If you want to succeed in the sports world then having the name Ken/Kenny Williams is a good place to start. There is Kenny Williams who won the 2017 NCAA basketball title as a player at North Carolina, Ken Williams who won the 2005 World Series at GM of the Chicago White Sox, and Ken Williams who led the AL in HR/RBI in 1922 as a player for the St. Louis Browns. Another 1 is former UIC basketball player Kenny Williams, who became the 1st player in school history to score 2000 PTS and remains the Flames’ all-time leader with 237 STL. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Kenny about being named conference POY and playing pro basketball overseas. Today marks the 6th anniversary of his jersey being retired on February 19, 2016, so we take this time to remember his remarkable accomplishments.
You grew up in LaGrange, IL: what made you choose UIC? During my senior year there were not a lot of D-1 schools recruiting me. UIC started recruiting me during my junior year and by my senior year we were ranked 3rd in the Chicago area. Some Big 10 schools came in after the fact but I knew that UIC wanted me: I would question some schools about it and there was just silence on the phone! I wanted to be loyal and stay close to home so my family could watch my games.
You were 5’10”: did you consider your size to be an advantage or a disadvantage on the court? I always saw it as an advantage because I had quickness as well. If I thought of it as a disadvantage then how would that have helped me become a better player? I am math-oriented so the concept is that if I am always going to be 5’10” then I might as well deal with it. I just focused on the things that I could control.
You made the conference all-tourney team for 3 straight years from 1992-1994: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? If you are a competitor then that is how you test yourself to see where you stand. You want to be able to perform when it really counts so I treated every single practice as if it was a game situation. When there were big stakes on the line, I was already prepared.
In 1994 you were named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? To be honest my teammate Sherell Ford should have won it that year but I think they gave it to me because I was a senior. Looking back on it, I take pride in it because there are not a lot of 5’10” guys who win such awards. I have had people tell me that they started playing basketball after watching me play. It was a great honor: I think that I was the 1st UIC player to win that award and it laid the path for the great guards who came in after me.
You remain in the top-3 in school history in PTS/AST: what is the key to being a great PG? I tried to be a complete player rather than just do 1 thing great. The game is more than just scoring: I wanted to do a little bit of everything. I wanted people to know that I played 100% every time I stepped onto the court. I tried to play as if someone important was watching me (like my mom, who often had to work). At the end of the day she never asked me how many PTS I scored but rather whether we won the game.
Your 237 STL remain the most in school history: what was your secret for playing great defense? Positioning. I was taught very early to know where the ball was in relation to where my man was. I tried to force my opponent to his weak hand, which is very fundamental. Sometimes I could predict what would happen so I was able to steal the ball without getting out of position. I would watch tapes of our games 3 times to see what mistakes I made on defense/offense. It sounds pretty extreme but how else can you get better unless you honestly evaluate yourself and are dedicated? The next time I faced an opponent I would know all of their strengths/weaknesses.
You spent a decade playing basketball in several countries: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? The 1st thing I noticed in Spain was that when I was practicing they did not separate skills by positions: the big men were doing guard drills and the guards were learning how to maneuver in the post. That is why you see players who come to the US that are so skilled offensively: it is based on their development but not at 1 specific position. Dirk Nowitzki is 7’ tall but he was never categorized as a “center” because he could shoot from the perimeter. That was the 1st time I saw the absence of a real post game and a lot of pick-and-pop with big guys setting screens on the perimeter and hitting threes.
After retiring you worked as a radio analyst and basketball instructor: how did you like the jobs, and what do you hope to do in the future? When I returned from overseas I did a 10-year stint on radio. Now I work for a staffing company if they need technical help like with developers. The radio job allowed me to stay close to the game but eventually it became too hard to balance all of the road trips with my regular job. I do most of my training on the weekends every once in a while but I enjoy it because it is just at the grassroots level of learning the skill set/fundamentals. It is hard to break bad habits if you try to re-learn everything down the line.
In 2016 the school retired your jersey: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It was awesome! It was great that it happened later than sooner because it helped me appreciate it more. It reminded me of all the people who sacrificed to help me get there. 1 of the things I said that night is that there is a piece of everyone in that jersey even though my name is the only 1 on it. As you get older you gain the perspective to think about more than just yourself.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? As a person who would do anything necessary for my teammates/coaches to win a game. The jersey/stats are nice but winning was the most important thing and my effort never changed. If my coach told me that I was going too hard in practice then I told him to turn the scoreboard off!