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Everyone knows great guards are a must for March, but here's another important tournament tip: The big guys matter, too.

Just look at some recent champions--Connecticut's Ben Gordon had Emeka Okafor. Maryland's Juan Dixon had Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox. Duke's Jay Williams had Carlos Boozer, who returned from a broken foot and became a factor in the tournament. At Wake Forest this season, Eric Williams has given his star-studded backcourt that essential post presence.

Virginia coach Pete Gillen says, "He's a force, and if you don't guard him and you don't concentrate on him, he's going to kill you. Eric Willliams is one of the top centers in the country, and that's why Wake has such a great team. They can hurt you inside or outside or on the wings."

Ignore Williams at your own peril--at either end of the floor. As a junior, he is having a breakout year.

"Eric Williams has been really steady," says ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. "This is by far his best year. The three best big guys in the league have been Shelden Williams, Sean May and Eric Williams, without question."

As a freshman and sophomore, Eric Williams showed flashes of promise but was dogged by criticism that he wasn't mean enough and got into foul trouble too often. This season, he has fouled out only once--against North Carolina on January 15. That game was one of only two in which Williams had fewer than 10 points.

Williams has become more aggressive and intimidating. His friendly off-court demeanor is checked at the edge of the court. No one will call him Mr. Nasty--you still might see him congratulate an opponent on a good play during a timeout--but he's not giving any ground in the lane.

The school's preseason roster lists him at 290 pounds, but he's playing at 275--significantly down from his freshman weight of about 320. Both the weight loss and mental commitment help him to get into position quicker and make faster, better decisions. He's forcing double-teams inside, which opens up the perimeter and makes Wake's guards even tougher to defend.

He is, as Gillen put it, a force--the inside to Chris Paul's outside. Good luck figuring out how to stop that.

Paint primer

Chris Paul keeps Wake Forest moving, but Eric Williams,
who is averaging 16.1 points and shooting 62.2 percent
from the field, provides the team's muscle. And he's not
alone as a post player who could make a racket in the
NCAA bracket.

Player, school                        PPG    RPG    FG%

Andrew Bogut, Utah                    20.6   12.0   63.7
Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont            25.0    8.8   51.8
Sean May, North Carolina              16.3   10.4   55.0
Lawrence Roberts, Mississippi State   17.3   11.1   45.9
Wayne Simien, Kansas                  19.5   11.2   53.8
Craig Smith, Boston College           17.8    8.5   48.8
Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga                 16.6    9.3   52.2
Hakim Warrick, Syracuse               21.2    8.2   55.3
Shelden Williams, Duke                15.5   11.4   58.8

COPYRIGHT 2005 Sporting News Publishing Co.
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