NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Mississippi of last decade

By Joey Loose | Aug 26, 2022

Mar 21, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Rodney Hood (5) drives to the basket against Mercer Bears forward Bud Thomas (5) in the first half of a men's college basketball game during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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Murray State Racers forward KJ Williams Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. K. J. Williams – Murray State

Not your ordinary 6’10 forward from Cleveland, Williams has made quite the name for himself in recent years. Williams became one of Matt McMahon’s finest tools at Murray State, joining the program in 2018 as teammates with Ja Morant. Williams has starred for the Racers for the last four seasons, and his career isn’t quite done yet.

As a freshman, he scored 16 points in Murray State’s opening-round NCAA Tournament win against Marquette, but it was after that that he really got involved in the offense. A full-time starter the last two seasons, he helped the Racers to another NCAA Tournament win this past March, scoring 18 in a win over San Francisco. As a senior, he averaged 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, with his numbers gradually improving in each of his first four seasons, including a career-high 39-point performance in a win at Tennessee State.

Williams was named OVC Player of the Year this past March and has been All-OVC First Team each of the last three seasons. He led the conference in points and field goals and has previously led the league in field goal percentage as well. He’ll return for one final collegiate season, but instead of returning to the OVC, he’s following his head coach, joining LSU next year.

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