Former NKU basketball standout Williams chooses Western Kentucky as next stop in college career

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

Former Northern Kentucky University basketball standout Carson Williams is staying in Kentucky to finish his career, but in the western part of the state.

Western Kentucky University announced Wednesday the addition of Williams to the Hilltoppers roster. Williams will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2018-19 season following his transfer from NKU.

Carson Williams scores the final basket of his NKU career, a layup that was goaltended off the glass by Louisville 7-footer Anas Mahmoud. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

“It’s obvious that Carson has to sit out a year, but after watching his game films and finding more out about him, he’s absolutely too good of a player and too good of a person to not have as part of our program,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “He comes from a great family and is a great student, and this is the highest compliment I can give him – he reminds you of (WKU senior forward) Justin Johnson.”

A graduate of Owen County High School and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 2016, Williams was named to the Horizon League’s All-Freshman Team during his first season and helped the Norse win 46 games the past two years.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore averaged 12.0 points and shot a team-leading 60.8 percent from the field this season. NKU won the Horizon League regular-season championship and later played Louisville in the NIT.

As a freshman at NKU, Williams started 34 of 35 games and helped the Norse win the Horizon League Tournament championship. NKU met Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and Williams scored 21 points in a 79-70 loss to the Wildcats. In that game, Williams shot 7-for-10 from the field and made all seven of his free throws.

During his career at Owen County, Williams scored 2,967 points and hauled in 1,671 rebounds. As a senior, he averaged 26.3 points and 10.7 rebounds while leading Owen County to a school-record 29 wins.

Williams was a standout in the classroom at Owen County, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average in high school. He was also named to the Horizon League’s five-member all-academic team, holding a 3.754 GPA as a criminal justice major.

Williams will be the second Kentucky Mr. Basketball on WKU’s roster, joining 2017 award winner Taveion Hollingsworth.