Putting Darrion Williams' historic night in Texas Tech basketball's win into perspective
It was going to take something extraordinary to knock Patrick Mahomes' third Super Bowl win with the Kansas City Chiefs from being the top story in the Lubbock area in less than 24 hours.
That's precisely what Darrion Williams did.
It was an almost-perfect Monday night in United Supermarkets Arena for Williams — he's upset about his one turnover — one that involved the Sacramento, California, native setting personal, program and Big 12 conference records in one fell swoop.
But don't try to play that up to Williams. To him, this was what he joined the Texas Tech basketball team to do. He didn't expect, or try, to put himself in the record books in the Red Raiders' 79-50 drubbing of No. 6 Kansas. It just sort of happened.
Well, not entirely. A 30-point, 11-rebound double-double while going 12-for-12 from the floor, 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the free throw line doesn't come by happenstance. It comes from the preparation, the mindset Williams carries with him none of the 15,098 in attendance or the national TV audience watching at home get to witness.
What those people saw was something never before seen from a player in a Red Raider uniform, or a member of the Big 12 Conference. It's certainly something Williams has never done.
"It's all in the work I put in," Williams said. "I'm in the gym all the time. Everybody on this team is in the gym all the team. We all trust the work and it works."
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Putting Williams' night into perspective can be tricky without the proper documents. Here's a small sampling of what the 6-foot-6 sophomore achieved.
His 30 points are a new career-high, which he previously set less than a week ago at Baylor (17)
His 12 made shots are the most of his career, and his four 3-pointers tied his previous best which, coincidentally, came against current teammate Warren Washington's Arizona State team in the First Four last season
It was the fourth time in Williams' short career he's had a double-double in back-to-back games, doing so three times at Nevada last season
Williams tied the Texas Tech record for single-game field goal percentage and is the first Red Raider to be 12-for-12 in a game. It's also the record for FG% in a Big 12 game for a Red Raider, the previous mark held by the program's all-time leading scorer Andre Emmett (91.7%).
He's the second player in Big 12 history to go 12-for-12 in a game and the first to do so in a conference game.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Williams is the first player in the last 25 seasons to have 30 points, 10 or more rebounds and shoot 100% against a ranked opponent.
Each of these individual marks played into Texas Tech's biggest margin of victory over a Top 10 team in program history. His defensive efforts in the paint, controlling Kansas bigs KJ Adams, Jr. and Hunter Dickinson, held Kansas to its lowest point total of the season. The 29-point margin of victory also ties the largest for Texas Tech (18-6, 7-4) against the Jayhawks.
Kansas' 50 points are the fewest the Jayhawks have put up against Texas Tech in series history. It also tied the Jayhawks' worst loss to an unranked team in the AP poll era — KU lost to Kentucky by 29 back in 1950.
For much of this season, Williams has been utilized as the talented grunt worker, scoring when needed or the opportunity arises, doing everything else in between. Over the last three games, he's been the main guy, hunting mismatches, being ready and willing to shoot — even if it's over the 7-foot-2 Dickinson, one of his four triples on the night — and making history in the process.
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Grant McCasland has raved about Williams' versatility since the former Mountain West freshman of the year arrived on campus. The allure of pairing up with fellow Las Vegas high school alum Pop Isaacs was part of the draw in bringing Williams to Texas Tech.
Like many of his teammates, Williams isn't one to boast about himself, even when the occasion calls for it.
"I couldn't have done it without my teammates setting me up for a lot of those shots," Williams said. "Without them, it wouldn't have happened."
Unselfish attitudes, and play, have defined the Red Raiders to this point. McCasland pointed to Williams as one of the guys who has become more vocal with his teammates in timeouts. Never criticizing, rather discussing ways to win.
"Darrion wasn't trying to be perfect," McCasland said, "He was trying to win. When you play that way, you get rewarded."
To Williams, his history-making performance was him just doing what he always does: playing basketball, trying to help the Red Raiders achieve their ultimate goal.
"I'm definitely not perfect," Williams said. "This isn't our goal to beat Kansas. We're trying to win the league."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Darrion Williams blossoming into a star for Texas Tech basketball
