Eric Gay / AP
Texas guard Donovan Williams dribbles during a game against Oklahoma, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas.
Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Ask UNLV swingman Donovan Williams how long his wingspan is and he answers immediately: “Seven foot.”
He knows it cold because it’s a question he has undoubtedly fielded many times, from amazed fans, curious teammates and, most important, from salivating coaches who have recruited the former 4-star prospect from the Class of 2019.
Williams is a physical marvel. At 6-foot-6 he possesses the limbs of a player six inches taller, a trait which earned him the nickname “Stretch” during his peewee football days. It stuck, and it still applies.
“I think Stretch is a pretty appropriate nickname,” UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger said, “because his arms seem to go on forever.”
Williams is also an elite athlete, with the fluidity, explosiveness and leaping ability to perform spectacular feats above the rim. It’s no wonder power conference coaches raced to sign him three years ago, even if he wasn’t yet a finished product.
A native of the Houston area, Williams committed to Texas out of high school. His still-developing game didn’t quite catch up to his measurables, however, and he was not able to earn consistent playing time during his two years in Austin.
Williams admits his approach was a little rough around the edges at Texas. With his outstanding physical gifts, he wanted free rein to do as he pleased on the court. The Longhorns coaches had other ideas, however, limiting him to 11.0 minutes per game as a freshman and 10.3 minutes as a sophomore.
Williams transferred to UNLV over the offseason, mainly because he wanted a chance to play through mistakes in a more stable role.
He understands he’ll have to become more detail-oriented to earn extended court time.
“That was probably the biggest thing,” Williams said. “When you come into college as a freshman, the one thing you want to do is play. You want to go out there and play, not really worry about the X’s and O’s or the details. But when you go through and you understand, the two years I spent at Texas, you watch and you pay attention, you’re like, ‘OK, this is what I need to do. This is what I need to take accountability for.’”
Perhaps hindered by his unwieldy levers, Williams shot just 34.3% from the field and 21.9% from the free-throw line at Texas, but count Kruger among the list of coaches who can’t wait to see what Williams is capable of once he reaches his potential.
Kruger is especially excited about the havoc Williams and his Inspector Gadget arms could wreak on the defensive end of the court.
“He’s one of those guys that when he wants to be disruptive and get in passing lanes and use his length, he’s really good,” Kruger said. “That’s one of the things we’ve been working on a lot, when to take risks.”
Williams said shooting is just one of his skill areas that he wants to fine-tune.
“I just want to develop my overall game,” Williams said. “With my abilities and God-given attributes, I think I would sell myself short if I didn’t try to be good at everything. People always say, ‘Don’t be a jack of all trades, focus on one thing’ … I want to make sure I get good at everything. Shooting, being a playmaker, defense, rebounding, all those things that go into being a winning basketball player.”
Defensively, Williams slots in as a wing but has the length to defend frontcourt players. Kruger believes that despite Williams’ lanky frame — he weighs in at a spindly 190 pounds — he can be effective in matchups against power forwards and some centers when UNLV wants to go small.
Williams wants other teams to try bullying him.
“I think people look at me a lot and maybe say, ‘Oh he’s kind of skinny, we might have to attack him, he’s not physical,’” Williams said. “I take it on as a challenge. Growing up, I know people looked at me like, he’s a skinny guy, let’s out-physical him. It’s mindset for me; it’s not about body, it’s about mindset. It’s about when I go down there and I have to rebound or I’ve got to go down there and guard a big or block out, it’s not about my size, it’s about my willingness to actually go do it.”
While Williams works on his fundamentals in hopes of fulfilling his immense upside, he still takes time out to dazzle. It’s not uncommon to see him grab a ball after practice and challenge teammates to impromptu dunk contests, and as you can imagine, it’s really difficult to beat him.
When teammate Jordan McCabe was asked to describe Williams’ body type, the 6-foot point guard set the bar high.
“I would say K.D.-ish, but that would go straight to his head,” McCabe said with a laugh. “His ceiling is ridiculous.”
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
