McCaffery says Christian Williams has earned more playing time
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Standing 6-foot-6 and having arms that stretch nearly seven feet, Iowa freshman guard Christian Williams certainly looks the part.
Looks only go so far, though.
Williams had played sparingly until this past Tuesday’s 81-78 loss to Indiana when he came off the bench and scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and made two steals in 12 minutes of action.
You now can expect to see more of Williams in the lineup heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Michigan.
“I think without question he has earned that,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Friday on a teleconference.
The first sign that Williams had moved ahead of redshirt freshman guard Brady Ellingson in the rotation came after starting guard Mike Gesell had been called for two quick fouls against Indiana. Instead of inserting Ellingson in the lineup, McCaffery turned to Williams, who then seized the moment.
Ellingson has appeared in 14 Big Ten games and played a total of 246 minutes, while the Indiana loss marked just seventh time that Williams has played in a Big Ten game.
But Williams had been gaining ground on Ellingson in practice.
“He was close a couple week ago,” McCaffery said of Williams, who is from Decatur, Ill. “And it was kind of go back and forth whether it was stay with Brady or stay with Christian. And I went back with Brady. Christian just keeps playing really well in practice.”
Ellingson, as a redshirt freshman, was a year ahead of Williams when the season started with regard to knowing the offense and with making the adjustment to college. It took Williams time to catch up with Ellingson on many of the little things that go into earning playing time.
“Brady, even though he’s a freshman was here last year, so he had a little head start on knowing everything and was farther ahead of Christian in knowing what we’re doing,” McCaffery said. “So as time has gone by, Christian has it all figured out and he’s playing really well. So he’s definitely going to get quality playing time.”
Williams’ late-season emergence is good news for an Iowa team that has lost four games in a row and five of its last six games. The Hawkeyes made an inspired comeback against the Hoosiers, but it wasn’t enough as Indiana clinched the Big Ten regular-season title with Tuesday’s victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“It’s always kind of frustrating playing good and it doesn’t go your way,” Williams said. “But your whole thought process is you just have to keep fighting.”
A former dual-threat quarterback in high school, Williams brings versatility and length to the lineup. He has played mostly point guard in practice, but McCaffery also plans to use Williams at shooting guard and small forward.
“He’s got to be able to do that,” McCaffery said. “He got to be able to play the one, two and three and know exactly where to go and who he’s guarding, what out bounds play we’re in, what offense we’re in. Where he lines up. And it takes a lot of time. It’s a lot harder than you think. He’s really worked at it and I’m proud of him. He’s earned his way into the lineup.”
McCaffery envisioned Williams playing multiple positions during the recruiting process.
“I think he will eventually play all three of those positions,” McCaffery said. “That is what we saw in him when we recruited him; that he could play the point, but he could play the two and he could play the three.
"When you’re talking about a guy who is almost 6-7 with a 6-11 wingspan, it behooves you to utilize him in a variety of ways and not pigeon hole him into one spot.”
Williams was pleased with his performance against the Hoosiers.
“It felt pretty good to contribute to the team, and I thought I did pretty well,” Williams said.
Williams credits Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw for encouraging him to be more aggressive and to believe in himself.
“He kind of always yells at me saying I’m a little bit too tentative sometimes,’ Williams said of Speraw. “But he’s always telling me that I’m a good player, and I need to play like it.”