Wisconsin basketball's Serah Williams accepts challenge of pushing her game to new level
MADISON – Serah Williams dropped 30 points in Wisconsin’s exhibition game victory over UW-Whitewater on Sunday, but the most impressive part of her performance had nothing to do with how well she put the ball in the hoop.
In fact, it had nothing to do with any part of her offensive game.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore forward was whistled for just one foul in 22 minutes.
The Badgers hope that is a sign of progress for a player who endured her share of foul trouble as a freshman. The thinking is simple: the more Williams is available, the more productive she’ll be and thus the better the Badgers’ chances of continuing to trend upward under third-year coach Marisa Moseley.
There is no one more important on the Wisconsin roster.
“There is a quote that says ‘Good players want to be told that they’re right. Great players want to be coached and corrected,'” Moseley said. “And I think she has the opportunity to be a great player because she wants to be coached.”
Williams is Wisconsin’s top returner in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (5.4 rpg), blocks (1.9 bpg) and field-goal percentage (54.3%). The all-Big Ten freshman selection ranked second on the team in scoring and rebounds last season, though her points per minute showed her potential as an impact player.
She averaged a point every 1.9 minutes. Her next-closest teammate, graduated senior Julie Pospisilova, was next with a point every 2.5 minutes. Williams averaged a rebound every 4.6 minutes. The next-closest Badger, Avery LaBarbera, another graduated senior, grabbed one every 6.3 minutes.
Williams averaged 24.8 minutes per game, fifth-best on the team. Foul trouble and conditioning prevented Williams from doing more.
Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley sees Serah Williams' big-time potential
This season we’ll see if Williams’ improved fitness, increased leadership role and newfound approach to defense help her increase her productivity and help a team even younger than the one the Badgers’ fielded last season improve on its 11-20 overall record and 6-12 Big Ten mark.
“I challenged all the players that they need to play older than they are right now because we are so young,” Moseley said. “So freshmen need to play like sophomores, sophomores like juniors, juniors like seniors and seniors you have to play like you’re a pro … For Serah, the goal we talked about is to become an All-American.”
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The Brooklyn, New York, native showed the potential to become that player last season. She scored in double figures in her first seven games and finished with 20 double-digit efforts. Twice she posted double-doubles, including a 31-point, 13-rebound night in an overtime victory over Michigan State on Jan. 11. She was too quick and agile for most defenders in the post while also showing range out to about 15 feet.
Adjusting to the more physical play of the college game was a challenge, but the shift to Big Ten play didn’t adversely affect her production. She led the team in scoring (13.9 ppg), shot 56.7% and grabbed 5.4 boards per game.
Offseason meeting sparks change in Williams
Early during the offseason Moseley met with Williams to find out how she felt about her play and see if she was ready to put in the necessary work to take her play to greater heights. The talk sparked a shift in Williams’ mindset.
“I just focused on pushing myself when I’m tired, practicing as hard as I can,” she said. “When my legs were dead, (getting) going again, just knowing it’s practice, but it will make the game easier. Not settling for being average or mediocre, always trying to get better and better and better."
That thinking spilled over into her weight training and nutrition. It’s even affected her approach to sleep. And of course, there is defense, where she is finding out that standing tall is better than going after the shot.
“My arms are pretty long so I realize if I put my hands up and make them shoot over me,” she said. “I might get less blocks, but the contest is better for me because I can stay in the game.”
Wisconsin had its youngest roster in 16 years last season. With no graduate transfer to lean on and five freshmen in the fold and 11 underclassmen the team is even younger this season.
Williams and senior Brooke Schramek are the only proven scorers on the roster.
There is potential elsewhere, but the 2023-24 Badgers are a team that will have to grow up quickly. Part of making that happen will be Williams taking the next step with her game.
It is a challenge Williams has not problem pursuing.
“I think I have higher expectations for myself,” she said. As long as I know I’m trying my hardest, I’m giving my hardest, then I can walk off the court OK. I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin basketball's Serah Williams pushes her game to new level
