Syracuse Basketball: Benny Williams fierce block shows stellar athleticism

He didn’t score a single point in the Syracuse basketball 15-point victory over Drexel on Sunday night in Central New York, but freshman forward Benny Williams gave us all a glimpse of his skill-set when he registered a beast-mode block absolutely worthy of an ESPN SportsCenter top-10 play.

With about five minutes remaining in the second half, and the Orange having extended its lead against the Dragons to double-digits, a Drexel player drove the lane, hoping to connect on a lay-up.

Nope. The 6-foot-8 Williams, so athletic and so bouncy, blocked that lay-up attempt, sending the ball a good 10 feet or more into the crowd. ‘Cuse fans erupted into applause, and Williams got high-fives from a plethora of his teammates.

This single play truly signifies what Williams brings to the Syracuse basketball roster, and by my estimation, it’s just the tip of the iceberg as to all the wonderful things that he will do in his hoops career on the Hill.

Syracuse basketball forward Benny Williams impacts the game in many ways.

Williams, a Bowie, Md., native, who spent his senior season at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., came to the ‘Cuse as one of the highest-ranked recruits in recent program memory.

A consensus four-star prospect, Williams was rated five stars and in the top-25 overall within the 2021 cycle by some recruiting services. He had a strong senior year at the IMG Academy.

Because the current Orange roster has a ton of veterans on it, including graduate student Jimmy Boeheim and senior Cole Swider at forward, Williams should score some in the 2021-22 term, but he isn’t tasked with producing a ton of points.

But Williams is going to prove a huge asset for the ‘Cuse regardless. Yes, he’s a freshman still learning the Syracuse basketball system and adjusting to competing at the collegiate level, but his defensive instincts already are fantastic.

He’s an aggressive rebounder, a really good passer, he hustles his butt off, and he has a high basketball IQ. In the Orange’s 75-60 conquering of Drexel, Williams played about 17 minutes, had that one ferocious block and tallied two steals, according to statistics provided by Syracuse.com.

For my money, he will fill up the stat sheets during the present stanza, with all the little things that maybe don’t include a lot of scoring, but Williams will have a mighty positive influence on his teammates, and on the ‘Cuse.

Case in point, the Dragons hit a bunch of 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes and took a one-point lead into the intermission. Early in the second half, Syracuse basketball went on a run, and what enabled the Orange to pull away from Drexel was its defensive intensity.

Williams had a nice role in that surge within the 2-3 zone. I expect much more of that from Benny Williams throughout the 2021-22 campaign.