Williams increasing value with above-the-arc steals

Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams steals the ball from Charlotte forward Aly Khalifa during an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams has received a great deal of notoriety for his passing and shot creation for teammates this season.

Through 14 games, he is second on the team with 49 assists, trailing only Davonte "Devo" Davis, who has 52. Entering play this weekend at Texas A&M, Williams is somewhat comfortably in second with six more assists than guard JD Notae despite playing 51 fewer minutes.

The Fort Smith native has been a solid defender throughout the season, as well. Arkansas’ defensive rating, according to CBB Analytics, is 98.2 in his 401 minutes on the floor.

One facet of his play on the defensive end, though, has been flying a bit under the radar relative to his impressive assists numbers. Williams is third on the team with 15 steals.

One-third of them have come high on the perimeter, disrupting opponents’ offensive flow in the halfcourt.

“He’s got good hands and good anticipation,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said Thursday. “He's got 15 (steals) and Devo has 16. You think about the opportunities a center has compared to a guard, and a guard has a lot more opportunities. Not often do you see a center that has a high volume of steals, because his man doesn't have the ball that often.

“I think you can attribute it to Jaylin's basketball IQ, and you can also attribute it to him having high, active hands and reading the offense, as well."

Williams has at least 1 steal in 10 of the Razorbacks’ 14 games, and he has 4 multi-steal performances. Arkansas guard Chris Lykes has three such games, and Davis has five.

According to CBB Analytics, the Razorbacks' steal percentage is 11.8% with Williams on the floor and 9.7% when out of the lineup.

The forward’s knack for coming up with takeaways on a fairly consistent basis is noteworthy and has helped the Razorbacks turn opponents over on 20.2% of their possessions. It is also valuable considering Arkansas has been able to turn his steals into near-instant offense.

The Razorbacks have scored two points, whether on a field goal or at the free-throw line, immediately after each of his five steals above the three-point line. His active hands and anticipation have led to two scores for himself and one each for Stanley Umude and Jaxson Robinson.

Au’Diese Toney made two free throws following Williams’ first steal against Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Four of his last five takeaways have come above the break.

"He's done a great job of what we talk about with owning the elbow,” Musselman said. “He's done a really good job with those entry passes going to the center. I think it's just anticipation. It's understanding your teammates are behind you to give help if you gamble a little bit.

“It's the same thing with JD. When he goes for a gamble, you have to make sure you're taken care of on the back side.”

But it isn’t only his above-the-arc steals that the Razorbacks are turning into points. His 10 takeaways inside the three-point line have resulted in 13 points on the other end.

Notae and Davis have been the primary beneficiaries in those sequences, adding four buckets, including a three-pointer. The Razorbacks have also gotten to the free-throw line three times after a Williams interior steal and made 4 of 6 attempts.

"Certainly, his steals are important to us because those are extra possessions and they take away a possession from the opponent,” Musselman said. “They're almost worth four points if you can convert at the other end.”

Musselman then briefly paused before adding one final thought.

“Actually," he said, "the way we defend the three, they're probably worth five points, not four."