Former Horned Frog Kenrich Williams Showing NBA Chops

TCU is known mostly for its ability on the football field, but it is their basketball team that has been rapidly improving over the years. And perhaps the best example of that improvement has been the recent rise of former Horned Frog Kenrich Williams, who is proving the he is worth a spot on an NBA roster with a high level of play. Representing TCU well, Williams is showing signs of someone who could have a long career in the league.
Williams’ numbers haven’t been overly impressive this season, with the ex-Horned Frogs man averaging just under six points per game for the season. But he has been getting more minutes as of late compared to his playing time over the rest of the year, and that has allowed him to showcase more of his talents.

For the season as a whole, Williams has averaged just over 22 minutes per game for the year. But he has been closer to 30 minutes per game during the stretch run of the regular season, thanks to his New Orleans Pelicans being so far out of contention. And he has rewarded the team by showing flashes of a player that could factor into the team’s plans down the road.
One such way he has impacted the team is with his defense, with the most notable example being some of the commendable work he did against James Harden of the Rockets. Harden is likely to be in the MVP race once again this season thanks to his nearly unstoppable arsenal of offensive moves, but Williams was able to compete with him for much of their time against one another.
He will need to improve his shooting in the long run to become a more viable option as a shooting guard, shooting close to 33% for the season from long range. But this Pelicans team is the perfect team to work on those things with, thanks to the fact that they are so far out of the race in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans are considered equals with some of the more moribund franchises in the league right now, as evidenced by single-game NBA betting odds on bet365 putting the Pelicans as only one-point favorites for their March 27th matchup at home against the lowly Atlanta Hawks. But the struggling franchise has given Williams a chance to showcase his skills, to potentially land him on a roster for years to come.

Williams has also been keeping an eye on the Horned Frogs this season, as he expressed his disappointment with the team being excluded from the NCAA Tournament. While it isn’t uncommon for players to keep tabs on their former teams after moving to the pros, it is good to see that he hasn’t forgotten about TCU after his exit from the program.
There are some things to add to Kenrich Williams’ game if he is going to be an NBA player on a long-term basis, but he has shown that he has the foundation to be a good player. If he can keep that up, the Horned Frogs might have their first pro to stick in the league since Kurt Thomas.