birthday by playing arguably his best game of the entire season.

Without any true point guards on the roster going into Kentucky’s matchup with No. 8 Tennessee, the seven-foot Williams had to do his best Lamont Butler impression. Jaxson Robinson did an excellent job filling in as the quasi-point guard for the Wildcats, but Williams was the real deal floor general for head coach Mark Pope.

“Amari Williams is like a one-of-one,” Pope said after Kentucky’s 78-73 upset road win Tuesday of the Volunteers. “I’m asking him to do an impossible job right now. Come into this gym, sold out. What are they ranked? Five? Something, I don’t know. Top 10 team. The number one defense in the country. No point guard to be found on our roster. And I’m like Amari it’s up to you… Amari brought the ball up against the press probably more than anyone else on our team.”

Williams seemingly did face an impossible task. Take into account the fact that starting forward Andrew Carr only played two minutes due to his back injury and Williams’ big night looks even better. The Drexel transfer finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists in 24 minutes for his fifth double-double of the season. He saw just 10 minutes of action in the first half after picking up two fouls. But he responded by scoring all 10 of his points after the intermission. He finished the game with only those two fouls.

If Williams wasn’t initiating the offense at the top of the key, he was bringing the ball up against Tennessee’s top-ranked defense. His +20 mark in the plus/minus stat was easily the best of any Wildcat player. After turning the ball over three times in the first half, he had zero the rest of the way.

“There is no other center that’s a 15-rebound guy in this game that you can trust in this country to handle the ball against the full-court press every single possession,” Pope said.

“I feel like this was the perfect game for me to take that role and bring the ball up the court,” Williams said. “Every night is a different game. Just trying to adapt to it. I feel like I adapted well tonight. My teammates helped me adapt to it.”

Is Williams a frustrating player at times? Yes. Is he still one of the most valuable and unique players in the country? 100 percent, absolutely. He continues to prove it when Kentucky needs him to do so.

There is plenty of give and take with his game as a playmaking big man who can’t shoot from outside the arc. But Kentucky doesn’t win without his 13 defense rebounds against a Top 10 offensive rebounding group in Tennessee. They don’t win without his willingness to attack the rim and get to the line. There wasn’t a player on Kentucky’s roster Tuesday night who was more impactful than the native of England.

“I’ve had a lot of games on my birthday throughout my college career,” Williams said. “This is definitely the best one.”

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