Kam Williams couldn't grab 10 rebounds vs. Loyola (MD), so he lost a bet with Mo Dioubate

Kam Williams looked like a different player in his first start as a Kentucky Wildcat on Friday.

The Tulane transfer took over for Mo Dioubate at the 4 spot in Kentucky’s 88-46 drumming of Loyola (MD) at Rupp Arena a couple of days ago. Dioubate sat out as he recovers from an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the week against Michigan State, which allowed Williams an opportunity to slide into the starting five. He lined up in the frontcourt alongside seven-footer Malachi Moreno, who also earned his first UK start against the Greyhounds.

Williams, rocking a new hairstyle that he said only happened because he didn’t have enough time that day to change it, went out and had his best performance yet as a sophomore. The 6-foot-8 wing finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 26 minutes without a single turnover. He shot 5-9 from the field, albeit on a 1-4 clip from deep — the lone make a halfcourt buzzer-beater that he banked in before halftime.

“He’s got a little bit of Koby Brea vibe where Koby, early in the season, was relentless to get downhill and actually get down to the dirty work of the physicality of the game in the paint,” Head coach Mark Pope said of Williams postgame. “He actually was stubborn a couple of times getting downhill today. He is a stat stuffer and he does it quietly sometimes. We need him to be great, he’s going to be great by the end of the season and he’s got a long way to go.”

The better Williams continues to play, the better off Kentucky will be down the road.

Kentucky's Kam Williams vs. Loyola (MD):

– 5/9 FG
– 13 PTS
– 9 REB
– 4 AST
– 3 STLhttps://t.co/lwo0ywV451 pic.twitter.com/0e4eluS0LL

— Daniel Hager (@DanielHagerOn3) November 22, 2025

But on a lighter note, Williams now has some beef with his teammates after the Loyola (MD) win. And no, it didn’t have to do with the nothing-burger “pregame incident” that happened before the Louisville game. Williams (jokingly) called out his two bigs, Malachi Moreno and Brandon Garrison, for stopping him from grabbing his 10th rebound and reaching his double-double.

“I wanted to win, so anything I needed to do or us to win, I’m gonna do it,” Williams said. “Rebounding — (I) tried to get to 10, but BG stole two of them, Malachi stole two of them as well, so I’m gonna talk to them later about that.”

Williams had plenty of opportunities to grab his 10th rebound and record his second career double-double, but his taller teammates won the day. He was up to his ninth rebound with a little under six minutes still left in the game. Jasper Johnson also snagged a loose board that would have been Williams’ 10th. Williams will have to wait at least one more game before having a chance to redeem himself on the glass.

But in the meantime, he’ll have to do some sprints. The injured Dioubate made a bet with Williams ahead of tipoff that required him to finish the game with 10 rebounds. The loser has to do extra sprints in practice.

“He said the same: rebound,” Williams said of what Dioubate told him ahead of the game. “I think he’s our leading rebounder, him or Malachi, one of them. He was just saying try to rebound as much as you can. He tried to bet me that I wasn’t gonna get 10. I was like ‘I’m gonna get it’, but I lost.“

If that’s all it takes for Williams to go after every rebound, then he and Dioubate need to keep making these pregame bets.

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