50 Days to Purdue Basketball: Trevion Williams

Today’s player was almost a non-factor early in the year, but his play in garbage time of the 88-80 loss to Notre Dame might have turned the entire season around.

Trevion Williams - So.

Chicago, IL (Henry Ford Academy, Michigan)

6’9”, 270 pounds

Forward

2019-20 Projection: Situational starter

Through the first ten games last year Trevion was an afterthought. He had 9 points in a blowout of Robert Morris, but otherwise he barely played. He finally got some extended run against Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic, scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds in the defeat as Purdue trailed big.

That stint earned him more playing time and he made the most of it. Tre had his first career double-double of 13 and 12 against Michigan State in East Lansing, then had a 16 and 13 against Rutgers. He had 16 points in the home win over Minnesota, 10 in the win at Penn State, and was generally a solid rebounder and low post presence the rest of the season. He finished the year averaging 5.2 points and 4 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game.

The biggest development came this summer when he was part of Team USA at the U-19 World Cup in Greece. He helped the US to a gold medal finish by averaging 8.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Trevion is still working on slimming down a bit while getting stronger, and that only helps Purdue in the long run. He has a great low post game, but is developing more of a three-point shot. He was 0-2 from long range in Greece and 1-3 last season during the year. I don’t expect him to become a Ryan Cline-esque bomber, but if he can show he can knock down an open three here and there it is the dreaded “something else” for teams to worry about.

His ability to play with Matt Haarms will also be key. Many times Tre was the backup center for Haarms, but if both can play at the same time it allows Purdue to shift its lineups depending on the situation. Regardless, Tre will play a lot in 2019-20 and will be a key to Purdue’s success.