Mark Williams

Mark Oluwafemi Williams (born December 16, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), drafted as the 15th overall pick in the first round in the 2022 NBA Draft. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. High school career Williams began his high school basketball career at Norfolk Academy. He was invited to the NBA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, Virginia in the summer of 2018. Williams passed the 1,000 point threshold in February 2019. As a junior, he averaged 19.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game to help the Bulldogs reach the VISAA state tournament. He was selected to the USA Today All-USA Virginia Boys Basketball second team. During the 2019 Nike EYBL, Williams averaged 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, while shooting 63.8% from the floor. During the Nike Peach Jam in July 2019, Williams averaged 23.5 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 76.0 percent in two games for the Boo Williams program. Coming into his senior season, he transferred to IMG Academy, which finished the previous season as the GEICO Nationals champions. Williams was named a 2020 McDonald's All-American. On January 31, 2020, he posted 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 64–62 win over Hillcrest Prep. Recruiting Williams was considered a five-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals, and a four-star recruit by ESPN. On November 1, 2019, he committed to playing college basketball for Duke, choosing the Blue Devils over Michigan and UCLA after taking official visits to all three schools. Williams chose Duke in large part due to the possibility for a national championship, and said he wants to pattern his game after Wendell Carter Jr. College career Before the start of the season, Williams was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award preseason watch list. On January 30, 2021, he scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 79–53 win over Clemson. On February 13, 2021, Williams recorded 13 points and 5 blocks in a 69–53 victory against NC State. On February 22, 2021, he tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 85–71 win over Syracuse. On March 10, 2021, Williams recorded another double-double of 23 points and 19 rebounds in a 70–56 victory against Louisville in the second round of the ACC tournament.