Hartford graduate student Austin Williams, the Most Outstanding Player from last year's conference tournament, was honored with a spot on the America East Preseason All-Conference Team, the organization also announced.
A guard from Roseland, N.J. who spent the first two years of his career at Marist, Williams enjoyed great success on the court during his first season with the Hawks in 2020-21. Leading the team with 338 points and 149 rebounds, he finished sixth in the America East in scoring (14.1 ppg) and 10th in rebounding (6.2 per game). Williams was also ranked third in the league in shooting percentage (50.8%) and fifth in steals per game (1.1).
He was named to the America East All-Conference Third Team at the conclusion of the regular season, which saw the Hawks finish with an 8-6 mark in conference play for the fourth-best record in the standings.
Williams played a key role in helping the program raise its first America East Championship banner. He exploded during Hartford's four America East Playoff game, averaging 21.3 points — including three 20+ point outings against Binghamton (29 points), Vermont (25 points) and UMass Lowell (20 points) — while adding 8.3 rebound per game. In addition to claiming Most Outstanding Player honors in the America East Championship, he was also named to the All-Championship Team.
Williams becomes Hartford's first America East Preseason All-Conference Team selection since the 2018-19 campaign, when John Carroll and Jason Dunne earned the distinction. He is joined on the America East Preseason All-Conference Team by Ryan Davis (Vermont), Nick Guadarrama (New Hampshire), Jayden Martinez (New Hampshire), Elijah Olaniyi (Stony Brook) and Ben Shungu (Vermont).
The America East Preseason Poll is voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams.
Stony Brook received five of nine possible first-place votes, Vermont received four and New Hampshire received the final first-place tally. UMBC (49 points) was picked to finish fifth, behind Hartford, followed by UMass Lowell (43), UAlbany (43), NJIT (23), Maine (16) and Binghamton (14).
The Hawks open their competitive non-conference slate — which features dates with 2021 NCAA Tournament participants Appalachian State and Winthrop — on Tuesday, Nov. 9, when they head to Wagner. The 2021-22 home debut pits Hartford against former conference mate Boston University, on Thursday, Nov. 18.
The defense of the program's America East Championship begins at home on Sunday, Jan. 2, when the Hawks welcome Stony Brook to Reich Family Pavilion.
In addition to Williams, the Hawks return starting forward Hunter Marks, starting guard D.J. Mitchell and guard Moses Flowers, who started in the first nine games of the 2020-21 campaign before losing the remainder of his season to injury.
Joining four other returners (forward Thomas Webley, guard Matt Hobbs, guard Michael Dunne and guard Briggs McClain) are a pair of graduate transfers in guard Dejuan Clayton (Coppin State) and Jared Kimbrough (La Salle). Transfers David Shriver (Alderson Broaddus) and Pierre Sow (Hampton) and newcomers Carlos Edmundo and Kurtis Henderson will also make their Hartford debuts this season.
In addition to leading the program to its first-ever America East Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, head coach John Gallagher, who enters his 12th season at the helm, posted the best winning percentage in Hartford's Division I era last season (.625). The Hawks went 12-9 in an abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.
For an inside look at Hartford men's basketball, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media: Twitter | Instagram
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October 21, 2021 at 08:34PM
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Williams Named Preseason All-Conference; Hawks Picked Fourth in Preseason Poll - Hartfordhawks.com
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