What Went Wrong for Darrion Williams in Latest Loss?
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RALEIGH — As Virginia grew its lead over NC State by relentlessly attacking by committee, the Wolfpack's star, Darrion Williams, once again remained in the shadows, as he continued to battle a scoring slump that has stretched for over a month. As the Pack's rumored highest-paid player, fans have grown restless over his performance.
The Texas Tech transfer, viewed by many as one of the best portal acquisitions in the country, played through a shoulder injury that Wolfpack head coach Will Wade claimed was far worse than the program let on during the last month. Since that injury came on, Williams hasn't been the same player. That continued to be the case in the 76-61 loss to Virginia.
Hunting shots and executing
When Williams averaged 23.3 points through the first four games, it never looked as though he was forcing shots. He played within the flow of the game, often dictating the pace with his driving ability. When he lost the strength and trust in his shoulder, he started hunting for outside shots more, hurting his efficiency. Against Virginia, he simply didn't get clean looks, something that bothered his coach.
"We've got to get him more than eight looks a game," Wade said. "He's got to have the ball more than eight shots. He's got to get more than that. That's on us as coaches to put him in better positions."
The adjustment for Williams becoming the first option of a team for the first time in his collegiate career hasn't been seamless. However, he showed flashes of the player who earned Preseason ACC Player of the Year honors in the four-game stretch to open the season and in the overtime loss to Kansas. For a player like Williams, so much of every game is reliant on his rhythm. The Pack tried to help him find that rhythm against the Cavaliers.
"We had a play drawn up for the first play that was supposed to get him an open look," Wade said. "Virginia Tech had run something similar... and we were never able to execute it because we were just going a million miles an hour against the press and we never got to it."
Wade took responsibility for parts of the loss to Virginia, claiming that he hadn't put his team in a position where he felt like the players could execute at a high level. The Williams play was a prime example of that in his eyes.
"So the point is, if I could get us to execute that better and he makes his first three on the left wing and he's wide open, I mean, who knows how the day goes, right?" Wade said. "Maybe it's a totally different day, a totally different game."
Size issues
Despite standing 6-foot-6, Williams operates as the Wolfpack's four in most lineups. His width and strength allow him to rebound well and he often hunts matchups against smaller defenders. Virginia's oversized frontcourt, at least when compared to NC State's, didn't help the flow of the game for Williams.
Part of that falls on Wade, as he said, for not putting the forward in more advantageous situations and matchups. However, Williams looked uncomfortable when attacking the basket against both Wake Forest and Virginia. If he is going to shoot the ball more than eight times and score more than seven points, Williams must show more aggression on the offensive end. As the injury improves, the hope is that comfort comes back.
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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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