With 10 straight wins, including the final nine of the regular season to claim a share of the LSC title, Midwestern State has used the experience of five seniors down the stretch and hope that leadership will carry them to an LSC Championship here in Allen.
But the one guy this team seems to lean on the most, had never played in this tournament before Wednesday’s quarterfinal win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The very reason that Monzaigo Williams wasn’t with the team in Allen last year is the same reason that drives him to be one of the best players in the LSC, if not the entire country.
Williams was one of MSU’s top players in 2013 and averaging 12 points per game before he was ruled ineligible and forced to miss the final 17 games of the season.
After working to get his grades back up, Williams was cleared to join the team this season and it’s certainly paid off for both him and the Mustangs.
“Last year I felt like I let my team down,” Williams said. “We had a good team and I was a part of that. So this year, my motivation was to come back tougher, stronger and just get through a whole season without letting anything distract me.”
Williams is the team’s leading scorer at 16.2 points per game and was recently named first-team All-LSC.
Against Kingsville on Wednesday, he led the team with 14 points, but it was his six assists that seemed to be just as vital to a Mustangs squad that amped up the pressure in the second half.
“We wanted to push the ball and play faster,” Williams said. “My role is to try and get everyone going. If that’s scoring or passing, it doesn’t really matter. The big thing for us to play good defense.”
And that’s one of the more underrated parts of Williams’ game, according to his coach Nelson Haggerty, who calls Williams one of the more versatile players he’s coached.
“As good as he is offensively, he’s one of our better defenders,” Haggerty said. “I can put him on other team’s best player and I know he can do the job on both ends. I don’t think there’s anything in his game that he can’t do and hasn’t done for this basketball team. And we ask them to do a lot for this team.”
And Williams has done a lot for this team, especially in the key moments. No play was bigger for MSU and Williams this season than back on Feb. 5 in Stephenville against a Tarleton State squad that had won 17 straight games. But with the score tied at 75 in overtime, Williams had the ball in his hands, let the clock roll down before he pulled up from 18 foot with a hand in his face and drilled the game-winning jumper.
“My coaches and teammates have confidence in me,” Williams said. “But it’s not just me. We have a lot of guys that can step up. But if they call my number, I think they know I’ll be ready.”
Across the league, Williams was tied for fourth in scoring, fifth in assists at 4.5 per game and ranked fourth in steals with 1.7. His .476 field-goal percentage leads the conference and he ranked third in 3-point percentage at .423.
His numbers put him in the conversation for Player of the Year honors, which went to Tarleton guard Chuck Guy. Williams admitted the thought crossed his mind and deep down, he thinks he would be deserving.
“Something like that, but at the same time, it wasn’t really my goal,” Williams said. “It’s nice to have that, but I’m kinda glad I didn’t get that. It makes me even hungrier.”
Haggerty had no problems with Guy winning the award and said he even voted for the Tarleton standout. But it’s clear there isn’t another guard in the conference, or even the nation that he’d rather have.
“He’s one of the best guards in the country and definitely one of the best guards we’ve had since we’ve been here,” Haggerty said. “He’s just capable of doing so much. He can take over games without even scoring points. He can find guys. He just plays the game and I trust his decision making out there. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”