Amari Williams is rebounding like Oscar Tshiebwe

Kentucky center Amari Williams - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Oscar Tshiebwe was a two-time All-American at Kentucky who earned National Player of the Year honors in 2022. The West Virginia transfer received that recognition thanks to elite rebounding. Now Drexel transfer Amari Williams is emerging as one of the best centers in college basketball at Kentucky thanks to elite rebounding.

The numbers at Kentucky are very similar.

Players	Points	Rebounds	Minutes	Offensive Rebound Percentage (via KenPom)	Defensive Rebound Percentage (via KenPom)	Rebounds Per 40 Minutes
Oscar Tshiebwe (2022)	17.4	15.2	31.9	19.4% (No. 2 nationally)	34.6% (No. 1 nationally)	19.0
Oscar Tshiebwe (2023)	16.5	13.7	33.6	19.6% (No. 2 nationally)	28% (No. 8 nationally)	16.3
Amari Williams (2024)	10.5	8.8	21.7	11.4% (No. 158 nationally)	30.9% (No. 4 nationally)	16.3

Amari Williams is not playing near the minutes volume of Tshiebwe, but his defensive rebound rate is just as good. The fifth-year senior from England is quickly becoming one of the best bigs in the SEC and his rebounding is a big reason why. Mark Pope‘s first starting center will not make a run at All-American honors but he should received some All-SEC recognition after the season.

While most of Tshiebwe’s offensive production came up post-ups, offensive rebounds, and in the dunker, Williams has a much more well-rounded impact on Kentucky’s offense. Williams currently ranks No. 4 in the SEC in usage rate (29.1%). Tshiebwe never ranked inside the top 10. Pope is asking his center to play some point guard and initiate the offense. That has led to a 30.2 percent assist rate in league play. That ranks fourth in the conference.

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Kentucky once again has another star center. Both Amari Williams and Oscar Tshiebwe are elite rebounders. Williams’ overall numbers are behind due to minutes volume, but there is no denying the impact he is making on this UK team.

“We’re asking Amari to do everything right now,” Pope said following Kentucky’s loss to Texas. “And he’s doing amazing work. I’m really proud of him.”