COLLEGE STATION, Texas – ESPN revealed its Preseason All-America Teams this week with Texas A&M represented by sophomore forward Robert Williams. Williams, the co-SEC Preseason Player of the Year, was honored by ESPN as a Fourth-Team Preseason All-American.
Also this week, NBC Sports named the combo of Williams and junior center Tyler Davis as one of the most formidable frontcourt duos in the country.
A native of Oil City, La., Williams came to Texas A&M ranked as the nation’s No. 50 recruit by ESPN but developed into one of the country’s brightest rookies in Aggieland. Williams notched 11 double-doubles last season, the second most among all SEC players while averaging a near double-double during league play with 12.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Also in league play, Williams led the SEC in blocked shots (46), while ranking second in rebounding (9.6 per game), offensive rebounding (3.6 offensive rebounds per game) and field goal percentage (.542).
On the defensive end, Williams stood out as one of the NCAA’s most disruptive forces. He owns the nation’s longest active blocked shot streak, having collected a swat in every game a year ago, while posting 22 multi-block games as well as eight games with four or more blocks. A three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree, Williams’ 77 total blocked shots were 20th-most among all Division-I players last season and the second most by an Aggie for a single season, trailing only David Harris’ 108 in 1989-90.
Davis, meanwhile, was honored by the SEC coaches for the second straight season with a second-team selection a year ago after garnering SEC All-Freshman team accolades the year prior. The Plano, Texas, native paced the SEC and ranked 14th nationally in field goal percentage by converting 62.9 percent of his shot attempts. Davis averaged 14.1 points per contest last season to rank 13th in the league and pulled down 7.0 boards per contest, checking in at eighth in the conference in rebounding.
The 6-foot-10 sophomore notched four double-doubles last season and was also named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VII Team.
Williams and Davis, along with their Aggie teammates, will face Texas in an exhibition contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse on the campus of Rice University in Houston. All proceeds from the event will go to the Rebuild Texas Relief Fund, which is assisting those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
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An affordable, family entertainment option, season tickets for Aggie men’s basketball begin as low as $100. Annual per seat contributions are required for some seating areas of Reed Arena. Contact the 12thMan Foundation for additional information or to order tickets by calling 888-992-4443 or logging onto www.12thMan.com/Tickets.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics