Williams Adjusting to Different Role With Gophers

University of Minnesota junior and grad Rodney Williams has provided his fair share of highlights on the basketball court for the Golden Gophers. With the loss of senior Trevor Mbakwe, the spotlight on Williams has never been so bright. 

The Gophers lost Mbakwe to an ACL tear in his right knee on Nov. 27. Before the injury, the Preseason All-Big Ten Team selection and John R Wooden watch list selection led the Gophers in scoring (14 pts/gm) and rebounding (9.1 reb/gm). Williams has since elevated his level of play while stepping in for Mbakwe.  

“I knew that since Trevor went down I was going to have to play that forward position,” Williams said, “so my teammates at practice give me a good run for my money while I’m down there so I started to get comfortable.” 

Since making the transition, Williams’ numbers have increased noticeably. Williams averaged, 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds prior to losing Mbakwe. In the last four games since the injury, Williams’ average is up to 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.  

The Minneapolis native’s point spurt is helping to take some of the pressure off 6’11 senior Ralph Sampson III, who’s fresh off returning from an injury of his own. 

“Rodney kind of holds his own a little bit down there,” Sampson said, “but it’s definitely a change.” 

The change is curved by Williams’ skill set. The Cooper graduate has been in conversation as arguably one of the best athletes in the Big Ten Conference. He first dunked at the age of 14 in a summer game and hasn’t been afraid to show his verticality since. 

“I ran back and tried to act like that was something I did everyday,” Williams said. “By the time I got back on defense I was smiling for the rest of the game. I was real excited.” 

Williams and the Gophers continue to find ways to win without Mbakwe behind their signature defense. With Saturday’s 69-47 victory over Saint Peter’s, Minnesota became the first division-one basketball team in the country to reach 10 wins. 

“That sounds good considering coming into the season there weren’t a lot of people that believed in us.” Williams said. “We know what we got here and we knew that we could do it.” 

Déjà vu 

This is the second year in a row the Gophers have succumbed to the loss of an integral piece of Coach Tubby Smith’s team. Last season Minnesota lost senior point guard Al Nolen to a broken bone in his right foot.  

“Last year Al ran the team, the whole game on both ends,” Williams said. “This year with Trev it’s like the best rebounder and shot blocker in the country.”  

At the time, senior Blake Hoffarber took on the task of running the offence in Nolen’s absence. Now Williams hopes to continue to effectively adjust to the power forward position and keep the Gophers rolling. 

“Losing some of your best players that’s always tough,” Williams said, “As long as you have a team that’s going to fight and pick up the slack then it’s all good.”