By John Marshall
AP Sports Writer
TUCSON (AP) -- Derrick Williams wasn't one of those players who had coaches tracking him since sixth grade, wasn't even the highest-touted prospect in Arizona coach Sean Miller's initial recruiting class.
So as he started his career in Tucson, Williams wasn't sure if he'd be able to score in college, figured he'd be little more than a role player. Even as the shots started to fall he was unsure of himself, needing repeated prodding from his coaches to be more assertive.
That won't be a problem this year.
Bigger, stronger and more confident after earning Pac-10 freshman of the year honors, Williams has positioned himself to become one of the nation's elite players as a sophomore. He's got the talent and now, with a more assertive mindset, is on the cusp of making the good to great jump.
"You can make the argument that out of the five freshman who came in a year ago, he was the least-heralded," Miller said. "Part of what he has figured out is that he is a really good player, that he can dominate games and he has a chance to become a great one."
Williams was pretty good even during his confidence-building freshman season.
Though he often had to play out of position on defense, the athletic power forward was, at times, dominant on offense. He became the first freshman -- sixth player overall -- to lead Arizona in scoring (15.7 points per game), rebounds (7.1) and shooting (57 percent) in the same season since 1972-73, when freshmen were first allowed to play.
Williams had his I-can-do-this moment against Wisconsin early in the season, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds, and gradually built his confidence from there, scoring 20 or more points six times over the final six weeks. Even with a sometimes suspect jumper, he developed into one of the Pac-10's most dominating players.
"I didn't know I was going to do what I did last year," Williams said. "I kind of expected to come in and be sort of a role player, any little thing I could do to make our team a little bit better."
Williams devoted the offseason to making himself better in hopes of getting his team back to the NCAA tournament after its 25-year run ended last season.
He worked on his shooting touch, hoisting 700 jumpers a day so those 10- to 12-footers become routine and defenders won't be able to back off.
Williams also split his time between Tucson and various leagues against top-level competition, a move that should broaden his game and confidence even more.
"I think the combination of both of those has him in a really good place going into his sophomore year," Miller said.
He should be able to hold his place a little better, too.
Arizona's lack of size last season often meant the 6-foot-8 Williams was forced to guard opposing centers who were taller, heavier and stronger.
Miller would like to use sophomore Kyryl Natyazhko at center and move Williams back to his natural position, but even if he doesn't, Williams is in better position to battle in the paint against whoever's there. Between the weight room and the hoops leagues, he dropped five pounds while adding muscle and strength during rigorous offseason workouts, which should make it tougher for opponents to push him around.
"It was a little tough last year. I didn't know what to expect," he said. "There were a lot stronger guys than me playing Division I and I just needed to get a lot stronger this year to balance that out."
Stronger, more confident and assertive, Williams may have the total package now.
