Son of an NBA All-Star could provide Mark Pope with something he’s been missing
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mason Williams committed after visiting Rupp Arena and meeting Coach Pope.
- Mo Williams resigned from Jackson State and later joined Pope’s staff.
- Pope has shown trust in Williams and drew him into plays during practice.
Mason Williams has always wanted to play basketball for his dad.
For a while, it looked like he would. And then it appeared that he wouldn’t. And then it looked like he would. And then the plan fell through again.
In the end, it all worked out. But not exactly how the teenager had envisioned it.
Williams hit the practice floor for the first time as a Kentucky Wildcat last week. His father, former NBA All-Star Mo Williams, was out on the court with him.
A few months ago, the specifics of this father/son team-up would’ve sounded surreal.
The younger Williams — a 6-foot-2 point guard from Dallas who finished his high school career in the Memphis area — committed to play for his dad last year. At the time, Mo Williams was the head coach at Jackson State, but as Mason’s national profile started to rise, his father hit him with some advice that was difficult to hear.
“I’ve always wanted to play for him,” the UK freshman said. “It was just the school — I didn’t want to really go there. He told me the same thing. I didn’t decommit. He decommitted for me.”
It’s basically unheard of that the head coach of a low-major college basketball program would turn down a commitment from a potential top 100 recruit, but that’s what happened in this case. Twice, actually.
As Williams’ senior year got underway, his dad told him he needed to reopen the recruitment. A scholarship offer from Texas Tech arrived the day he did. Memphis and Ole Miss were among the other high-major programs that had already offered.
Still, the kid didn’t bite on a new school. And by the time he wrapped up that senior season, his national ranking was still rising and he remained uncommitted. Officially, that is. Williams said he was actually “silently recommitted” to Jackson State at the time.
His dad just wanted something different for him. And then Mark Pope called.
“And he told me, ‘No, you’re not coming. You’re going on a visit to Kentucky.’”
Williams didn’t have to pick UK, his dad made clear. He just wasn’t coming to Jackson State. Following the trip to Lexington, he was scheduled to hit Georgia Tech next. And then a potential trip to Baylor. And then, who knows? Perhaps other high-major contenders would’ve emerged.
He never got that deep into the process.
By the time Williams was a few steps into Rupp Arena, studying the mural of former UK players now in the NBA that adorns a wall outside the team’s locker room, he’d seen enough.
“Once I saw that wall of all the players, once I walked into Rupp, it was a done deal,” he said. “I’ve just always wanted to play for a coach like Coach Pope. The way he plays, how fast he plays, the shots I can take, the shots that everybody can take — I love it.
“I’m loving everything about the way he coaches. And the assistant coaches, too, especially having my dad by my side.”
It took a few days, but that piece of it came together, too.
Once the Williams family returned home and Mason was firmly committed, Pope closed on his father, who resigned the head coaching gig at Jackson State — his hometown university — in order to join Pope’s staff.
Pope got a new assistant coach with 13 years of NBA experience, a league championship ring and lots of juice on the recruiting trail. And the Williamses got to team up together on the court, after all.
Everyone is happy with how things turned out.
Mason Williams said that while his father had always been there to provide basketball advice, he largely tried to stay out of the way of those who were in charge on the court. “He let my coaches do what coaches do.”
He can’t wait to play for him now, though. And he sees Pope as the right fit for his playing style.
“I can push the ball,” the freshman said. “I want to play fast. I want to kick ahead. My shot’s gotten way better. I shot the ball pretty well last year (41% from 3-point range), but I’ve been working on my shot a lot, so I’ll say I can shoot it.
“I like to get in the paint. I love to get in the paint.”
Williams is working on his floater game but is dedicated to driving and kicking, too, especially with the 3-point shooters, led by star transfer Milan Momcilovic, that Pope has assembled for the 2026-27 season.
When Williams visited Lexington this spring, Pope told him he’d have the opportunity to come in and earn playing time right away as a freshman.
“I’ve gotta go get it. Go get everything,” Williams said of the coach’s directive. “And I’ve been doing that.”
He arrived in town April 30, well before most of his new teammates, and got straight to work. He put up shots on his own. He worked out multiple times a day. He got acquainted with his new basketball home. And Pope showed from Day 1 that he will indeed get an opportunity.
“He’s trusting me,” Williams said. “In practice, he was drawing up plays, and he was looking around for a point guard, and he looked at me and drew me on the board. So he’s trusting me a little bit, and I’m loving that. And I’m getting more comfortable, so I feel I’m getting more dangerous.”
That could come in handy.
This offseason, Pope also brought in Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins, a couple of lead guards with previous college experience and lots of potential as high-level creators, but given the well-documented injury troubles that UK has had at point guard during the head coach’s tenure so far, it’s clear that the Cats can’t possibly have too many playmakers heading into Year 3.
The presence of Diallo and Wilkins means Williams won’t have too much pressure to produce right away. But those two could start alongside each other in UK’s backcourt, and — even if they don’t — there’s room for Williams to carve out a few minutes of meaningful PT next season.
Pope needs depth at the 1 spot, something he hasn’t yet had as Kentucky’s coach. Williams could provide it.
Before he gets started, the freshman has been observing his older teammates.
“My biggest thing is watching to see how they carry themselves and see how hard they work, and just the way they lead,” he said.
Off the court, Williams has been picking the brains of his older teammates. Over the course of the 30 minutes he spent with reporters, he answered questions like a veteran and name-dropped just about everybody on the team.
Williams spoke of getting up shots late at night, going out for meals around campus, simply sitting around talking ball. It seemed like every time he told a story, a different teammate served as the supporting character.
“I was just telling the guys, like, this is probably the first team I’ve been on that I can connect with — and I like — every single player on the team,” he said. “Like, there’s always been that one player, it’s like, ‘No, I don’t really want to hang out with him.’ Or something like that.
“But everybody’s just … I love ‘em.”
Not long before his first media session as a Wildcat, the young guard said he went out to dinner with Momcilovic, who he’s already found to be a wise teammate, willing to listen and offer advice. And that’s not all. Momcilovic picked up the check, too.
“Milly paid for it,” Williams said, a comical lilt in his voice that drew chuckles from those in the room who’d heard the estimates of Momcilovic’s rumored NIL deal. “So thank God for that.”
One bit of advice Williams keeps hearing: slow down. The college season is long, his coaches, teammates and trainers have been telling him, and going too hard before it even starts can lead to fatigue before it ends. “So I’m waiting to see if that’s going to hit me or not.”
So far, it hasn’t. And good luck getting this kid to pump the brakes.
Williams knows the weight of the season won’t be on his shoulders. He’s not nearly as highly touted — No. 120 nationally, according to the final 247Sports rankings — as those UK point guards who grace the wall outside the Rupp Arena locker room, wearing their NBA jerseys.
But the rankings don’t matter. Williams wants to be on that wall someday. He has the pedigree. He has the opportunity. And he sounds like a young man who plans to make the most of it.
“My personal expectations, I want to be the hardest worker to ever come through Kentucky,” he said. “That’s it. And if I achieve that goal, there’s a lot more to come with it.”
