The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are 8-0 and have several players that serve as national lifelines for recognition—Jeff Teague and Al Farouq-Aminu—while role players James Johnson, Tony Woods, and L.D. Williams go undetected.
L.D. Williams in particular.
Team Captain as a sophomore, Williams has been the sparkplug in the starting line-up and off the bench for the Demon Deacons averaging career-highs in points, field goal percentage, and blocks despite averaging a career-low in minutes per game.
The junior scored 14 of his 16 points in the opening 7:08 against Wisconsin, to help blockade the lead against the Badgers. Seven of those points came from lay-ups and dunks.
While he’s not the flauntiest of jump-shooters, Williams furbishes his game with his abrasive upper-body strength which permits him to draw contact from defenders as illustrated above.
However the other half of his scoring output were off jump shots, including the only three pointer he’s made this year, 1-13.
Against Baylor in the 76 Classic Championship game, Williams showed he was invaluable to Wake with his nose for the ball. In a 2:10 span (9:41-7:31 1st half), Williams attempted two shots and a free throw, drew a foul, scored 4 points, and grabbed four rebounds (three offensive).
He almost replicated the performance in the Demon Deacons’ latest game against Bucknell. At the 7:17 mark in the 1st half, Williams had compiled five points, two rebounds, and three steals to go along with three field goal attempts and two free throw shots.
He’s also had a steal or a block in 6-of-8 games this season. The 6-foot-4 G/F is nothing if not productive.
Dino Gaudio and the No. 17 Demon Deacons are off to the best start in school history because of key role players like L.D. Williams and the Deacs’ wouldn’t thrive without them.
4 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete