Tennessee basketball: Recapping Grant Williams’ best 5 games of 2017-18
We wrap up our summer series of recapping the best games of each player from the 2017-18 season, by highlighting Grant Williams.
The SEC Player of the Year, Grant Williams became the leader for the Tennessee basketball team last season. It holds true for a lot of the players on the team, but if Williams weren’t wearing the Orange and White, the Vols wouldn’t have near the season they had.
Williams finished the season leading the team averaging 15.2 points per game. He also added six rebounds per game while shooting around 48 percent from the field.
It is hard to narrow down his best games. There were only six games all season long where Williams didn’t score in double digits.
Moving forward, Williams should be the go-to guy again next season. And, it wouldn’t surprise us at all if Williams pulls a Schofield and tries for the NBA Draft.
Just like all the other players so far, we are going to take a look at the five best games of last season.
No. 5 – February 13 vs. South Carolina
Minutes: 34
FG: 7-of-10
Assists: 1
Rebounds: 5
Points: 22
Both games against the Gamecocks last season came down to the wire. In fact, both games were decided by seven points or less. Williams shot an impressive 7-of-10 from the field to help the Vols to a 70-67 win.
No. 4 – February 21 vs. Florida Gators
Minutes: 26
FG: 8-of-13
Assists: 1
Rebounds: 6
Points: 23
Keeping it in the conference, Williams’ fourth-best game came against the Florida Gators on February 21. Williams poured in 23 points with six rebounds in a 62-57 win. Williams had four points in a span of 40 seconds late in the game to help get the win.
No. 3 – November 22 vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Minutes: 30
FG: 8-of-18
Assists: 2
Rebounds: 8
Points: 22
In one of the biggest upsets of the season, the Vols beat Purdue 78-75. This game could arguably be ranked as Williams’ best game since he was going up against two seven-footers all game. He was only two rebound shy of a double-double and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
No. 2 – January 6 vs. Kentucky Wildcats
Minutes: 34
FG: 7-of-13
Assists: 4
Rebounds: 8
Points: 18
The Kentucky game on January 6 was another game where Williams had a near double-double. He scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added eight rebounds. The 76-65 win helped set the tone for the season.
No. 1 – January 9 at Vanderbilt Commodores
Minutes: 33
FG: 12-of-20
Assists: 2
Rebounds: 7
Points: 37
Finally, coming in at our top ranking is the game at Vanderbilt where Grant Williams scored 37 points, which was a career-high for him. He was only three rebounds away from a double-double.
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Moving forward, Williams and the Vols have a chance to win a National Championship if they play up to their potential. However, they will need Williams to continue to be the leader we all know he can be.