Three years after Ken Williams stepped onto the University of South Alabama's campus in 2013, he's finding himself wondering where the time went. In his collegiate career, "Juice" has already started to mark his name in South Alabama history. 

"With Juice, you've got a young man who is in his fourth year with the program," head men's basketball coach Matthew Graves said. "He understands what we are trying to accomplish from a basketball standpoint. He's more of a lead-by-example guy; he's not the most vocal player, but his actions and his habits are how he leads this team."

Williams spent his entire life growing up around the game. His father, Kenneth "Juice" Williams, was a former standout at the University of Houston and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1980. After his professional career, Kenneth Williams went on to coach high school, mentoring NBA players Gerald Green and Darington Hobson. 

"My dad ended up coaching high school for 25, 30 years," Williams said. "I was always around that atmosphere. He had one of the top teams in the nation, so they traveled everywhere. Being around the top players and going to the big games, it showed me what it was like at a young age. A lot of my attitude and the way I play comes from my dad and the players he coached. I was always around that fire, attitude and passion." 

One of the things he shares with his dad is his nickname, Juice. 

"When I was younger, around two or three, people called me 'Lil Juice' since they called my dad 'Juice' or 'Coach Juice,'" Williams said. "As I got older, I started living up to the name and started doing things on the court that made people say, 'Oh yeah, he's got the juice.' People my age and even my coaches called me Juice. The guys my dad coached or people around his age still call me "Lil' Juice" or "Lil' Ken" because that's how they know me. They still think I'm four years old running around the gym." 

Williams plans to use that "juice" in his final year as a Jaguar. For Williams, the sky's the limit. 

"I set high goals for myself," Williams said. I want to be an all-league player and Sun Belt Player of the Year. Those are my goals, I want to finish as the top team in the Sun Belt."

"He's the person you can count on to score in double figures," Graves said. "He has a knack to score the basketball and ability, when he gets to the free throw line, to become more efficient basketball player. This year we have stressed to him to be accountable for his shot selection, and continue to get others involved as he did last year with over 100 assists for the season. We want his game to evolve from just being a scorer to a person that can score and make plays for others as well. I think that's his ultimate growth there. His game has really developed from just being a scorer to being a play maker as well." 

The Houston, Texas native enters the 2016-17 season with 1,279 points, 11th best in program history, and sits in third in 3-pointers with 203, needing just five more to move into second. He already holds the program record for 3-pointers by a freshman (55) and a sophomore (87). Williams has paced the Jaguars in scoring for the last two seasons and could become the third player in South Alabama history to lead the team in scoring for three consecutive seasons. 

Williams said he wants to see even more improvement this season, not just for himself, but also for his team. 

"I want to be over .500 and to win at least 20-plus games since I haven't done it yet," Williams said. "All the individual awards, that's been good and all, but we haven't really had any team success. For me going out, the most important thing would be for us to have team success. Individual recognition will come if we as a team have success." 

The Jaguars' 2015-16 season ended in the quarterfinals with a 90-68 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, but the team was without their leading scorer. Due to a broken foot suffered during their first-round win against Georgia Southern, Williams was forced to support his teammates from the sidelines. 

"It was hard not to be able to be out there physically," Williams said. "All I could do was cheer, but I do that regardless, whether I am playing or not. Not being able to ask coach to sub me in or see him look down the bench and be like 'Juice, check in,' it was painful. I feel like I could have done a little something to help us, like help my teammates get easier shots or create shots myself if we needed that. I took it hard and my teammates took it hard, but they were there to lift me up when I was down."

Although Williams found himself facing adversity, he said he learned valuable lessons through his injury and overcoming its challenges.  

"Our trainer Matt Brown sent me an article on Kevin Durant because he had the exact same injury and it talked about how he handled it," Williams said. "What he does now, how he doesn't let it affect him. He had the surgery instead of letting it heal on its own. Just trusting the process. It's sad to say, but if it had to happen, it did at the right time. It happened close to the end of the season and I had all summer to recover and get right. I was able to get healthy and play in the European trip. I took my time and trusted the process." 

"I think through that injury, with the adversity, he's really learned to fight through some things," Graves said. "He picked up some extra weight and he really had to work hard to get back in shape and change his body back to where he could be productive. I think he learned a lot through that adversity and I think that will help him during this season." 

Williams said that with his collegiate basketball journey coming to a close after this season, he encourages the younger players to enjoy every minute and every play. 

"I think about this being my last year all the time," Williams said. "I remember coming in as a freshman and now I'm about to start my final season. It came in the blink of an eye. I tell the young guys to not take it for granted because at the end of the day you'll be in my position thinking, 'Man, I'm a senior.' Don't take it for granted and don't have regrets." 

After college, Williams hopes to stay in basketball whether it's playing professionally, or coaching just like his father. 

"Playing professionally is the dream and I hope to make that dream a reality," Williams said. "That's what I'm fighting for. I would love to coach, too, like my dad. There's just something about the way he coaches that is special. He'll get a kid no one believes in, let him know that he can be something and pushes him to be that person.

"That's how he made me feel as a son, and I would want to do that for someone else."


For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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