Louisville basketball: Projecting starters at full health

Small Forward: Samuell Williamson

I am sticking to my guns with Samuell Williamson here. Despite pressure from the likes of Charles Minlend, Dre Davis, and Quinn Slazinski, I like Williamson to continue to hold the spot down when the team is healthy.

This may come as a surprise for those who have been let down by the “burger boy” falling short of preseason expectations. But I believe that Mack thinks highly of Williamson despite his early season struggles.

He specifically called out David Johnson and Williamson in the postgame press conference of the Wisconsin loss to claim that both second-year players needed to boost their level of play in the future. He clearly has high expectations for the sophomore and thinks highly of him as a talent.

Nobody on Louisville’s team has been as streaky as Williamson has in the early goings. One game, he is looking like the touted recruit people expected. In another, he performs a disappearing act. For instance – last game against Virginia Tech – Williamson scored one singular point in the contest and logged a season-low 14 minutes of playing time as well.

If he does not play better, he is certainly in danger of losing his starting position sooner rather than later. It is rather difficult to give up on such a talented player and I do not think we have seen the best of Sam Williamson yet this season.

I certainly struggled with this position the most as there are plenty of viable options behind Williamson should he stumble for too long. But, with a small amount of ignorance, I have not given up on Williamson’s talented offensive ability quite yet.

From now until mid-February, I think Williamson will show too many flashes to hold him out of the starting lineup once the team is fully healthy.