Louisville men’s basketball team captain and super senior Malik Williams received a preseason accolade this morning. He was named to the Preseason All-ACC Second Team. Williams was the only member of the Cardinal program to earn a spot on one of the preseason All-ACC teams.
Official 2021 Preseason All-ACC Men's Basketball Team! ⤵️
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) October 19, 2021
🏀📰: https://t.co/cdSow7slag pic.twitter.com/C4jnl3sj2n
Preseason love for @Leek_Willi 🙌#GoCards pic.twitter.com/esAB6QEbP5
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) October 19, 2021
Despite a career plagued by injuries, Williams is the unquestioned leader of the team. He enters this season with a wealth of experience that I’m sure he will utilize in games. Arguably the best interior defender on the squad, he looks to be the defensive leader on the floor. Offensively, he has become a better post player during his career progression and he can step outside the arc and hit some threes.
Williams has averaged 6.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg. These numbers are skewed by his freshman season and the injury-riddled 2020-2021 campaign. His sophomore and junior years, Malik averaged 6.1 rpg both seasons and averaged 7.7 ppg his sophomore season and 8.5 ppg his junior season.
Coming back from a foot injury that forced him to miss all but 3 games last year, Malik is expected to be a coach on the floor this year. He will anchor the team in the post offensively and defensively. It’s obvious that the media, coaches, and fans all expect Malik Williams to be the Cardinals best player. I think he will thrive and have the best season of his career for the Cards, earning his second team selection. There’s a good chance he bumps it up to first team when it’s all said and done.
