Williams Dazzles and Disappoints, Ready For Next Season

As a student at Robbinsdale Copper Senior High School, Rodney Williams made his presence known. 

The basketball standout’s 1,702 points are the most in school history, and his 660 rebounds grabbed him second place on Cooper’s all-time rebounding list.

Needless to say, expectations were high when he moved across town to sport the maroon and gold. 

In his second year with the Gophers, the 6-foot-7 forward has had moments of glory, scoring more than a few appearances on ESPN’s Top Ten Plays after mesmerizing crowds with his skill and athleticism. His name has even been thrown around in NBA draft talks this season. 

But it hasn’t all been golden for the young player.  His inconsistency has cost him playing time and made head coach Tubby Smith reevaluate his role on the struggling Minnesota roster. 

The Gophers, who started the year off by knocking off North Carolina and West Virginia, sank as soon as conference play got underway—finishing the season on a five-game losing streak. 

On Thursday, they added to that stretch after being knocked out of the Big Ten tourney with a first-round loss to Northwestern.

It wasn’t how anyone on the team saw the season going, including Williams.

“I just think we didn’t execute late in the games,” he said.  “I think we just need to be more focused at the end of the games and we would have had a better end to the season.”

One thing that could help the Gophers in the future is keeping Minnesota talent in state. Williams will be just one of four Minnesota players on the roster next season after seniors Blake Hoffarber and Al Nolen graduate.

“I think we just got to come out and win, and that’s what the high school kids are looking at,” he said.  “They want to go to a school that’s winning.”

For now, though, Williams is concentrating on next year, putting the disappointment of this season and the NBA draft rumors behind him.

“I’ve just got to get in the gym and work on my shooting and my ball handling and just being confident in my game,” he said.  “The way I ended this season, I feel like I’ve got two more years left to be in college.  I got a whole lot to work on, a whole lot.”

While the season didn’t match anyone’s expectations, it’s safe to say there is one highlight both players and fans will agree on—the team’s first place finish in November’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

“I think we played as a team that whole tournament,” Williams said.  “All up until our losing streak, I just think we played together and we played hard at all times.  We had a lot of fun together this season.”