2015 Guard Kenny Williams decommits from VCU

247 article on Kenny Williams from UNC side (paywalled).

There’s a report out there that Kenny has set officials to Michigan, Virginia and Florida, but I texted Kenny last night and told me as of right now he has NOT set any additional official visits.

2015 Kenny Williams of LC Bird plans to take official visits to Florida, Michigan and UVA. Former VCU commit already visited UNC #VaHoops

— Jack Herron (@jwherron10) April 26, 2015

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN
Former VCU signee Kenny Williams told ESPN he will visit Virginia Friday, Florida (May 13) and Michigan (May 18). Has already visited UNC.

That leaves enough time for Brown to make a decision

Definitely is pretty good timing w/r/t Jaylen.

At the end of the day, even if we don’t get Brown, adding Kenny (who will probably RS) is a damn good get considering Caris is coming back. Will allow Kenny time to improve ballhandling along with a year of Sanderson. I’d have to assume Kenny would be at least adequate on the court once Caris leaves considering his already existing skillset and athletic ability.

That being said, don’t know if its automatic that we get Kenny (assuming no Brown), UVA seems to be making a push.

also always happy to have the last visit in recruiting especially with a May 20 “deadline”

I doubt Kenny would come and Redshirt.

At the end of the day, even if we don’t get Brown, adding Kenny (who will probably RS) is a damn good get considering Caris is coming back. Will allow Kenny time to improve ballhandling along with a year of Sanderson. I’d have to assume Kenny would be at least adequate on the court once Caris leaves considering his already existing skillset and athletic ability.

That being said, don’t know if its automatic that we get Kenny (assuming no Brown), UVA seems to be making a push.

I doubt Kenny would come and Redshirt.
At the end of the day, even if we don't get Brown, adding Kenny (who will probably RS) is a damn good get considering Caris is coming back. Will allow Kenny time to improve ballhandling along with a year of Sanderson. I'd have to assume Kenny would be at least adequate on the court once Caris leaves considering his already existing skillset and athletic ability.

That being said, don’t know if its automatic that we get Kenny (assuming no Brown), UVA seems to be making a push.

It’s been reported that Kenny was willing to come irrelevant of Levert, which is obvious considering he’s still taking an official visit. That being said, no doubt he’s looked at the depth chart and would see the writing on the wall that Levert is getting 30+ mins a game, with Dawkins and MAAR playing backup. Not much room for time in my view. Pretty obvious if you ask me.

I dunno, on the one hand I doubt he wants to redshirt but on the other I’m not sure he immediately leap-frogs MAAR in the rotation for the 3-7 available minutes backing up LeVert.

Man I like his game though. He has a buttery smooth stroke. You would have to get him a few minutes i.e. Stauskas freshman year. Plus he fits the mold of guys beilein turns into 1st round picks. Sweet stroke, slightly above average athlete, decent handle, ranked near 100. Plus like Matt D says a nice defender. All more reason to give him minutes.

Man I like his game though. He has a buttery smooth stroke. You would have to get him a few minutes i.e. Stauskas freshman year. Plus he fits the mold of guys beilein turns into 1st round picks. Sweet stroke, slightly above average athlete, decent handle, ranked near 100. Plus like Matt D says a nice defender. All more reason to give him minutes.

I agree with you on almost all points (except Nik actually started as a freshman vs. a few minutes). The question becomes is Kenny better than Dawkins or MAAR as a freshman? I think that is most likely a no. Both of those players will have the advantage of a) knowing the system b) Sanderson for 1 year.

Man I like his game though. He has a buttery smooth stroke. You would have to get him a few minutes i.e. Stauskas freshman year. Plus he fits the mold of guys beilein turns into 1st round picks. Sweet stroke, slightly above average athlete, decent handle, ranked near 100. Plus like Matt D says a nice defender. All more reason to give him minutes.

I like his game too, though I’m not clear as to whether he can be a combo or a PG, something we plainly need going forward. However, as much as I like his game, I cannot see any minutes available for him next season barring injury–he’s not playing ahead of LeVert, Walton or Albrecht, and I don’t see him playing ahead of MAAR, at least as a freshman, given MAAR’s much greater experience, year in the strength program, and skill set which is more in need, especially for a guy playing limited minutes, than is Williams’s skill set.

What if you can add Williams and Huerter in the next two classes? How would that leave you feeling about the backcourt in 2016-17?

Walton (sr.), Irvin (sr.), MAAR (jr.), Williams (so.), Huerter (fr.)

Assuming both Walton and Irvin stay, I would feel pretty good. Wouldn’t feel so good in 17-18 though…I like MAAR as a primary ballhandler, Williams and Huerter…not so much.

What if you can add Williams and Huerter in the next two classes? How would that leave you feeling about the backcourt in 2016-17?

Walton (sr.), Irvin (sr.), MAAR (jr.), Williams (so.), Huerter (fr.)

That’s absolutely fine for '16-'17, but to me, it would put a premium on getting a ready-to-play PG in the class of '17, unless Williams is more able to play PG (or at least function as a combo) than I have seen to date. Williams could play with a pure PG and be very good–Huerter and MAAR could play together and, IMO, take care of ballhandling/set-up duties between them, but Williams with MAAR or Huerter doesn’t strike me as enough in the way of ballhandling in a lineup. That said, maybe the staff views Williams as a guy who can be a combo, especially with a year of work (redshirting?), and that’s one reason they are pursuing him.

Williams not cool with waiting for Brown?

Former VCU signee Kenny Williams tells ESPN he is down to Virginia and North Carolina.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 30, 2015

That’s a bummer. Unless…

This is not turning out well for us at all. But I don’t see how our staff could have done anything else different. Brown waiting so long has always been the issue.

hmm…williams was rumored to wanna stay local right?

on another note and i know this could be interpreted a million ways

Bacari Alexander @bacari34 · 4h 4 hours ago
So excited to see all the great recruits coming into the B1G Conference. We are the best Men’s Basketball Conference in the Country! #B1G

Williams not cool with waiting for Brown?

Former VCU signee Kenny Williams tells ESPN he is down to Virginia and North Carolina.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 30, 2015

That’s a bummer. Unless…

That’s not ideal news. I’d love to think it has something to do with Brown, but I doubt it does.

I wonder if next year’s depth chart is a concern now that Caris is back. I can’t much speak to UVa’s depth chart. But he should have a pretty clear path to playing time at UNC. Pinson is the only real 2 guard on that team. Last year, they were forced to run a lot of 2 PG sets. They used Tokoto at the 2 when they didn’t have 2 PGs out there. Paige is currently the only good 3-point shooter on the team. They desperately need someone else that can shoot from range.

It does seem quite odd that you would set up an official visit then cancel 1 day later and trim that school off your list…that’s a complete 180 in only 1 day