Drexel Athletics Photo
Amari Williams, three-time conference defensive player of the year, has joined the Kentucky men’s basketball program for the 2024-25 season, head coach Mark Pope announced Tuesday.
As a senior, he averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game in 22.9 minutes of action. Williams started all 32 games for Drexel en route to earning his third straight defensive player of the year honor and an All-Coastal Athletic Association First Team nod. Williams will have one season of eligibility remaining.
“At times, Amari Williams looks like a man among boys on the court,” Pope said. “He is a three-time conference defensive player of the year, which is incredibly hard to do. He is bringing a big presence to the game and is going to serve as a rim-protector and rebounder. Amari is a gifted defensive player who can switch onto any position, one through five, which will add security to how everybody else feels on the court.
“Offensively, he is dangerous at the rim and he’s one of the special passers in college basketball. Amari can make all of the reads, all of the passes, all of the plays and he fits into exactly what we want to do on either end of the court.”
Originally from Nottingham, England, Williams played at Myerscough College before landing at Drexel. His first defensive player of the year honor came as a sophomore where he logged 9.5 points, 7.3 boards and 2.0 blocks per game. During his junior campaign, Williams notched 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per game for the Dragons. He was an All-CAA First Team selection as well. (Note: the league was known as the Colonial Athletic Association until the summer of 2023, when the name was changed to Coastal Athletic Association.)
Williams has appeared in 105 career games at Drexel, while making 79 starts. He’s averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He’s scored 1,081 career points, connecting on 51.9% of his field-goal attempts. He’s also snared 732 boards and blocked 186 shots. Williams has scored in double figures 62 times and registered 24 double-doubles. Fifty-one times, he’s swatted multiple shots in a game and has logged games with five or more rejections on six occasions.
The 6-foot-11 big ranked first in the CAA in blocked shots per game, fifth in total rebounds per game, and sixth in both offensive and defensive boards per game as a senior. He is the first three-peat CAA Defensive Player of the Year in the award’s existence. This season, Williams helped lead Drexel to its first 20-win season and first top-two seed in the CAA Championship since 2012. With Williams anchoring the defense, the Dragons ranked among the nation’s top 35 teams in scoring defense, yielding just 66.6 points per game.
Williams capped his tenure with the Dragons ranking fifth in Drexel’s record books with 186 career blocked shots. His senior season highlight was recording five rejections, including one with just four seconds to play, in Drexel’s two-point upset of No. 18 Villanova.
6 Responses
Finally a center who won’t get pushed around on the court like all three of our centers were last year.
He’s going to be a man amongst boys. That 7’8" center that Florida is getting doesn’t have a chance. Lol. I like the kids Kentucky is getting I just hope we can keep them in the portal era. I don’t like that every kid has to make a decision on what they want to do at the end of every year. I hope pope can get some players who’s going to stay and we can watch them get better and better every year. I think that’s the what he’s doing here. Williams is a puzzle piece for this years team success and I think with him and the other Englishman we can have one of the best front courts in college basketball. He would be a monumental piece to the portal puzzle. In 2025 the state of Kentucky is loaded with studs. ESPN has 6 recruits from Kentucky are 4*. I would go after all of them. All of them won’t commit but the ones who will would give us a great year there second year playing together. There is a whole starting 5 of Kentucky boys that are 4* recruits so you know they have the tools if they are rated that high. Moreno and Johnson are must haves but I would go after Ty Price as well. I wanted Noah to come to Kentucky this year. I think if Pope was here 6 months earlier he would be on the team. I’m anxious to see how he builds this roster. I don’t expect us to be unstoppable his first year but I really think his second team will be great. If we can now get Great O. On the team we have shooters already. Perry can light the 3s up. I want to get Saunders as well. Chandler is going to surprise alot of people. He’s a very hard worker. Plus his body got 2 years more to mature. So you’re getting a better freshman than he would have been 2 years ago. If he works as hard as Pope says he does he will be a great inspiration for the rest of the team. I Want Saunders I watched him play and he has a motor that don’t stop. You can’t teach that.
I thought it was reported over a week ago that Osobor was supposed to have visited UK or met with Pope last Friday??
Visit delayed
Osobor is coming on the 30th. Pope has signed Alvin Brooks III from Baylor to his associate head coach. A proven recruiter and knowledgeable X and O guy. Mark is doing this the right way and it will pay off sooner rather than later.
Pope is Hope