SEC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

16. Robert Williams

A 6’9 center from Vivian, Louisiana, Williams was a 4-star prospect who took his talents to Texas A&M back in 2016. He’d joined an Aggies program fresh under a Sweet Sixteen run and would help manufacture another impressive Tourney run just a few seasons later. Williams was in College Station for just two seasons, but he had quite the impact in the SEC, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

During his freshman year, he averaged 11.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game, making his interior presence known on both sides of the ball. His second season was even better, highlighted by a career-high 21-point effort early in the season against Penn State. Putting up very similar numbers as in his freshman season, Williams would lead Texas A&M to a far better season, as the program advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2018 NCAA Tournament as a 7-seed, upsetting defending champion North Carolina in the second round, with 13 rebounds from Williams.

A dynamic rebounder and shot blocker, Williams was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in both of his collegiate seasons, though he shared the honors as a sophomore. He accumulated 155 blocks and numerous rebounds across those two seasons and was very impactful during Texas A&M’s impressive run back in 2018. He was a contributor on offense, but it was certainly his elite defensive play that got him drafted late in the first round by the Boston Celtics.