NC State Needs Its Star to Get Going
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RALEIGH — NC State head coach Will Wade and star forward Darrion Williams sat down before the season opener against NC Central. The coach told his player he didn't need him to be "Superman," but rather just be a winning player for the Wolfpack.
Williams was Superman for the Wolfpack during the team's 4-0 start, averaging 23.3 points per game. However, things got off track when NC State began to face stiffer competition. Over the last five games, the forward averaged 11.4 points and both his assist and rebounding outputs dipped as well. While Wade and the staff aren't concerned about their star, it's time for him to take over once again.
What's been going wrong?
The answer to Williams' woes could be as simple as a player dealing with a slump. However, it might be a sign of a deeper issue. During his junior season at Texas Tech, Williams was a key player, but not the star, as sophomore forward JT Toppin carried that burden for the Red Raiders. Toppin, who emerged as a national player of the year candidate, was at the top of the scouting report for their opponents.
That gave Williams the luxury of flying under the radar. When he transferred to NC State over the summer, forgoing the NBA draft process, he gave up that luxury. As one of the highest-rated transfers in the country, and one that Wade and the Wolfpack paid top dollar for, the expectations were lifted significantly for Williams in Raleigh.
At first, Williams appeared well-equipped to deal with that responsibility. He was the face of the Wolfpack throughout an offseason that included trash-talking ACC rivals and Wade's promise of a "Red Reckoning" coming for college basketball. Because of the nature in which Williams joined the program, he became the face of the Reckoning. With his struggles now, he's become a scapegoat.
In the Wolfpack's bounce-back win over UNC Asheville, Williams scored a season-low eight points and held a usage rate of 12.5%, also a low for the year. However, he showed signs of life elsewhere, dishing out six assists while helping North Carolina transfer Ven-Allen Lubin score 23 points, 19 of which came in the second half against the Bulldogs.
After the win, Wade was asked about Williams' scoring dip. He reiterated a point he used repeatedly during the team's 4-0 start and throughout the offseason, where he helped campaign for Williams to be the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, an honor he won over Duke freshman Cameron Boozer.
"We don't ever want Darrion to take a back seat. Look, when the ball's in his hands, good things happen," Wade said after the victory. "... When he's in, good stuff happens. He's in a little bit of a rut right now, but he's going to get out of it. We have ultimate belief in him."
The Wolfpack faces a crucial week, with difficult mid-major opponent Liberty coming to the Lenovo Center on Wednesday, only to be followed by No. 19 Kansas on Saturday. Williams has a history with the Jayhawks, both on and off the court. With the Red Raiders, he scored 14 points in his team's road win over Kansas last March.
Off the court, Kansas head coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks staff circled Williams as a potential option to join their program. He ended up choosing Wade and the program in Raleigh. Saturday's game will present NC State's "Superman" with a chance to prove he hasn't been struck by Kryptonite, but that he is just waiting to emerge from his slump at the right time.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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