Louisville basketball player spotlight: Samuell Williamson

Player Spotlight: Samuell Williamson

Class: Freshman

Position: Guard/Forward

Height: 6’7

Weight: 200

Hometown: Rockwall, TX

We obviously won’t know until the season gets going which of the talented freshmen will have the biggest impact on the team this year, but Samuell Williamson is certainly a strong candidate to be that guy. The 6’7 wing was a McDonald’s All-American and had 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in that game. He also played in the Jordan Brand Classic and had eight points and six rebounds. As a senior last year at Rockwall High School (Class 6A), Williamson averaged 25 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.

So where does he fit in with this Louisville team? I believe he is going to have a big impact this season. At 6’7, he’s going to be a matchup problem. He can knock down the three and the midrange shot. He can score in the post if there is a smaller guard on him. This may go overlooked, but the coach in me can already see his shot has very good arc on it, which is imperative for the best shooters.

He certainly can put the ball on the floor, but I don’t know that he will have to do that much this season with who he has around him. He is very good at spotting up and knocking down shots that are created for him. So what I see is Fresh Kimble getting him the ball for his shots. I see Jordan Nwora getting so much attention that teams lose Williamson on the floor. And I also see teams having to double down on Steven Enoch and Williamson spotting up for the open jumper (now if Enoch would just kick it out to that open shooter…). He has already put on 20 pounds since he committed, and that will certainly help him on the defensive end if he has to guard bigger forwards in the post.

As far as the rotation goes, I am certainly not in Chris Mack’s head, so I am not sure how he plans to use him. Jordan Nwora and Dwayne Sutton both played over 30 minutes per game last season, but a lot of that was out of necessity. They should be able to get more breaks with the kind of depth that the Cards will have now. Another option is going with a really big lineup and having those two guys in the game with Williamson. Like I said before, basketball these days is pretty much a point guard, a center, and wings, not necessarily set positions like shooting guard, small forward, power forward. Nwora and Williamson can both put the ball on the floor, so as long as the court is spaced, they could be out there together if need be.

I really like what I have seen of his game so far and I think it will translate to significant minutes during his freshman season. We will find out very soon!