The first transfer commit of the Mark Pope era at Kentucky has been made official. Kentucky announced the addition of Drexel big man Amari Williams on Tuesday.
Williams committed following his official visit to Lexington over the weekend.
“At times, Amari Williams looks like a man among boys on the court,” Pope said in the announcement. “He is a three-time conference defensive player of the year, which is incredibly hard to do. He is bringing a big presence to the game and is going to serve as a rim-protector and rebounder. Amari is a gifted defensive player who can switch onto any position, one through five, which will add security to how everybody else feels on the court."
Williams is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center who averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season. He finished with 10 double-digit rebounding games and eight double-doubles.
Williams is best known for his defensive ability and shot blocking. He led the CAA in blocks last year for the third straight season and has averaged 1.8 blocks per game over the course of the last three years. He had a block rate of 8.3 percent this past season and 8.7 percent for his career.
“Offensively, he is dangerous at the rim and he’s one of the special passers in college basketball," Pope added. "Amari can make all of the reads, all of the passes, all of the plays and he fits into exactly what we want to do on either end of the court.”
Williams now could come in handy off the court as a recruiter. And, that could start immediately. The Wildcats are set to host Great Osobor next weekend for a visit, a former high school teammate of Williams.
Williams has one year of eligibility remaining.