Former Duke basketball center Mark Williams Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Duke Basketball Product Mark Williams Surging After Extended Absence

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Dec 14, 2024 11:23 AM ET

Around this time last year, Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams began his recovery from a back injury and did not play the rest of the season. And in the preseason leading up the 2020-22 Duke basketball player's third pro campaign, he suffered a left foot strain that sidelined him until December.

Now, four contests into his return, Williams has exhibited some promising signs for the Hornets (7-18).

His production has increased from one game to the next. And on Friday night, albeit in a 109-95 road loss to the Chicago Bulls (11-15), the 22-year-old 7-footer from Virginia came up only one rebound shy of what would have been his first double-double since Nov. 30, 2023.

4th one of the night @MarkWi1liams | @drpepper | @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/bvkcjNctFf
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) December 14, 2024

Williams, who came off the board No. 15 overall to the Hornets after helping to fuel the 2021-22 Blue Devils' run to the Final Four, finished with 15 points, nine boards, two assists, and one block in only 17 minutes on the floor. He shot 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.

He's now averaging 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, shooting 68.2 percent from the field.

As for the Hornets' other Duke basketball talent, veteran guard Seth Curry went scoreless across his five minutes of action against the Bulls.

The 34-year-old sharpshooter, in his second season with his hometown franchise, has played in all but one of the Hornets' games. However, Curry is averaging only 4.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in his 12.0 minutes per outing primarily off the bench.

This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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