By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Under the circumstances, it would have been easy for Christian Williams to resent Jordan Bohannon, but he didn’t.

And that’s just part of the reason Bohannon misses his friend and former teammate.

“He was such a great teammate in that aspect,” Bohannon said Thursday. “We were going to practice and we were battling every day and he never took any of those days for granted even though he could have just folded over and quit right from there when he lost his starting spot.”

That says a lot about Williams’ character and his maturity, considering what happened to him last season.

Williams started the first six games at point guard last season before losing the job to Bohannon, who then went on to make the Big Ten all-Freshmen team.

Williams handled his demotion with dignity and class, and was expected to play the same role as the backup point guard this season before abruptly leaving the team on Oct. 26.

“Obviously, I was really shocked because we were pretty close as teammates and as guys off the court,” Bohannon said. “He was one of those guys that kind of took me under his wing.”

Iowa will begin the season without Williams on Friday when it hosts Chicago State in the season opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

His sudden departure already has had an impact in that true freshman guard Connor McCaffery has decided to play basketball this season instead of being redshirted.

Connor McCaffery had originally planned to redshirt in basketball in order to focus on his freshman season with the Iowa baseball team.

But the loss of the 6-foot-5 Williams left Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, who is Connor’s father, with no other choice but to play his son this season.

Williams said in a release that he wanted to transfer to a school closer to his home in Decatur, Ill. It has since been reported that he will visit both Evansville and Indiana State this weekend.

“I think he’s trying to look for a different team and a different spot and a different role, and obviously, he didn’t see that here,” Bohannon said. “We hope the best for him.

“But I was pretty shocked when that happened. But it happens. The NCAA is a business, and it happens on any team.”

The timing of Williams’ decision was strange because he announced that he was leaving the day before Iowa’s first exhibition game against William Jewell College.

“It’s tough to think about it in our perspective because we’re not in his shoes,” Bohannon said. “He’s thinking about it from a different perspective.”

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A rumor had persisted throughout the summer that Williams would transfer from Iowa. But he silenced the rumor by joining the team on its four-game tour of Europe in August and by enrolling for the fall semester and practicing with the team.

Something apparently happened after practice started that caused Williams to change his mind about staying at Iowa for his final two seasons.

Williams spoke softly and showed very little emotion on and off the court, so it was hard to gauge his feelings.

But with his teammates, Williams was popular and highly respected. He didn't talk a lot, but his words carried a lot of weight, and he led by example.

Williams could’ve been a distraction last season after being demoted, but he always put the team first, according to his teammates.

Instead of turning against Bohannon for taking his starting spot, Williams did just the opposite.

“That says a lot about him,” Bohannon said. “It says a lot about how he was raised and a lot about him as a person internally. Obviously, he’s such a great kid.  He was such a great teammate.

“We wish he could have stayed. He would have helped us a lot this year. But you just have to think about his perspective and just wish him the best.”

Sophomore forward Tyler Cook echoed Bohannon’s sentiments about Williams and called Williams one of his closest friends.

“Obviously, not having him here is going to be tough just in terms of you lose a friend that you don’t have here,” Cook said. “But I’m happy for him that he’s doing what he feels is best for him and I wish him nothing but the best.”

It would be easy to assume that Williams had little impact during his two seasons on the Iowa team because he played sparingly and only averaged two points per game.

But the fact that Williams accepted his role and held no grudge against Bohannon was a key factor in last season’s success because it only takes one disgruntled and selfish player to ruin a locker room.

Iowa won 19 games last season and barely missed making the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season despite starting four freshmen.

The team persevered through tough times and showed steady improvement, and Williams deserves some of the credit.

Maybe more than we had ever imagined.