Hilltoppers add Cincinnati transfer Keith Williams
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball head coach Rick Stansbury announced Wednesday the addition of transfer Keith Williams (6-5, Guard) to the 2021-22 roster.
Williams joins the squad after four years at Cincinnati. This season, he will be using his fifth and final year of eligibility afforded because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Keith is a player who’s had great success at a high level and with a quality program,” Stansbury said. “He brings us maturity, experience, versatility and a lot of toughness. He’s a terrific young man and teammate who already has his degree. We’re thrilled to have him be a part of our family.”
In four seasons at Cincinnati, Williams helped lead the Bearcats to two American Athletic Conference regular-season championships (2018, 2020), two American tournament titles (2018, 2019) and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2018, 2019). He increased his scoring average each year and finished his career at Cincinnati with 1,156 points, good for 35th on the program’s all-time scoring list.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., native was named to the 2021 Second Team All-AAC averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his senior season. He scored in double figures in 16 of 23 contests during the 2020-21 year. Across the American, Williams ranked eighth in points per game (14.3), 15th in assists per game (2.5) and 15th in offensive rebounds per game (1.5).
As a junior, the guard started 29 of 30 games for the Bearcats, averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 28.9 minutes per game. Williams held a 34.2% clip from beyond the arc and shot 43.5% overall from the floor. He had a career game at South Florida on March 3, 2020, when he scored 30 points on 12 of 18 shooting with four steals, earning AAC Weekly Honor Roll accolades.
Williams played in 35 games as a sophomore, starting in 32 of them, and averaged 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes. He ranked 11th in the AAC with 0.9 blocks per game. In his debut season, Williams played in 33 games for the Bearcats as a reserve. He averaged 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.8 minutes off the bench. He scored in double figures in his first two collegiate games and played a key role in Cincinnati’s regular season and tournament titles as well as its trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Williams was ranked a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and 247Sports coming out of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School. He was named the 2017 All-New York City Player of the Year and Catholic High School Athletic Association Class AA Most Valuable Player. In his senior year of high school, he averaged 24.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per game.
