Stew's top 20: No. 17 - Pooh Williams

On a list filled with guys getting mentioned for all sorts of stats that they put up over they careers, Williams makes the list for the stats that weren't put up!

When it comes to perimeter defense, nobody did it better than Williams. Whether it was a super athletic opposing wing, or another team's superstar point guard, if they needed to be shut down, Pooh was all over them (and hell yes that pun was intended)! His junior season in 2009-10 earned all sorts of mention for his defensive prowess, landing him on the WAC's all-defensive team that year.

What is largely overlooked though is that Williams became a pretty efficient offensive threat too, averaging 8.7 and 8.6 points per game in his junior and senior years respectively. He was a career 36.6 percent 3-point shooter, as well as a pretty excellent passer from the wings, enough so to check in at No. 25 in total assists in USU history.

On top of all that, Pooh was fun as hell to watch. He was always a big play waiting to happen, played with passion and at a couple different times in his career just completely put the team on his back for stretches in games. The 2009 WAC Tournament semifinals are a great example of that when he held Jahmar Young - the WAC's leading scorer that season - to just 4-of-13 shooting on the game, while Williams went off for 13 second-half points in a crucial comeback win.

And one thing that can't go without mentioning is the improvement he made in free throw shooting between his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, Williams was a liability at the free throw line, hitting on just 54.7 percent of his attempts. In his senior year, Williams shot a team-best 82.1 percent.

Really looking back on things, Pooh likely could have been plenty more of an offensive force for this team than he ended up being throughout his career. But he was still solid in that department, all while playing elite defense for three years as a starter and reaching a school-record 30 wins two different times. He's also one of only three Utah State players ever to have been a starter on three different NCAA Tournament teams.

While the extent of his all-conference honors was just as an all-defensive team member, his teams won a whole ton, and being key parts of teams that won a lot is worthy cause for inclusion this high.