words_Brandon Richard
The 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats have been on quite a roll lately, and a lot of that can be attributed to the brilliance of sophomore standout Derrick Williams. Arizona’s leading scorer has seen improvements in every statistical category, which proved to be vital in last week’s games. Williams averaged 26 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games, helping lead the Wildcats to big wins over Washington and Washington State. With those performances, Williams is the recipient of Eastbay’s NCAA Player of the Week honors.
Williams’ standout performance came against Washington, who had beaten Arizona in a game back in January. Playing 35 minutes, Williams racked up 26 and 11 rebounds on the night, including carrying the team with 10 points in the final six minutes of the game. As great as he played offensively, it was a defensive play by Williams that had everybody talking. With a one-point lead and just a second left to play, Williams blocked a potential game-winner by Washington’s Darnell Gant to seal the deal.
Arizona is still a team that is rough around the edges, but because of Williams, they’re going to be a threat in March. What are the Cats’ tournament chances?
Williams helps with a little trap defense wearing the royal blue Nike Air Foamposite One.
image via ESPN
