All-time All-ACC NBA Mock Draft
By Ynal Al-Ouri
Jay Williams is the name, and scoring was his game. He was one of the best players college basketball has ever witnessed, let alone the ACC. That’s a tremendously bold statement considering the type of talent the ACC has produced over the last several decades, but he certainly earned it with his impressive play for Duke. During his last two seasons in college, Williams averaged over 21 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 3-pointers per game — absolutely remarkable numbers that earned him the Naismith Award, Rupp Trophy, Wooden Award, and many other prestigious awards. He also helped lead Duke to a National Championship to put the final touches on his tremendous college career. He could do it all on the offensive end, whether it was taking a defender off dribble and blowing by them, shooting 3-pointers at a phenomenal clip, or finding an open teammate to get them involved in the fun.
Williams’ ball-handling was another one of his major assets, and his high IQ for the game helped him recognize a lot of things the defense was trying to throw at him. You can imagine that when you’re dropping over 20 points per game consistently, defenses are zoning in on stopping you. However, Williams constantly adapted and couldn’t be stopped most nights. His quickness, and ability to score in bunches will certainly transition well for today’s NBA, particularly his ability to light it up from beyond the arc. He would have to adjust to getting his teammates more involved, as he could struggle to impact games if he is consistently being targeted on the offensive end.