SE: Play with Confidence - Williams Helps 'Cats Bounce Back Against Milwaukee

By: Austin Siegel

The locker room was quiet pregame and Bruce Weber thought that was a good sign.

"They were very focused on the task at hand," he said.

In a season like this one, you never know when a turning point might get here. For K-State Men's Basketball, a strong case could be made that one such moment arrived on Friday night.

With the Wildcats on a two-game losing streak following losses to UNLV and Fort Hays State, K-State was running out of time to establish momentum before Big 12 play tips off.

So, a quiet locker room and a focused team before the Wildcats took on Milwaukee?

It was a promising start for Weber. The noise would come later, in moments when the freshmen and JUCO transfers that arrived in Manhattan this season looked like players that the Wildcats can build a program around, as K-State grabbed a 76-75 win over Milwaukee.

It wasn't perfect, but it was how the Wildcats need to win games in 2020.

"Part of it is experience and playing in games," Weber said. "Every day, it's new and they're learning. We're down 7-0. Mike [McGuirl] makes a great drive, drops it off to Davion [Bradford] for a layup. Selton [Miguel] hits a shot, and we go on a little run. Each one kind of chipped in."

The team's newcomers combined for 63 points in the victory over the Panthers, including a career night from Rudi Williams.

"When we have practices before games, coach mixes up the teams, so I feel like the chemistry got better and everyone is starting to understand how to play with each other," Williams said. "Everyone is starting to understand how things work."

Williams finished with a career-high 16 points in 30 minutes off the bench against Milwaukee.

On a team that will count on true freshmen to score the basketball in 2020, an upperclassman like Williams who can come off the bench and give you 16/5/3 feels like something of a luxury.

He's one of the oldest players on K-State, but only because Williams began his career at the JUCO level with NE Oklahoma A&M. He has played just six games of D1 basketball.

But that's the story of the season for K-State in 2020: focus on how to be a better player tomorrow, while pouring every ounce of basketball you have into the team today.

"When you're prepared, you have more success at things," Williams said. "Figuring it out as time goes on, game-by-game, fully understanding who you're going up against, what they do and how they guard."

Williams profiles as a point guard and somebody who could provide depth behind senior Mike McGuirl and a four-star recruit in Nijel Pack. That wasn't his role on Friday night.

Down the stretch against the Panthers, with K-State looking to close out their second win of the season, Williams played alongside McGuirl and Pack in a guard-heavy rotation.

It worked because Williams was the most efficient Wildcat on the floor.

As advanced basketball stats go, it's a pretty useful one to know - efficiency takes all the good things a player can do in a game (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals) and subtracts the bad stuff (missed shots, missed free throws, turnovers).

Williams ended Friday's game with an efficiency rating of 19, leading players on both teams as he racked up career highs across the board.

"When you see good things happen for yourself on the court, you're going to be more confident," he said. "Ironically, Coach put on the board today, 'Play with Confidence' in all caps. Coach (Shane) Southwell and I had a good pregame workout earlier this morning, so I feel like that had something to do with it as well."

Williams punished Milwaukee when the Panthers gave up second-chance opportunities and only missed two shots all night.

He was a release valve for Davion Bradford when the K-State freshman center grabbed an offensive board, dishing to Williams for the open three. And with the Wildcats needing a bucket to close out Milwaukee, Williams was ready in the corner to knock down a late triple.

That shot even got a "Bingo!" on the radio call from play-by-play announcer Wyatt Thompson, and Thompson doesn't just hand those out.

"We do have a young team, obviously everyone knows that," Williams said. "But everyone is starting to understand how things work, stuff is starting to click for us and the younger guys as well."

The success of the five true freshmen on this K-State roster could be very well be the measure by which the 2020-21 season is judged, but it won't happen without nights like this from Williams.

"Rudi quietly, he's a great, great kid. I've told you guys that many times. I've complimented him and all the other guys have their immaturity at times, but Rudi comes every day and wants to get better," Weber said. "I'm really, really happy for him."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Play with Confidence - Williams Helps 'Cats Bounce Back Against Milwaukee

Players Mentioned

Davion Bradford

Mike McGuirl

Nijel Pack

Rudi Williams

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