Tennessee basketball: ESPN ranks Grant Williams as Vols most exciting player to watch

ESPN must not watch a lot of college basketball. Grant Williams has a style of play that isn’t flashy or exciting. However, it gets the job done.

ESPN recently published an article listing their most exciting players on each way-too-early top 25 teams. Too much of our surprise, Grant Williams gets the nod for the Tennessee basketball team.

Now, before the outrage starts, hear me out. Williams is a phenomenal player. And, he proved that last season by scoring 15.2 points per game while pulling in 6.0 rebounds per game.

He wouldn’t have won SEC Player of the Year by not being a great player. However, after watching his game for two seasons, he isn’t “exciting” so to speak. Again, that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good player, because he should be considered one of the best players in the nation next season.

This isn’t a necessarily a comparison, but Williams’ style of play reminds me a lot of former Boston Celtics great, Paul Pierce. Yes, Pierce was more athletic and had a better shot.

More from All for Tennessee

However, he made the game look easy. I remember watching game after game and wondering if Pierce even broke a sweat while he dropped 40 points.

He knew his game. And, he knew what he could and couldn’t do. Even looking a step slower than everyone else, he still got his points.

Williams does a lot of the same things. Sometimes watching Williams, I don’t know how he scores the way he does, but guess what? He finds a way to get buckets.

There is no knocking Williams from us, in fact, he is an amazing player, but we wouldn’t call his game exciting. And, that’s okay. The Vols need Williams to play his game, or they won’t be near as good as a team.

Moreover, if we were making that list, we think you have to go with senior forward, Admiral Schofield or junior guard Lamonte Turner. Last season both players shot an outstanding 39.5% from the three-point line.

When we think of exciting, we think of the big shot from Turner in Columbia against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Or, the shot that sent Big Blue Nation home crying after Tennessee went into Rupp Arena and swept the Wildcats.

Schofield also gave Vol fans a lot of excitement all season but especially during the SEC Tournament. Tennessee was down 33-18 when Schofield reeled off 13 straight points to get the Vols within five points at halftime.

Next: Vols Top 10 memorable games this century

Again, we aren’t taking anything away from Grant Williams and how great of a player he is but our nod goes to Schofield or Turner as the most exciting player on the team. One thing is for sure; this trio could be the “big three” of the SEC next season.

Home/Vols Basketball