NBA Comparison: Erick Dampier/Clint Capella

Strengths: Developing center, rim runner, rim protector with tremendous size and intriguing athleticism … The seven-footer would register the fifth-longest wingspan among NBA centers if his reported 7’7 wingspan is true … One of the most athletic centers at the college level … He uses this length and size masterfully on the defensive end, altering almost every shot at the rim and blocking nearly three shots per game (2.9 blocks in just 24 mpg) … Great awareness of the positioning of opposing defenses as he is always finding himself on the receiving end of lobs … Strong finisher above the rim … Great touch around the rim, shooting a remarkable 72% from the field heading into the Final Four … Great free-throw shooter for a player of his size (75%) suggest he could expand his range out past the charity stripe with a few years of development on his jumper … Crashes the glass with strength and length with an average of 7.5 per game in just 24 minutes … Led the country in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and posted the 6th best career PER in the NCAA since 2009 … Athletic big man with great footwork who defends the pick-and-roll at an elite level because of it. Uses long arms to disrupt lobs and bounce passes in the lane and create turnovers … Defends at this elite level without fouling as he only averaged 3.4 fouls per 40 minutes … Decent court vision and passer who rarely turns it over with less than one turnover per game … Great frame at 7’0, 243 pounds who will only get stronger as he develops in the NBA … Some teams don’t like to draft big men early because their value has been marginalized to some degree, but Williams is a safe choice to make an impact and carve out a long career as an all-NBA defender with potential to grow offensively … Third on the Duke team in scoring, despite not having many plays calls for him … Started showing some ability to create baskets on the block towards the end of his sophomore year, an intriguing development. Granted a majority of his production came from the fact that 71% of his fgs were assisted plays at the rim …

Weaknesses: Yet to show that his range can expand to an NBA level, but free-throw percentage indicates that could improve with a few seasons working on his craft … Can be taken advantage of in isolations against quicker opponents at the next level, but won’t be a total liability considering his good footwork … Doesn’t possess a lot of self-creation or ball-handling skills, but he makes up for it offensively with off-ball movement and positioning … Only one 3-point attempt in his 61-game career with the Blue Devils … Reasonable to expect someone with his size and strength to score more often in the post and/or get to the line against opponents who are, at least the vast majority, are less athletic, smaller and weaker … Averaged just 2 FT per game as a sophomore. Hard to be too critical as he was only able to do what was asked of him within the Duek System, but would love to see him play more physical and get to the line more … Played just 24 minutes per game, after playing just 15 mpg as a freshman. While this makes his numbers more impressive on a per-minute basis, the fact that he played limited minutes draws some questions regarding conditioning and stamina …

Outlook: Scored 11.3 ppg and had some nice scoring outbursts, however his production was sporadic as he wasn’t used as one of the team’s primary offensive options … Williams emerged late in his freshman season at Duke and is exceeded expectations set for him in the summer with a tremendous sophomore season … Benefited from the unselfishness and great passing ability of freshman big Paolo Banchero … Projected as a mid to late first round pick …

Notes: Averaging 11.3 PTS, 7.5 REB and 2.9 BLK in his sophomore season at Duke … Will start the 2022-23 season as a 20-year-old with plenty of experience at the collegiate level … ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22 and All-ACC Third Team in the same season … Finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year … 2020 McDonald’s All-American after senior season at IMG Academy … Sister, Elizabeth, was a four-time ACC DPOY and 2015 National DPOY …

Derek Bast 3/31/22

Notes: Measured: 7’0.0” barefoot, 7’2.0” in shoes, 9’9.0” standing reach, 242.4 lbs, 7’6.5” wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine …