By Lee Feinswog
LSUsports.net
Jermaine Williams is arguably LSU’s most patient team basketball player. But when asked when he got out of the Tigers’ trip to Italy this past August, his response was typical of the 6-foot-7 junior swingman from Baton Rouge.
“I learned how to be more patient and more of a team player,” Williams said. “And how to be a little bit more aggressive.”
OK, that would be an area in which Williams could improve. After averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds as a sophomore, those numbers dropped last year to 4.7 ppg and 2.4 rpg as Williams was plagued by a sore knee all season.
Now, with big men Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith gone to the NBA, the softspoken Williams sees that he may have to take up some of the scoring slack.
“Somebody has to pick up those points and rebounds,” Williams said at LSU’s basketball media day. “I know I’m capable of doing that. I just want to go out there and be more aggressive. And last year I didn’t shoot the ball well.”
No, in 1999-2000 Williams hit 14 of 40 3-pointers (35 percent) as it was evident his shot was affected by his left knee.
“My leg still bothers me to this day, but I won’t harp on it,” Williams said. “I know I have talent in basketball. I just want to go out and show it this year.”
If nothing else, he’s done that. The product of Parkview Baptist is probably LSU’s most fundamentally sound player. Outside of Swift, Smith, Brian Beshara, Lamont Roland and Torris Bright, Williams was the only other Tiger to start for LSU in its magical run last season to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16. He scored seven points, hitting 3 of 4 shots in LSU’s season-ending loss to Wisconsin, one of the rare bright spots for the Tigers that night.
Williams has also grown an inch, but still weight 180 pounds.
“That’s not going to change,” he said with a laugh, recalling that he weighed 167 as a freshman.
“I went up against Maurice (Carter) and Wilie (Anderson) every day and got thrown to the ground a lot,” Williams said. “But I got tough. And that’s what it’s all about. I got tough and I’m not afraid of anybody.”
LSU was ending its skid of six losing seasons in a row during Williams’ freshman year. Last year marked one of the biggest turnarounds ever for a Division I program. Now, the Tigers are picked to be closer to the bottom than the top of the Southeastern Conference.
“We should have gone to the Final Four last year,” Williams said. “Now they’ve got us ranked us last. Hopefully we get to prove them wrong this year.”