FAYETTEVILLE — In the first 28-plus minutes of Arkansas’ home game against Kentucky last Saturday, Razorbacks forward Jaylin Williams was 1 of 8 from the floor.
His lone bucket to that point came on a drive and dunk on his second field goal attempt of the afternoon. Outside of that play, Williams missed layups following a pair of drives to the rim, including one in transition, misfired on a catch-and-shoot midrange jumper and was 0 of 4 on catch-and-shoot threes.
Williams, however, was unflappable down the stretch. In the final 11:07 of the Razorbacks’ eventual 75-73 victory over the Wildcats, the sophomore played with supreme confidence.
Williams made 4 of his last 5 shots, and over a 4-minute, 2-second stretch scored 10 consecutive points for Arkansas. He finished with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, and following the game Stanley Umude and JD Notae revealed Williams was sick at halftime.
“(He) came back out, kept fighting and kept fighting,” Notae said. “We told him we’ve got his back. He made some big plays down the stretch late and we got it done.”
Williams’ last four scores came in as many different ways as Arkansas worked its two-man game with he and Notae. The offensive contributions were a showcase of his evolution as a scorer.
His first score came after a ballscreen for Notae, short-rolling to a step inside the free throw line, where he knocked down a floater. Next, Williams acted as if he were preparing to set a pick for the guard before slipping to the left wing, where he caught Notae’s feed then drove to the rim for a layup against Oscar Tshiebwe.
Later, with Tshiebwe guarding against the dribble-drive, Williams slipped a screen at the top of the key and ventured to the left elbow. He knocked down a catch-and-shoot jumper.
And on his final field goal, which gave the Razorbacks the lead for good with 1:22 to play, Williams, after rolling out of a ballscreen in front of the Arkansas bench, saw a floater fall from the left block.
“That was one of the things that we talked about: Put Tshiebwe in pick-and-rolls and J-Will make reads,” Musselman said. “(Tshiebwe) was killing us on one end and I thought that we did a really good job of being aggressive against him at the other end. Jaylin had some great rip-and-gos to try to put pressure on their bigs laterally. And then Jaylin took some threes, too, which even when he doesn’t make them, what ends up happening is he stretches the defense out.
“I thought he was phenomenal. Jaylin did a great job of attacking at the other end, as well.”
Williams last month flashed an improving offensive game on two-point attempts outside the lane. He made 9 of 20 such attempts in February after hitting a combined 8 of 23 in the first three months of the season.
In part, the growth in that area of his play opened avenues and opportunities to score as a 6-10 driver. Seven of Williams' 41 made field goals in February followed a drive toward the rim.
“It’s been so interesting to see the evolution of Jaylin’s game from passer to post-ups to now off the bounce,” Musselman said. “A lot of it also has to do with personnel. We thought that Jaylin (had advantages) off the dribble against Tshiebwe, and maybe even against (Florida forward Colin) Castleton, just bigger bodies.
“(We were) looking at the mobility of who’s guarding Jaylin. He’s certainly been more aggressive in all aspects as the season has progressed, even shooting.”
In SEC play, Notae and Williams have displayed great synergy in pick-and-roll situations. Notae has found the forward for 24 scores. The Razorbacks’ No. 2 assister-to-scorer combination inside the league is Chris Lykes to Umude (12).
Williams is taking advantage of scoring chances provided to him after setting ballscreens. He made 9 of his last 11 shots in pick-and-roll actions to close February.
“I just think this evolution of him becoming overly confident in a lot of different areas has really expanded his game,” Musselman said.