SEC Basketball: Ranking the top 20 incoming transfers for the 2024-25 season

20. Amari Williams (Kentucky)

2023-24 Season at Drexel: 12.2 PPG | 7.8 RPG | 1.9 APG | 1.8 BPG | 51.7 FG%

Over the past two seasons, Drexel had one of the best defenses in college basketball, holding its opponents to under 65 points per game. A major reason for the Dragons’ defensive success was the play of Amari Williams, the CAA Defensive Player of the Year in each of the last three seasons. And even though Williams took a slight step back this past season, stats-wise, he was still a dominant force on defense.

This past season Williams averaged nearly eight rebounds per game. He had ten games with at least ten rebounds and recorded a season-high of 15 rebounds in a loss at West Virginia. Williams was also a great rim protector last season. He had at least one block in 25 of the 32 games and recorded five or more blocks in four different games. Williams has quick feet for his size and can cover a ton of space, impacting every shot near the basket.

Williams was a decent scorer last season, he was one of two Drexel players to average just over 12 points per game. He made nearly 52 percent of his shots on eight attempts per game. He struggled at times getting shots to fall, but he won’t be expected to carry as heavy of the load offensively at Kentucky. 

If Amari Williams can be as dominant defensively in the SEC as he was in the CAA, then new Kentucky head coach Mark Pope will have a solid piece to build his team around.