There were times toward the end of Ohio State’s 2013-14 season when Buckeyes coach Thad Matta would look down at the end of the bench and think to himself, ‘What if?’
Ohio State struggled to shoot the ball from deep two years ago — it shot just 32 percent from behind the 3-point line as a team — and sitting on Matta’s bench was a four-star prospect out of Baltimore who had a reputation as a big-time shooter.
The only problem: Kam Williams was redshirting. He came down with mononucleosis prior to the season and by the time he had recovered enough to play, Matta felt it would be unfair to burn his first year of eligibility for only a handful of games.
"I didn't want to be selfish from my part and let him play a quarter of a year, or maybe not even that much, and that be his season for his freshman year," Matta said in the middle of Ohio State's 2014-15 season. "I couldn't do it myself, even though we had troubles scoring, I didn't want to take a year of his eligibility."
And last year, Williams’ redshirt freshman campaign and first year playing on the college court, at times, you could see exactly why Matta felt that way.
Williams brought instant energy off the bench for the Buckeyes in 2014-15. He showed the ability to score in bunches and he provided Ohio State with some much-needed long-range shooting.
He reached double figures in seven of the Buckeyes' non-conference games including a career-high 23 points in a 97-43 blowout win over High Point. He had 15 points in just 18 minutes against Marquette and also recorded an 18-point performance versus Miami (Ohio).
“He really hunts buckets, that's what he does,” since-graduated senior Sam Thompson said of Williams last year.
"I never really lose confidence in my scoring abilities. That's something that has made me who I am on the basketball court," Williams added last season. "I was just coming in and helping with whatever the team needs, it's just a great opportunity for me."
But while Williams enjoyed success during the Buckeyes’ non-conference schedule, especially shooting the ball from deep, he seemed to struggle once things flipped over to Big Ten play. Williams shot 41 percent from behind the 3-point line in non-conference games compared to just 25 percent in Big Ten play.
Williams did not reach double figures in any Big Ten game or in the NCAA tournament. His high of eight points came in 26 minutes in Ohio State's home win over Indiana.
And in order for him to take that next step, consistency will be Williams’ biggest challenge.
It’s no secret Ohio State is going to be searching for guys who can put the ball in the basket next season. After all, the Buckeyes lost 65 percent of their total points from a year ago, including D’Angelo Russell — a likely top-five selection in June’s NBA Draft.
Williams is one of those players capable of producing big scoring games. Now, he just needs to prove he can do it night in and night out as Ohio State is all of a sudden one of the youngest teams not only in the Big Ten, but all of college basketball.
"(The 2013-14 season) was just a minor setback, but all my life that’s what I’ve been known to do, put the ball in the bucket," Williams said following last year's win over High Point. "That’s something that I’ve always had a knack for, so to me it wasn’t really a surprise.”
