USC staying close as a family through losses
Some habits die hard.
For South Carolina guard Brenton Williams, a junior college transfer, his off-balanced shot is something deeply rooted from his childhood, playing against his two older brothers. While USC coaches and players may not like Williams’ mechanics, they’ve liked the contribution he’s given them off the bench and would like to see more of it as the Gamecocks (10-16, 2-10 SEC) travel to Vanderbilt (19-8, 8-4) today.
“Growing up playing against my brothers and cousins and people in the family, they were all much taller than me before I grew a little bit,” Williams said. “I got in the habit of — because I was short — using my legs so much to shoot. I guess it’s something that’s stayed with me until now, and I still do it a little bit.”
Williams may have been the smallest, but unlike his two brothers, he went on to play college basketball after playing in high school. Williams’ road to Division I wasn’t easy, though, as he had to walk on at Santa Fe Junior College in Gainseville, Fla.
At junior college, Williams only played 10 games, taking over the scholarship of an injured player. In his short stint, he averaged 11.8 points and shot 47 percent from the field. As a senior in high school, Williams averaged 25.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Once Williams arrived at South Carolina, he got off to a strong start, scoring 13 points in the Gamecocks’ first game against Western Carolina, but a knee injury in the Tennessee State game caused Williams to be out of the lineup for a couple of weeks. Williams eased his way back in the lineup, but had another setback after he had to miss the first SEC game against Kentucky because of the loss of his grandmother.
“That really hurt,” Williams said. “I really wanted to play. That’s the reason that I came to this school — to play games like that. So when I had to miss it the first time, I hated that I couldn’t contribute to help my teammates.”
In his past three games, Williams has come storming back, averaging 8.7 points in the last seven games, and as the Gamecocks finish the SEC season, Williams’ play off the bench will play a key role for a team that’s struggled offensively this season, though he said the coaches have emphasized defense for him and he’s been able to score within the offense the team runs.
“Most importantly to use his athleticism,” USC coach Darrin Horn said. “I think the one thing that he gives us at that spot that’s different than Damien (Leonard) and Brian (Richardson) is that he brings us terrific quickness and athleticism and the ability to drive the basketball ... He gave up three huge drives to somebody who just drove by him. So I think staying focused on that, and offensively staying aggressive, without shooting the occasional, ‘Man, I think this shot can go in,’ while we’re all saying, ‘Golly, what are you doing?’
“Those are leading to quicker exits, but I think he’s getting a better feel for that and I think he’s doing a better job of scoring.”
Against LSU, Williams had a dunk that cut the Tigers’ lead to two, but a technical was called that resulted in a 10-2 run by LSU. Horn said he got a chance to see the play the technical was called on, which he didn’t see during the game.
“I don’t think it matters what I think of it,” Horn said. “I think they called it.”
For a team that has struggled to find its rhythm from game to game, the hardest part, according to sophomore Damontre Harris, has been to stay together as a team.
“We’re a real close family as a basketball team,” Harris said. “I feel like we’ll get through it as a basketball team, and we’ll build on next season for the most part.”
As for Williams, often called Bill due to his resemblance to the cartoon character in the Nick Jr. show “Little Bill,” he knows all about family, overcoming adversity and trying to kick bad habits. Even though his shooting mechanics aren’t preferred, he said his shot has helped him shoot over some of the bigger players in the SEC, which is what the Gamecocks will look to do at Vandy.