Williams points Okla. State on the right course

Victor Williams, the Cowboys' five foot, 10 inch starting point guard, will be the smallest man on the floor for most of this afternoon, yet he will be among the game's largest figures.

Oklahoma State enters today's 2:45 p.m. tipoff at the FleetCenter with four of its starters averaging double-digit point totals.

But Williams is the leader of this pack -- uncharacteristic for a point guard -- scoring 15.2 points per game on average.

Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, therefore, does not mind his talented playmaker frequently calling his own number.

"We don't have very good inside players," Sutton said. "We have a hard time scoring inside. Our strength offensively is on the perimeter.

"I would think that, maybe, the University of Pennsylvania has better inside play than us."

Penn coach Fran Dunphy, meanwhile, is concerned about Williams' speed and his ability to break down a defense.

"He's the catalyst for them. He's very quick," Dunphy said in a Wednesday afternoon interview with WFAN Radio in New York. "He can get to the basket and make open jump shots as well."

Williams has taken an interesting route to becoming one of the Big 12's premier performers.

Born in Kansas City, Kan., the guard actually began his collegiate career at Illinois State University in the 1998-99 season.

Williams started immediately and continued to improve throughout the season.

In his final eight games, he averaged 13.4 ppg and four assists for the Redbirds while connecting on 53.1 percent of his field goal attempts.

By that point, perhaps he had grown out of the modest Missouri Valley Conference. He transferred to Oklahoma State during the 1999-2000 campaign.

He had no trouble adapting to the style of his new league. After redshirting his first year, he was named the Big XII's Newcomer Of the Year in 2000-2001.

And he saved his most impressive effort for the Cowboys' most critical regular season game, scoring 26 points against in-state rival Oklahoma on Feb. 14.

Williams has continued to progress right up into his final year of eligibility. Last year, he was named honorable mention All-Big 12 and this year earned second-team honors for his work.

Dunphy cautioned that Oklahoma State will feature a variety of weapons in today's game but said he knows that limiting Williams is of utmost importance.

"He's certainly somebody we have our eyes on, and we're going to have to do a great job in terms of keeping him in front of us," Dunphy said. "It seems like as he goes, they go."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.