Off the court, he’s spending his free time watching season 4 of “Stranger Things” and the new Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” noting, ”I’m a big ‘Star Wars’ guy.” Trying to become a two-way player, somebody that can guard on defense and then make plays offensively.” “And then offensively, a lot of teams have talked about me being more of a point guard - a transition that I’m willing to make. “I’ve been a defensive-minded guy my whole career, so it’s just translating that to the pro level,” Williamson said. He said that players he models his game after include Marcus Smart, Alex Caruso, and Jrue Holiday. His individual defensive rating was never higher than the 96.2 he posted as a true freshman. The 23-year-old spent five years in the Ramblers program, averaging 13.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals as a senior, while shooting 39.0% on 5.7 tries beyond the arc per game. Williamson is a 6-4, 205-pounder known for being a defensive pest. I told them to put it back down to 32 with the rest of the guards, ’cause I’m not a ‘big man’ - I do everything,” Usher said. “They tried to put 34 seconds on me ’cause they had me down as a big man. At the end of their workouts, the Jazz test players’ conditioning in a drill in which they have to run the length of the court six times, with a layup at the end of each trip guards get 32 seconds to do it, bigs get 34. His closing thoughts on being competitive and how he views himself as an athlete stood out as well. He attributed his improved shooting numbers to developing confidence in his shot, and cutting way down on too-quick off-the-bounce 3s, while now waiting patiently to get swing-swing open looks. You take a chance on Usher, I’m not going to fail you, I promise you that.”ĭefensively, he described himself as “a good soldier” who follows the game plan and who likes taking on the burden of trying to stop opposing scorers: “I want to be able to guard the best player, be able to guard the biggest player, the fastest player. When a question came about how he would sell himself to NBA front offices to get them to take a chance on him, he rattled off in rapid-fire fashion: “I’m a tanker. God’s gonna shine his light on me on the right time!” I wasn’t the highest-touted kid coming out of middle school, high school, college, whatever, but I stayed down for a long time to come up in a great way. I’m from Atlanta, I’m from the South - I got a chip on my shoulder all the time! I’ve always been underestimated. He also brought some off-the-charts energy to his media session.Īsked if he felt like he was being overlooked in the draft process, he replied: “I mean, yeah. He’s also made substantial progress in his shooting, going from 20.5% on 3s as a redshirt sophomore to 34.2% as a senior. With the Yellow Jackets, he became renowned for his ability to switch 1 through 5, defending opposing point guards and centers equally well.Īs a senior, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Usher is a 6-foot-7, 213-pound Swiss Army knife of a player who played his first two collegiate seasons at USC before finishing at Georgia Tech. The team previously had draft workouts on Thursday, May 26 and on Sunday, May 29, which featured six players apiece.Īfter the workouts, Arms, Williamson, and Usher addressed Salt Lake City-based media in Zoom interviews. The afternoon workout featured Michigan guard Eli Brooks, Illinois guard Austin Hutcherson, Miami (Fla.) guards Kameron McGusty and Charlie Moore, Bowling Green State wing Daeqwon Plowden, and Georgia Tech wing Jordan Usher. John’s wing Julian Champagnie, Kentucky guard Kellan Grady, Mississippi State guard Iverson Molinar, Arkansas wing Stanley Umude, and Loyola-Chicago guard Lucas Williamson. In the morning session, the Jazz worked out Texas Tech guard Adonis Arms, St. Thursday saw the Utah Jazz double their previous number of predraft workouts and prospects visiting Salt Lake City, as the team hosted two sessions featuring 12 total players.
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