Texas A&M Basketball: 5 best fits for Robert Williams in 2018 NBA Draft
By Jeff Shull
Texas A&M basketball All-SEC forward Robert Williams entered the 2018 NBA Draft and hired an agent; these are the teams he is makes the most sense for.
Robert Williams surprised a lot of people when he decided to come back for his sophomore season at Texas A&M. While the team was expected to bring every important player other than him back, most assumed he would see that A&M didn’t have a real shot at contending for a national title, and that he probably would have been a lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and leave for greener pastures.
That didn’t happen. In an attempt to improve his already high draft stock, Williams came back to hone some aspects of his game that were lacking. Unfortunately, none of that really happened either.
He didn’t improve his jump shot. His free throw percentage got worse. He was suspended for three games. For stretches of the season he looked like he didn’t care. Not a whole lot went better for the Aggie big man, not to make any mention of playing for a team that was ill-suited to take advantage of his strengths.
Most of those concerns were washed away with two completely dominating performances in the NCAA Tournament. March Madness proved to be a refresher course for why NBA teams drooled at the potential Williams has in the NBA.
He can be a terrific asset at the next level. Much like DeAndre Jordan, a fellow Aggie, the college game, and A&M in particular, didn’t do much for Williams. Jordan turned into an All Star and perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate because of his tenacity and athleticism. Williams brings that, plus a little post scoring to go along with it.
Williams has to be the biggest fan of Clint Capela. He is proving you don’t have to have a jumper to be a crucial part of an elite team. While Chris Paul and James Harden steer the chip, Capela is the defensive anchor, uses his athleticism to terrorize opponents with the pick n’ roll, and runs the floor about as well as any big man in the league. He’s also very capable at switching onto guards on defense.
The two-time SEC defensive player of the year has a very similar projection to Capela and Jordan at the next level, and there are plenty of teams looking for that in this year’s draft. These are the best fits for Williams, not taking into account their position in the 2018 NBA Draft.