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What is a “Winning Player”? That is a question that has trumped and divided basketball fans and analysts for years. The term is fairly broad and is overall in the eye of the beholder. For the sake of not inciting a riot on NBA Draft Twitter, I’m going to go ahead and give my personal view on what constitutes a “winning player.”
Enter: Jaylin Williams.
Williams is a 6-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore forward at the University of Arkansas. Williams was a highly sought-after recruit while playing at Fort Smith Northside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was ranked as a top-100 recruit in the class of 2020, in addition to being named the 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year in Arkansas. Williams ultimately chose to stay home and play for the Razorbacks.
Williams took more of a backseat role in his freshman season. A lot of that can be attributed to the Razorbacks having a deep and talented roster — one that earned them a 25-7 record along with an Elite 8 appearance last March. He finished the season appearing in 26 games (playing just 15.3 minutes per game) while averaging 3.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 47.8% from the field.
Even though Williams’ role was subject to primarily coming off the bench to rebound and bring energy whenever called upon by head coach Eric Musselman, there were moments where his potential and all-around game flashed. On Feb. 27, in a win against LSU, Williams played 30 minutes and put up a stat line of 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals. Along with doing many things right and putting his team in a position to win, Williams gave Razorback fans a reason to be excited for his upcoming sophomore campaign in 2021.
Spoiler alert: They were right.
We are currently in the thick of SEC conference play at the time of this article being posted, and Williams is starting to assert himself as one of the league's most versatile players. Nineteen games into the season, Williams is putting up numbers that show his true ability as a do-it-all weapon for the Razorbacks. Playing 29.4 minutes a night, he's averaging 8.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.
These numbers are definitely solid, but Williams has been doing his best work of late. On January 24, he was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week due to averaging 16.5 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in two wins over South Carolina and Texas A&M. His most eye-popping showing of the two was against the Aggies, racking up 14 points, 11 rebounds, 6(!!!) steals, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.
Williams seems to be hitting his stride at a time when draft prospects really make or break their stock. Outings like these will have NBA Draft Twitter collectively drooling in no time.
OKAY.
Now that I have the nerdy stat drops out of the way, let’s get to my whole point here: If you asked 100 basketball fans and analysts to describe a “Winning Player," I’m sure you’d get 100 different answers. But that’s the beauty of basketball and sports: there is never one right answer.
To me, players that make every play they can to put their team in a better position to win, whether it’s a measured statistic or not, are winning players. Whether it's making the extra pass that leads to an easy bucket, diving on the ground for a loose ball, or taking a charge that they know is going to hurt like a b****, every championship-caliber team at every level of basketball has a player like this. When I think of a player that epitomizes all of that, I think of what we have been seeing from Williams.
Williams is averaging over three dimes a game as a lengthy forward, has shown a motor and energy level that scouts clamor for, and has drawn 24 charges and counting this season — good for almost two per game.
This, along with a lot of little plays and details that I saw in my short time scouting Williams, is why he currently sits at #17 on my 2022 NBA Draft Big Board and really epitomizes what I view as a “winning player."
Not everything that makes a great NBA Draft prospect is going to show up in the box score. I urge you to check out an Arkansas game if you get a chance and just watch Williams go to work. The average fan will find themself applauding the effort and ability he brings every night.
It’s easy to see that the sky is the limit for a player like Jaylin Williams and if this past week’s performances are any indication of the kind of player he is (and is developing into), NBA teams will be eager to select him in this summer’s 2022 NBA Draft.
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