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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — Colorado freshman Cody Williams hasn't fully shown why he's a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft due to a series of injuries.
A fractured orbital bone, wrist injury and ankle issues have limited Williams, who is ranked No. 7 in ESPN's draft rankings, the highest-ranked NCAA player still playing in the tournament. ing. Ahead of Sunday's game against second-seeded Marquette, the forward told ESPN that he felt he had done the necessary work to show why he should have been left out of the squad in the first place. Told.
“I don't feel like I have anything to prove because I've already put in the effort,” Williams said Saturday. “I have done my due diligence and preparation and done what I needed to do in terms of my off-court activities.
“So as long as I focus on college basketball and play my game, everything in the future will take care of itself.”
In Friday's win over seventh-seeded Florida, Williams scored nine points in 25 minutes as the 10th-seeded Buffaloes won 102-100 thanks to a late jumper from guard KJ Simpson.
Williams, who averaged 11.9 points a season and shot 41 percent from behind the 3-point line, was on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team and was a McDonald's All-American out of Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) High School. He became a player. school.
Williams missed seven games with a wrist injury before conference play began, according to multiple reports. He returned for six games, but suffered an elbow fracture that fractured his left orbital bone during practice for Colorado's game against Utah on February 3, which he missed.
I had to wait a week for the double vision and blurring to subside. Williams returned to the court on February 8th against Arizona State, where he started.
According to the new student, the most difficult part was finding the right mask. The nose protector on the first one was a little too big. He consulted his younger brother Jalen, an Oklahoma City Thunder forward who fractured his right orbital bone ahead of his 2022 rookie season, about keeping him focused. Saturday's win against Florida was Cody Williams' first game without a mask.
“Even without a mask on my face, I could see my peripherals better. I felt like I could see the court better even without a mask on my face,” Williams told ESPN . “So it feels like it’s back to normal.”
Still, Williams is trying to get back into shape. He missed four games with his ankle injury and was not released until March 14 in the Pac-12 Tournament opener against Utah. Williams has started every game so far this season, but has come off the bench in the past five tournaments.
However, his workload has increased. The 25 minutes he played against Florida was his longest since before his injury.
Williams played Simpson's winning shot inbounds against the Gators. Colorado coach Tad Boyle praised Williams' ability to show patience before Simpson waved him off and received the ball before the controversial game-winning goal with just over a second left.
“KJ wasn't open to begin with, but then he came back,” Boyle said after the win.
Tournament games in Indianapolis will feature some of the top players in the college game. Marquette guard Tyler Kolek entered the postseason as the NCAA's assist leader. Purdue center Zach Eady was named National Player of the Year and is in position to earn that honor again.
But Williams has the highest pro stock. Marquette coach Shaka Smart called Williams a “ridiculous talent” and praised how Williams handled his current role following his injury.
“The fact that he's coming off the bench now, where he was starting most games before he got injured, says a lot about the kind of person he is and the fact that he thinks about the team and winning.” “It's telling,” Smart said.
And that's all the Colorado State freshman is concerned about ahead of Sunday's game against the Golden Eagles, where the Buffaloes could advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the NCAA Tournament was expanded in 1985.
“Right now all I'm thinking about is enjoying this moment,” Williams said. “Of course, we can do that by winning and moving on to the next game. We also understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
