Duke basketball: 20 serious concerns about 2020-21 Blue Devils
By Matt Giles
Question No. 13 for the 2020-21 Duke basketball team…
Is Mark Williams burly enough to play bumper cars with ACC bruisers?
The 7-foot, 240-pound frame of Mark Williams — some recruiting sites listed the five-star center as 7-foot-1 — obviously looks nice on paper and gives Duke a level of height it only sometimes has around. Add in that the Virginia native is 1) pretty nimble for his size, 2) the younger brother of Duke women’s hoops legend Elizabeth Williams, and 3) fairly advanced for a big man at this stage.
Yes, Williams has the makings of a force in the paint — eventually, anyway. But with extremely long legs, which are still on the skinny side, he does run the risk of frequently losing his balance, especially against what looks to be a wealth of powerful inside forces all across the ACC this season. Moreover, his skinny-ish legs don’t provide much in terms of explosions.
The only solution in the short term is for Williams to stay hungry in the weight room and alert around the basket while exhibiting an extreme level of toughness during games. Otherwise, he’s likely going to find himself doing little more than getting pushed around, eventually to a seat on the bench.