Williams withdraws from NBA Draft, to finish career at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (KT) -- Amari Williams has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will finish officially his collegiate career at Kentucky.

Williams, the Coastal Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the past three seasons, officially joined the Wildcats on Tuesday after testing the NBA waters. Williams made a visit to Lexington late last month.

As a senior last season at Drexel, the 6-foot-11 Williams averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game for the Dragons. He started all 32 games and was a first team all-conference performer.

Pope said last month that Williams "looks like a man among boys on the court."

"He is bringing a big presence to the game and is going to serve as a rim-protector and rebounder. Amari is a gifted defensive player who can switch onto any position, one through five, which will add security to how everybody else feels on the court."

Williams also has potential on offense and is skilled in the post.

"Offensively, he is dangerous at the rim and he's one of the special passers in college basketball," Pope said. "Amari can make all of the reads, all of the passes, all of the plays and he fits into exactly what we want to do on either end of the court."

Andrew Carr of Wake Forest also withdrew his name from the draft on Tuesday as well as Lamont Butler. Both players had already committed to play for the Wildcats.

Jaxson Robinson of BYU remains in the draft but could land with the Wildcats if he opts against remaining in the draft. A final decision comes Wednesday.