Let's take a second and appreciate Amari Williams' rebounding, which ranks Top 5 nationally

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope talks to center Amari Williams - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

When you think of this Kentucky Basketball team, rebounding probably isn’t the first, second, or maybe even third thing that comes to mind; however, one Wildcat is among the top rebounders in the country and evoking Oscar Tshiebwe comparisons from some.

Through four games, Amari Williams is averaging 11.5 rebounds; that not only leads the Cats, it ranks fifth nationally. He’s had ten or more rebounds in three of four games thus far and is just the seventh player in Kentucky Basketball history with double-doubles in each of their first two games as Wildcats.

Evan Miyakawa crunched the numbers and Williams is fourth nationally in his rebounding rankings, with a predicted rebounding percentage (the percentage of missed shots rebounded) of 41.8%. When you filter that by defensive rebounds, he’s first at 29.9%.

When KSR’s Brandon Ramsey remarked on the data on Twitter, Miyakawa gave Williams a shoutout, noting that his projected defensive rebounding percentage of 29.9% is a tick higher than Oscar Tshiebwe’s when his college career was over (29.8%). Oscar rewrote the Kentucky record book when it comes to rebounding. He was especially dominant on the offensive glass, but still, anytime you’re being compared to Oscar, that’s pretty good.

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Pretty astounding stat: Oscar Tshiebwe ended his career with a 29.8% projected D-Reb percentage.

Amari Williams is currently projected at 29.9%.

In other words, Williams is as skilled a defensive rebounder as Oscar was. https://t.co/1nJtICYJBv
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) November 22, 2024

Kentucky No. 11 in EvanMiya rankings, No. 15 in KenPom

Kentucky got a big boost in the rankings this week, moving up to No. 9 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll. The Cats have steadily climbed the efficiency metrics as well. After starting the season at No. 43, Kentucky is now No. 15 in KenPom. They’re No. 10 in BartTorvik’s rankings and No. 11 in Evan Miyakawa’s.

Kentucky gets high marks from KenPom in just about everything, ranking No. 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency (117.6), No. 14 in three-point percentage (41.8%), and No. 17 in effective field-goal percentage (59.1%). Again, it’s early, but a promising start when it comes to numbers.

If you’re curious, Jackson State, tonight’s opponent, is No. 322 in KenPom, No. 330 in BartTorvik, and No. 324 in EvanMiya. Maybe the Cats will cover that 34.5-point spread.