Last Saturday Middle Tennessee beat Marshall in the C-USA title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Blue Raiders made quite a splash last March by upsetting Michigan State as a #15-seed, and now they are back in the NCAA tourney as a #12-seed to face #5-seed Minnesota in a South Region match-up on Thursday afternoon in Milwaukee. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SR PF JaCorey Williams about making a game-winning shot in his hometown and being named conference POY.
You began your career at Arkansas, where you beat Wofford in the 2015 NCAA tourney before losing to North Carolina: what did you lean from that experience that you think can help you this time around? I learned that the idea of survive/advance is so critical: teams will give you their best shot regardless of the name on the front of your/their jersey.
Why did you decide to transfer after that season, and what made you choose the Blue Raiders? My AAU coach talked to Coach Davis 1st and then I talked to him myself. He told me how good I could become if I worked hard and was a good teammate while sitting out for a year. I also worked on my individual skill set a lot.
You play for Coach Kermit Davis: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He never lets up no matter who on the team he is talking to: we are all accountable. We never take any opponent for granted and always stay focused. He taught us that when you are preparing for a game you cannot skip any steps in the process no matter which game it is.
In November you scored a career-high 31 PTS in a 3-PT OT win over Toledo: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? It had a lot to do with my teammates having confidence me, but I definitely had it going that night and just tried to keep making plays to help us win.
You played several good non-conference teams this year like UNC Wilmington/Vandy/VCU: which of these teams impressed you the most? UNC Wilmington can shoot the 3-ball and can drive against bigger defenders: they can play with anybody. Their big man (Devontae Cacok) rebounds and shoots about 80 FG%: you need guys like that on your team.
On February 26 you scored 15 PTS including the game-winning jumper with 5 seconds left in a 2-PT win at UAB (which happens to be the city where you grew up): did you think that your shot was going in, and where does that rank among the most clutch shots of your career? About 2/3 of my shots are mid-range jumpers so it felt good when I released it and I was not surprised that I made the shot. It was big to win the game in front of so much of family/friends in attendance.
Last week you were named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It just shows all of the hard work that I have put in since I came here from Arkansas. I have improved as a person/player/leader and let my game speak for itself. I worked hard in the summertime on my ball-handling/jump shot, but if it was not for my teammates then I could not have won that award.
Last Saturday you scored 17 PTS in an 83-72 win over Marshall in the C-USA title game: how were you able to pull out the win after the Thundering Herd cut your lead to 2 PTS with 12 minutes left, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? When they cut our lead to 2 we still felt confident because we knew that they would make a run at some point. We then went on a run of our own and then I figured the game would stay in our favor. I was very tired when I got back to campus after celebrating the win but I was excited to see us announced on the selection show.
You have only lost 3 games since Thanksgiving by a combined 14 PTS: how has your team able to remain so dominant throughout the entire season? Coach Davis is not satisfied by getting a couple of wins in a row: he wants to win every game and holds us to that standard. If we are slacking at practice he will call out the leaders to get the whole team going.
How do you feel about getting a #12-seed, and what do you know about Minnesota? I do not mind a #12: we were a #15 last year so this is a step up for us. I know that the Gophers have some good big men, a good PG, and a coach named Pitino so it will be no small task to beat them, but I like our match-up.