Even as the Kentucky Wildcats were preparing to face Tennessee in the Sweet 16 this past March, head coach Mark Pope and his coaching staff were already pinging the portal. Their pinging culminated with an early ding-ding as Kentucky landed a commit from former Tulane shooting guard Kam Williams.
A 6-foot-8, 190-pound guard/forward from Lafayette, Louisiana, Williams only played one season at Tulane, the first of his collegiate career. Williams averaged 9.3 points per game, but his real strength lies in his shooting abilities. In 24 games, with 22 starts, Williams shot 48.5 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range.
Williams is a shooter, and he should fit right into Mark Pope’s offensive scheme. We saw how good Jaxson Robinson and Koby Brea looked this past season in Pope’s system, two very good shooters that fit into Pope wanting the Wildcats to shoot 35 three-pointers a game. The Wildcats are hoping Williams can be that same kind of player, with Robinson and Brea both moving on to the professional basketball ranks.
“I really thought it was a great freelance system that (the Wildcats) have,” Williams said. “They basically let their guys play. They might put them in sets, but they force the players to become great decision-makers. I feel like I’m a pretty good decision-maker. Stuff like that can translate to my game, and also knowing that the background that they have and the background that Kentucky has, my goal is to get to the league (NBA).”
Those are big dreams Williams has, which is why he’s making the leap from the American Athletic Conference to the SEC. That’s a significant jump, especially after the talent in the American has dropped significantly since Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida all joined the Big 12 in July of 2023.
But Pope’s Wildcats have already proven they can take shooters mid-major schools and make them elite at Kentucky and the SEC. Look at Koby Brea last season, coming from Dayton where he was the top three-point shooter in the country. The Atlantic 10 is a really good conference, but it’s not what the SEC was last year. Brea shot 43.5 percent from three-point range at Kentucky last season, including making seven three-pointers against eventual National Champion Florida in Kentucky’s SEC opener back in January.
It wasn’t just Brea, though. Look at Ansley Almonor, who came to Kentucky from Fairleigh Dickinson and the Northeast Conference. All Almonor did was shoot 42.4 percent from three-point range last season, ranking second on the Wildcats behind only Brea.
In addition, Lamont Butler came to Kentucky from San Diego State and the Mountain West Conference. Again, a good conference but not nearly what the SEC was last year. Butler shot 39.1 percent from three-point range at Kentucky this past season and nearly 50 percent from the field.
The Wildcats set a single-season program-record for three-pointers made with 341 and three-point attempts with 910. Shooters keep shooting, and that’s a major component of Pope’s offensive scheme. Pope’s scheme has also proven to be good at acquiring players from mid-major schools and seamlessly transitioning them to playing at Kentucky and in the SEC.
“Kam is a beautiful kid who is not only an elite-level shooter but also an elite 1-through-4 defender,” Pope said. “He has a ton of gravity to his game and has untapped athleticism that is going to make his ceiling really high.”
According to the 247Sports composite, Williams was a three-star recruit and the No. 178 overall recruit coming out of high school.
“I really like this pickup for Kentucky — getting a late-blooming forward with all the tools and high upside,” 247Sports national basketball analyst Travis Branham said. “He is continuing to gain more and more confidence and has the ability to defend multiple positions, and he’s continuing to grow as a shooter. He’ll fit in well with Kentucky’s offensive scheme and provide size and length on the defensive end.”
Pope has proven to be really good at taking mid-major players that are really good shooters and acclimating them into playing for Kentucky. Given what Brea, Almonor and Butler did for Kentucky this past season, expectations are high for Williams going into next season.
