Myerscough College Basketball Academy alumni Amari Williams (‘20) lived out his American collegiate hoop dreams in his final year of eligibility by playing for the historic University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team.
Williams, who signed a full athletic scholarship out of Myerscough to play for Drexel University, became a three-time Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time First-Team All-CAA selection and a three-time CAA All-Defensive Team pick during his time in Philadelphia.
The seven-foot-tall forward reunited with Myerscough teammate Mate Okros at Drexel, where they played another three years together. The two helped the Dragons capture its first conference tournament in 25 years when Williams was a freshman.
His career at Drexel garnered a tremendous amount of attention, including from first-year Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope. Williams became Pope’s first commit out of the transfer portal in Lexington.
Williams went on to average an efficient 10.9 points on 56.1 percent shooting to go with 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 22.8 minutes per game in 36 contests wearing the famed Kentucky jersey.
The graduate senior quickly became a fan favourite with his passing ability and intensity on the court, while he was a recognized figure in the community. He helped the Wildcats reach a record 45th and counting NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Kentucky’s resume, meanwhile, speaks for itself.
It is one of the “Blue Bloods” of American college basketball, with its eight NCAA Men’s Basketball championships trailing only John Wooden’s UCLA (11). Rupp Arena is one of the iconic venues in all collegiate athletics.
The programme has produced a record 128 NBA Draft selections and three number one picks (John Wall, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns). The Wildcats have produced 30 current NBA players, the most of any college.
Across 141 games that spanned a five-year collegiate career, Williams totalled 1,472 points and 1,038 rebounds. He tallied 286 assists, 230 blocks and 106 steals. He started 81.6 percent of games, including every game—98 straight starts—over his final three seasons.
Williams, who was selected to attend the G League Elite Camp is preparing for the 2025 NBA Draft and beyond. Only nine players who have come through the British system have ever played in the NBA.
He hopes to be the tenth.
The relationship with coaches even until now is something that always stuck out to me throughout any recruiting process. It just helps me even more when I’m on the court knowing that they’ve got my back—knowing that it’s more than just basketball for them. The coaches I’ve always played for knew me as a person and a basketball player, and that’s two different things. Even when I’ve left places (like Myerscough or Drexel), I feel like they’ve helped me come a long way and they’ve put their trust in me and helped me grow into the person I am today. Checking in on them is the least I can do.
The biggest thing I’ve learned having played for a programme like Kentucky is to keep it even keeled with everything you do. Whether it’s a good game or a bad one, knowing that I can’t get too high or too low about it is important. I know that’s a common answer, but at a place like Kentucky, they love basketball, and it means a lot to them. Coach (Mark) Pope, Neal (Hopkins), (Zach) Spiker and even (Paul) Fortier have always been able to read me well and understand how I’m feeling and that helps me perform on the court.
The fans you encounter in person are always different to the ones you see online. That’s something not a lot of people realise until you come to a programme of the magnitude like Kentucky. Walking around Lexington was a lot different to walking around Philadelphia but it’s nothing but love from the fans. Their encouragement was always great to see.
You hear criticism and all you can try and do is not let it affect you. At the start of the year, I would see it or hear it, and I would think about it at times but as the season went on, it became “whatever”. I saw it as you know what my coaches believe in me, my teammates believe in me and everyone on the staff believes in me, and that’s all that matters. Every player goes through different stages of good and bad games, it’s about being positive with teammates if they’re going through it. Letting someone know you believe in them is the best thing you can do.
Everywhere I’ve played that’s had success, everyone has stuck together. I remember a lot of games at Myerscough where Neal would say, ‘Hey, you guys have to figure it out’, and I feel like ever since then I’ve always been on a team where we’ve done that. We’ve worked together and communicated. That’s something that will always stay the same throughout my career.
Being asked to speak in front of the team brings out some nerves but everyone’s done it at some point. It’s a good way to express whatever you’re feeling. You don’t have to say much but something you feel will help the team is what you aim for.
Now that I’m older and I’ve gone through a lot, I’d tell young me to just enjoy where you are. Sometimes or some years you might not be playing as much or you might not be having the best performance, or you are playing good and are ready to get to the next stage, but it all goes by so quick, so just enjoy every moment and all the relationships you’ve made.
Most people compare their race to somebody else’s—where they are or how quickly they’ve gotten there. Everyone goes at their own speed. If you keep working and you keep believing in yourself, you’re going to get to that end goal at some point. Keep running your own race and eventually you’ll get there.
Growing up I had guys I looked up to. Knowing that I’m now in their position now and inspiring the younger generation, it’s a surreal feeling. I’m glad that I’m showing that you can go through the English pathway and still make it to one of the best colleges in America.
It something you’ll never forget. Every time you walk down the tunnel at Rupp Arena, we see the blue LED lights on the roof just before we’re about to run out, and as soon as you pass a certain point, you see the arena is full, you look around for a minute and think it’s crazy that you’re even there. Knowing how much they love basketball and the fact they do this every year is crazy.
In the SEC, it’s just different. There’s no games off. Seeing the packed arenas everywhere we go is something that catches me by surprise every game. College basketball means a lot to people. It’s one of the craziest leagues where every game is going to be close. The crowd can play a factor for every team. That energy is something I never would have even imagined to be honest.
The first “pinch me” moment was the Duke game. Hearing the Big Blue chants was amazing. The other was the Gonzaga game, knowing that we were so far from home, but the crowd we had there was surreal and they helped us come back. Tennessee too because that was a rivalry game and it didn’t seem like there were that many Kentucky fans in Knoxville but you can always hear them everywhere you go.
Every team that I’ve been part of since being at Myerscough, Drexel and Kentucky, we all just love each other and love hanging out together. Myerscough was the funniest of them all because we’re on the farm, we’ve got no service, so we didn’t have any other choice but to hangout with each other, we still made it fun. It’s been a different setting each year in terms of what we’ve been able to do but the love is always the same and that’s why every team I’ve been on has felt so connected.
I’m from Nottingham. I always try and explain the story of Robinhood because that’s the only way people will ever be able to understand where I’m from. You’ve always got to name the big cities when someone asks. Explaining my journey to get here, it was just going step by step, explaining what national team is and how we get recruited. I feel like once my story gets to Drexel, it’s easy to go from there.
Something it all doesn’t feel real. I remember going on my visit to Drexel and getting my first Division I offer and just being happy with that. Each year, I’ve set a goal, whether it was just to get on court or to make an All-Conference Team. I set my goals and aspirations high, that I can work towards even if it is in a year or two. The goals I set and how quickly I was able to achieve them is something that always catches me by surprise. It always makes me feel proud of myself to be able to achieve those things.
I wasn’t able to understand what I really did until the next day. Getting that triple double was a great feeling, and I’m always going to be proud of myself for that. It wasn’t really something I thought about coming in, but the way we played and the way the coaches allowed me to distribute the ball, it was something I always jokingly said I could get but to actually get it, it was a bit crazy to me.
Pope told us that nothing was ever promised. Everything had to be earnt. Knowing that and knowing that I was able to compete for a starting place at the University of Kentucky was something I couldn’t ever pass up. When coaches are transparent, that’s a great situation to be in. That’s something I’ve had since I was at Myerscough.
Go for it. Even if you feel like it would be an uncomfortable situation, just go for it. You will always get over that uncomfortable feeling and you will realise that it was all worth it in the long run and it will ultimately get you to where you want to go.