Several months ago, WSU men’s basketball guard TJ Bamba put his good friend Noah Williams, the former Cougar defensive standout who transferred to Washington, on blast and set the stage for an explosive Apple Cup men’s basketball showdown on Saturday.
“I know Noah (and) Noah knows me,” Bamba said on the podium at Pac-12 men’s basketball media day last October. “He knows what’s going to happen when we play them. I practiced against him for three years. He knows my tendencies. I know his. Every time he calls me, I feel like he’s trying to soften me up. Every call I tell him, ‘You know you’re food, right?’ I just remind him he’s on the other end.”
“It’s going to be fun playing against him. He’s a competitor. He talks a lot of smack. I’m just looking forward to locking him up and getting that W versus UW, you know.”
When reminded of those comments this week, Williams flashed a devilish grin while stroking his chin.
“We’ve been saying this all year,” the UW senior guard said smiling. “He said it at Pac-12 (media day). But he already knows that he’s food. I don’t even have to say nothing. He already knows it’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a fun one.”
There are several prominent story lines in Washington’s 7:30 p.m. game at Beasley Coliseum, including UW’s leading scorer Keion Brooks Jr., who is second in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.3 points per game and has tallied at least 22 points in six of his last seven outings.
The Huskies (13-12, 5-9 Pac-12) and Cougars (10-15, 5-9) desperately need a win to spark hopes of a late-season rally and possibly top-four conference finish that guarantees a first-round bye in next month’s Pac-12 tournament. UW has lost four of its last five games including three in a row while WSU has lost five of its last six games.
However, Williams put himself at the epicenter of the cross-state rivalry last April when he ditched the Cougars after three years in favor of their hated enemy.
Before the season, the former O’Dea High star and Seattle native cited a bout with depression and a desire to return home for reasons why he chose the Huskies.
“I just wanted to be close to my family,” said Williams, who started 65 of 91 for the Cougars while averaging 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. “I was dealing with some mental health issues and I felt like I needed my family next to me.”
Husky coach Mike Hopkins added: “It’s not like he had a bad experience at Washington State. He had a good experience. He needed a change.”
When asked about Williams this week on his radio show, WSU coach Kyle Smith reportedly said: “It was actually one of our most mature conversations when Noah came in. He thought he needed a change. I wanted that story to go well. His dad (Guy Williams) played here.”
Smith added: “I still love the guy. He’s very charming. He needed to do some growing up. I feel a little bit of failure that it didn’t work all the way. … It’s been a pretty good change for him.”
Williams, who lost his starting job late last season at WSU, started the season opener before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the next 12 games.
“It’s definitely been up and down dealing with a knee injury,” said Williams who is averaging 9.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 24.9 minutes while starting 10 of 12 games. “It didn’t go as planned, but life goes on. Life throws obstacles at you and you just got to overcome it. That’s what I’m doing. I’m in the process of overcoming these obstacles and hurdles.
“You got to accept it. You got to. I got to keep on pushing because nobody really cares about your problems.”
Williams, who estimates he’s 85-90% recovered and still experiences knee swelling, had seemingly regained his scoring prowess while averaging 11.8 points and scoring in double figures in six of eight games.
However, Hopkins benched him during last week’s 70-61 road loss against No. 7 UCLA due to undisclosed reasons. Williams also played sparingly as a reserve in last Saturday’s 80-74 loss at USC.
During a postgame exchange outside the UW locker room, the eternally optimistic Hopkins had difficulty connecting with Williams, who tallied just two points in 19 minutes that gave him 1,000 points for his career.
“We lost,” Williams said. “We just got swept so there was nothing to smile about. A 1,0000 points is a 1,000 points, but a win is bigger than 1,000 points.”
When pressed on the scoring benchmark, Williams added: “It’s a blessing. Not many people can say they hit 1,000 career points. But we got another game. I can’t really put praise on a 1,000 points too much. I got to keep moving forward. Keep on running my numbers up and trying to be the best I can be.”
During a 10-minute interview this week, Williams was equally excited and nonchalant about his first game in Pullman as a Husky.
At one point the 6-foot-5 senior guard said: “I’m looking forward to it. … It’s definitely going to be a helluva atmosphere. I know the fan base out there. They love this rivalry so it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be one for the books. I’m excited and ready to put on a show.”
But when asked about managing his emotions, Williams said: “I take each game the same. … I don’t try to make it too big or anything like that. I try to keep it mellow.”
This is the same bombastic playmaker who verbally sparred with the Huskies and enthusiastically yelled “This is my city” to UW fans while standing on Alaska Airline Arena’s purple W at midcourt after draining two game-clinching free throws to seal WSU’s 78-74 win on Feb. 28, 2020.
“When we played the Washington-Washington State game, he was the one guy when l looked on the other team (and said) ‘Oh my gosh,’” Hopkins said. “The great thing about Noah is he’s all about winning. It’s not about him. It’s about winning and understanding that everybody needs each other for us to play well. He brings a level of toughness and leadership to put us over the top.”
Of course, Bamba, who leads WSU in scoring (14.4 points per game) will have something to say about that on Saturday.
“He’s my best friend,” said Williams who has talked to Bamba a couple of times this week. “I met TJ when he first came to WSU. I was the one that took him on his tour when he came to WSU for his recruiting visit. That’s when I got tight with him. Ever since then, our relationship just kind of took off from there.
“We became roommates and I used to look at him like a brother. We used to call each other twins because we both had long hair and have dark skin and we kind of look like each other. It’s definitely going to be fun to play against him. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a good one for sure.”