Was Jaylin Williams the missing piece for Arkansas last season? The former Razorback and current Oklahoma City Thunder forward believes just his impact alone would have helped last year’s Sweet 16 team to a national championship.
“Not gonna lie,” Williams said. “If I had gone back to Arkansas last year, we win the natty.”
It’s hard to ever know exactly what happens in such a hypothetical situation. Arkansas struggled with injuries last season with Trevon Brazile and Nick Smith, Jr. missing an extensive amount of the season due to injuries.
As for Williams, his draft stock soared sky high from the beginning of SEC play through the remainder of the season in 2021-22. The Fort Smith, Ark., native averaged just over three points and five rebounds per game as a true freshman. He took off in the second half of his sophomore season averaging a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. His ascension as one of college basketball’s best players happened sort of overnight. Williams had never recorded a double-double during his college career until Jan. 8, 2023 on the road against Texas A&M. He would record 16 of those type of performances following that game against the Aggies.
It is fair to wonder if Williams would’ve actually made a difference on last year’s squad. He did make quite the impact in the post with dominant rebounding, protecting the rim and his infamous charge taking in his final collegiate season with the Razorbacks.
His current teammate and former Kentucky Wildcat, Cason Wallace, was also involved on the live Instagram feed hosted by Williams. He was impressed by the optimism and laughed off the comment made by his old SEC foe.
“I like that about you,” Wallace said. “Your imagination is insanity.”
It’s always fun to look back at what could’ve been though. However, Williams took the momentum he gained from his second season under Musselman to be one of the top rookies — known for the volume of charges he takes. As a rookie, Williams averaged six points and five rebounds at 19 minutes per game. He took 43 charges last season, leading the league in that category by ten.
The Razorbacks will see what they’re made of this Saturday when Purdue comes to town for one of the biggest exhibition matchups in Bud Walton Arena history. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be on ESPN+.
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