Kendall Williams is an American college basketball player for the New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team. Born in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Williams was the starting shooting guard for the Lobos during his freshman season, garnering attention for his high-level of play and freshman success. With the departure of four-year starting point guard Dairese Gary

Dairese Gary

Dairese Gary is an American college basketball player, formerly of the New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team...

, Williams is predicted to have a more prominent role during his sophomore year, most likely as the starting point guard.

High school

Williams attended Los Osos High School

Los Osos High School

Los Osos High School is one of eight public schools in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District. LOHS is locate in the city of Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California's Inland Empire in the United States.-Academics:...

 in Rancho Cucamonga, California

Rancho Cucamonga, California

Rancho Cucamonga is a suburban city in San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,269, up from 127,743 at the 2000 census. L. Dennis Michael was elected as Mayor on November 2, 2010. Jack Lam is the City Manager...

, as a three-year starter while being a first team all-state and two-time all-CIF selection for the Grizzlies. During his senior year at Los Osos, Williams averaged 22.4 points per game, 4.8 assists per game and 2.9 steals per game to go along with 7.8 rebounds per game including 40 points in a 73-75 loss against Upland High School

Upland High School

Upland High School is a public four-year secondary school located in the city of Upland, California. The school was established in 1955 as part of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, and since 1991 it has been a member of the Upland Unified School District.-History:Just prior to the City...

 when he was 14 of 26 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the line. Williams was also a scrappy rebounder, posting double-digit boards ten times, including 13 in a game against Vista Murrieta and another contest versus Arcadia. He also was a prolific pick-pocketer, nabbing four or more steals ten times. Williams was a spectacular student at Los Osos, maintaining a 3.7 cumulative GPA for his high school career.

UCLA

While still a tenth grader at Los Osos HS, Williams verbally committed to the University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

 to play in 2010. While there was some skepticism concerning Williams early decision to attend UCLA, The Los Angeles Times reported that "[t]hose close to Williams say they are confident that his commitment will work out for both" Williams and UCLA. Still, within two years of committing to UCLA, Williams de-committed, as he "indicated that he felt UCLA wasn't a good fit anymore".

Freshman Year, 2010-2011

After decommitting from UCLA

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

 in June 2009, Williams quickly found a home in New Mexico in March 2010, and blossomed into a reliable player for Steve Alford

Steve Alford

Stephen Todd Alford is a retired American basketball player and the current head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team...

's Lobos squad. Williams scored a career-high 20 points in a December 17, 2010 91-54 decision against Longwood University and posted a double-double against Colorado on December 22, putting up 18 points and 11 assists in a 89-76 win. Williams also jockeyed for scoring leader for the Lobos, and consistently dished out the second most assists on the team (behind Dairese Gary

Dairese Gary

Dairese Gary is an American college basketball player, formerly of the New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team...

). In addition, Williams both maintained one of the top six assist-to-turnover ratios (2.15 assists to turnovers) in the Mountain West Conference, and led the conference in three-point shooting percentage, both incredible feats for a true freshman. On March 7, 2011, Williams was selected as the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 10.1 points per game and 3.7 assists per game. In his first collegiate postseason game, Williams led the Lobos in scoring with a 16-point performance against Colorado State in a 67-61 victory.

Games Played	Games Started	Minutes/Game	Points/Game	Rebounds/Game	Assists/Game	Ast/TO Ratio	Field Goal Percentage	3pt. Field Goal Percentage	Free Throw Percentage
35	34	30.5	11.6	3.0	4.0	1.99	45.7%	42.6%	71.8%

Sophomore Year, 2011-2012

Prior to the start of the 2011-2012 college basketball season, Williams was ranked the tenth best mid-major point guard in the nation and the seventeenth best point guard overall in the nation.. Williams was also noted to be one of the forty breakthrough players for the 2011-12 season by Bleacher Report, and one of twenty breakout players by Ballin' is a Habit. He was also picked as a Wooden Award preseason watch list snub, and substantiated that argument by being selected to the 2011-12 Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Team.

Playing Style

ESPN called Williams "a multifaceted, offensive player" in their January 2010 scouting report, noting his long-range skills (shooting over 45% from beyond the arc) and lane-driving capabilities. ESPN lauded Williams's "ability to handle physical play when finishing in the lane" and was called a "high major prospect" by Scouthoops.com. His defense is characterized as tenacious and has been called by UNM Head Coach Steve Alford one of the fastest players he has ever coached.