FSU Basketball: Noles shine in 2020 NBA Draft review

Patrick Williams is selected fourth overall by the Chicago Bulls

As mentioned earlier, Patrick Williams is now the 2nd player in history to have the claim of highest-drafted player out of Florida State. Looking at where Pat was projected, it comes as a bit of a surprise he was taken so early. Most mock drafts had Williams going somewhere between seven and twelve, so it was surprising to see him taken off the board with the likes of Obi Toppin and Tyrese Halliburton still available.

First, let’s look at the money side of things. Being a lottery pick has it’s perks when it comes to the player’s rookie contract. No one complains about guaranteed millions, right? Well, Patrick Williams will now be going from a freshman coming off the bench in college to one extremely wealthy individual:

That’s a lot of money for a kid who didn’t start once while in college. Why did the Bulls feel the need to grab Williams so high at four? All the analysts said he should have been picked later, could have traded back to get him. These are all questions and comments that Bull’s fans and some “experts” are saying. Let me inform them, you’re all wrong.

Yes, he didn’t start, but who was in the closing lineup of games? Patrick Williams. Yes, he came off the bench, but what about those guys who started in college but now excel in a bench role – looking at you Lou Will and Montrezl Harrell. Experts are wrong all the time, so why put so much stock into their word?

Patrick Williams is a humble basketball player. Ask him to do what benefits the team, and he’ll do it. He’s an athletic freak of nature who has an insane bounce that can make a contested shot uncontested. The length, defensive pressure, and focus are what stand out most to me when talking about Pat. He’s consistently engaged on the defensive end of the floor creating havoc in passing lanes for opposing players and does a tremendous job of helping which leads to blocked shots. When he has the ball, Pat can create for himself or make the right play, whether that be acting as a shooting decoy or making the extra pass. All this at the young age of nineteen years old; talk about the high upside.

Looking at the Chicago Bulls depth chart as it stands right now, Pat has a clear path to playing time in his first NBA season. With the Bulls not extending a qualifying offer to SF Shaquille Harrison, the SF room begins to look thin behind Otto Porter Jr. with just Chandler Hutchinson as his backup. The Bulls do have plenty of forwards on the roster but, with the new regime lead by Arturas Karnisovas, Executive VP of basketball operations, and Billy Donovan, Head Coach, the team is heading in a new, more modern direction.

Speaking of the new regime in Chicago, newly-appointed head coach Billy Donovan is the perfect coach for not only Patrick Williams but the entire young Bull’s roster. Billy Donovan is a player developer and may even be the best player developing head coach in the NBA. He has this mentality and success with young players going back to his college coaching days at the University of Florida, where he won back-to-back national championships. Then you look at what he was able to do with a young Oklahoma City Thunder team these past couple of seasons, and it begins to make sense why the organization is moving in the direction they are.

Patrick Williams is going to excel in the NBA, and hopefully, it is with this reinvigorated Chicago Bulls team. A young roster, a developmental minded head coach, a front office with a mentality and goal to be the best seems to be brewing in the Windy City. In the future, I expect Pat will be leading the Chicago Bulls back into the playoffs where they deserve to be.