Tennessee basketball: Vols top 10 greatest players in the 2010s decade

There’s no doubt about this one. In three years with Tennessee basketball, Grant Williams developed a game as an undersized, wide power forward that nobody in the SEC could handle. Being a three-time All-SEC player and two-time All-American proved that.

A three-star member of that 2016 recruiting class with Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden, Williams helped Rick Barnes take the UT program to new heights. He helped spur an inside game, with Kyle Alexander as the scrapper, that couldn’t be stopped.

As a freshman, Williams showed promise, averaging 12.6 points and just under six rebounds a game. He took it to a completely different level, though, his sophomore season, averaging 15.2 points and six rebounds. Then, as a junior, he managed to be key to leading UT to a No. 1 ranking by averaging seven and a half rebound and just under 19 points on 56.5 percent shooting.

A notable point of emphasis for Williams was having a nice touch on his shot while playing big down low. That allowed him to stretch the floor when needed, and such versatility was a major part of his success and his NBA promise.

Examples of Williams using that versatility were his big three-pointer in last year’s SEC Tournament win over the Kentucky Wildcats and his 43 points after hitting all 23 free throw attempts in an overtime win at the Vanderbilt Commodores. He was clutch that way, which was a huge deal.

Williams was just a guy who did it all. He was also unselfish and a great passer, averaging over three assists a game his junior year, and he could defend from the outside as well. His play as a 6’7″ power forward makes him the greatest player this decade for UT and one of the five greatest in school history.

For more of our posts recapping the Tennessee Vols during the 2010s decade, please click here. If you want to just look at men’s basketball stories recapping the Vols from this decade, you can click here.