UTEP MBB Feature: Bryson Williams

Bryson Williams is the ultimate team player.

During Williams's first season in a UTEP uniform, he led the Miners in scoring and rebounding. He was the only player in Conference USA to rank in the top five in both points and rebounding. The 6-8 forward capped his junior campaign with a pair of accolades – All-C-USA first team and NABC All-District first team.

But Williams wanted more – more for his team. Despite the Miners winning 17 games, the most in four years, Williams wanted more victories.

"I'm proud of that was got first team, but I felt like I could've done more for the team," Williams said. "I needed to figure out how to win more games. There's no way we should've won 17 games. I feel like could've done better."

However, Williams, who played at Fresno State during his first two collegiate seasons, made vast improvements on his shooting to help his new UTEP team. After going 1-of-4 from the three-point line in two seasons at Fresno State, Williams worked on his outside shooting during his redshirt sit-out year, and answered with a 31-for-87 effort from downtown this past season. He also upped his free-throw shooting, hitting 81.1 percent after making just over 62 percent from the charity stripe during his two years as a Bulldog.

Williams will look to continue that trend in his senior season to chalk-up more victories.

"I improved in a lot of areas than I did playing at Fresno State," Williams said. "I shot the ball a lot better at the free-throw line, and actually shot threes in games. I improved in that way. But again, I could've done a lot more for my team."

With Williams's hunger to win, and new teammates joining the program, there's a lot to look forward to for the 2020-21 season. Souley Boum, Williams's scoring counterpart, adds to that excitement as he returns for his junior season after a solid sophomore campaign.

"[Souley] brings a lot to the team," Williams said. "He's a scorer. He can get buckets when we need them the most. He's a great piece to the team and he has experience. He was such a valuable player on the team last year. I'm glad he's on the team."

Boum and Williams chalked up a memorable performance during an eight-point win against Southern Miss on Jan. 9 of last season. The pair went a combined 24-of-24 from the foul line, while accounting for 46 of the Miners' 76 points.

Williams also mentions another key part of the 2020-21 squad. Keonte Kennedy, a 6-5 guard who transferred from Xavier, will be eligible to play this season.

"Keonte Kennedy, who sat out last year, will be a really good player for us this year. I feel like we'll have a really good team this year, and he'll be a great resource," he added.

Following the 2020 Conference USA Tournament this past season, the world was hit with a deadly virus. Williams stayed in El Paso during quarantine and talks about the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was tough for me to be honest," Williams said. "Since we got back from our last road trip, I haven't really got to play basketball. In the beginning I was hooping outside, working out outside, but then it came out that we couldn't be outside, and then they closed down the courts. I did what I could, doing pushups in the house and doing stuff that was available."

The rest of the team reported back to El Paso in early August. And after testing, the squad will make its return to the hardwood. Williams will get that chance to compete against other players and start training for the new season ahead.

"I'm super excited to get back on the court! "Williams said. "To get back to live-action play because that's the only way you get better. You get to compete against someone else. So, I'm really excited about that. I'm really excited about basketball coming back alive again through all this. It was a really hard time for me. It was the first time in my life I had no basketball."

There are high hopes for the new season, and with Williams being able to lace up his kicks, he and Miners will look to keep striving forward.

Bryson Williams's Fun Fact: When asked what his favorite Jordan Brand shoes are, he responded with – "Oh, that's a tough one. I'm going to say the 5s are my favorite Jordan's."

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