FSU basketball: LeBron James give props to rookie Patrick Williams

FSU basketball standout Patrick Williams is making his presence felt as a rookie.

FSU basketball coach Leonard Hamilton would have loved to have freshman sensation Patrick Williams choose to return for his sophomore season in 2021.

However, the former five-star forward decided to forgo his FSU career for a chance to play in the NBA.

He was a first-round selection of the Chicago Bulls in the 2020 NBA Draft. Williams got booed by Bull fans on draft night, but they realize the former Nole is no joke thru 10 games.

LeBron James shared that sentiment Friday night as he matched up against Williams for the first time in his career.

Here’s what he said in the post-game interview:

Patrick Williams finished the game with six points, eight rebounds, and four steals. The latter is what James was referencing when talking about his hands being like Kawhi Leonard.

LeBron James finished the game with 28 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in a 117-115 victory over the Bulls.

Williams talked about the matchup in the post-game interview:

"“I can’t really say much except I got better. I got better tonight as a defender, as a player. Just being around him, watching him, guarding him, I got better,” Williams said of defending James. “In the 10th game of the season, that’s all you can ask for. I took on the challenge.”"

Williams has started all 10 games for the Bulls and is averaging 9.6 points per game and 3.6 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game.

Williams is shooting 45 percent from the floor, 84 percent from the free-throw line, and 42 percent from three-point range. Williams averages nearly one steal and one block per game.

All of those numbers are nearly identical to what he averaged in his freshman season at FSU. He averaged 9.2 points per game, four rebounds, one steal, and one block per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor in 22 minutes per game.

However, he has seen a nice improvement in his three-point shooting (32 percent at FSU) over small sample size.

The Bulls are (4-6) on the season with three of those losses by four points or less. It’s great to see Williams playing well, but imagine how good FSU basketball could be this year if he was on the team.