TCU basketball retires Kenrich Williams' jersey. 'Just a blessing' for OKC Thunder forward

Kenrich Williams never thought he'd get his jersey retired at any level.

It's an honor usually reserved for stars, which the 29-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder forward doesn't claim to be.

In fact, Williams had no stars by his name in 2013 when he committed to New Mexico Junior College as an unranked prospect from Waco, Texas. Even nowadays on the Thunder, Williams is content with taking shade under the shadow cast by players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.

But as Williams stood on the floor of TCU's Schollmaier Arena on Saturday with his wife and his two daughters by his side, the moment he never thought to dream of became a reality.

Williams got his college jersey retired during halftime of TCU's home game against Texas. It's a well-deserved honor for the former Horned Frog, who's one of only five players in program history with over 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds.

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"There's really no words to express this," said Williams, who spoke before a packed crowd of fans wearing t-shirts with his face on it. "I never would've imagined it. In my whole time here, I never tried to get my jersey retired. That wasn't my goal.

"I just wanted to come here and change the program. It's just a blessing."

After earning All-Conference honors as a freshman at New Mexico Junior College, Williams transferred to TCU in 2014.

The 6-foot-7 forward earned a starting spot halfway through the season and was due for an even larger role the following year, but he missed the entire 2015-16 campaign due to a knee injury.

That didn't stop Williams, who came back better the next season. He earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention with averages of 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and he also earned the nickname "Kenny Hustle" along the way.

The nickname stuck, as Williams hustled his way to a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2018 after going undrafted. And since getting traded to OKC in 2020, he has hustled to earn minutes on a Thunder team (34-15) that's tied for first in the Western Conference standings.

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But Williams' impact isn't properly quantified by his averages of 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per game this season. It's his veteran leadership that holds the most value on the second-youngest team in the NBA.

"That's our vet," second-year forward Jaylin Williams said on Friday. "K-Rich sets the tone, regardless of what it is. He's always going to be the same guy that brings energy."

TCU isn't the only program that has retired Williams' jersey number.

Williams also got his high school jersey retired at University in Waco on Dec. 1. He earned District 8-4A Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2013 and led the Trojans to a 28–5 record.

The high school jersey retirement marked yet another honor for Williams, who has found success at every level despite never boasting a star status.

"Great competitor, great teammate, great person," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on Friday. "And he's not trying to do any of those things. That's just what he does and who he is. The authenticity of his ability to do those things, I think, is what connects with people so much."

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Kenrich Williams college basketball stats at TCU

Williams spent four seasons at TCU from 2014-18, but he sat out the 2015-16 season with a knee injury.

COLLEGE STATS: 106 games played, 11.0 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's Kenrich Williams gets college jersey retired at TCU