His high school coach, Ron Nikcevich, and the man whose record he was about to break, Chuck Lambert, sat behind the Illinois-Chicago bench Saturday afternoon and waited for the inevitable.
A rout over Youngstown State? No. A UIC victory is never a sure thing, not even against a 3-8 team.
Lyons Township coach Nikcevich, Lambert, UIC players and coaches and 3,122 fans at the Pavilion were waiting for a different kind of celebration. Kenny Williams, UIC’s 5-foot-10-inch wizard of a guard, needed only one point to become the Flames’ all-time leading scorer.
How would he get it? A pull-up jumper, a three-point bomb with two guys hanging all over him? Or maybe a free throw that rolls around the rim before dropping through?
The record was set a minute and a half into the game when Williams dribbled around to the right side and put up a three-point shot that swished through the net.
It was only three points in UIC’s 95-75 Mid-Continent Conference victory, but they were three of the biggest points ever for Williams.
“When I let the shot go, I knew it was going in,” Williams said.
The senior playmaker pumped his fist in celebration as teammate Michael Simmons wrapped his arms around Williams and the rest of his teammates joined in the moment. Williams walked over to the bench after getting the game ball and was congratulated by UIC coach Bob Hallberg, Nikcevich, Lambert and Williams’ biggest fan, his mother.
“When the record was broken, I thought they just introduced Michael Jordan,” Hallberg said. “I thought we were at the Stadium. It was loud.”
Williams finished with 24 points and has 1,675 points-and counting-in four seasons at UIC. Lambert scored 1,651 as a center from 1971-75. Williams was anxious about the game even though he needed only a point.
“This is the first time I was nervous before a game since I was a freshman,” he said. “It kind of got to me this morning. It’s funny because the whole week I really wasn’t thinking about it. I woke up this morning and I had butterflies. I wanted to get the game started.”
Williams had all week to think about it. He had scored 27 points Monday in the Flames’ 81-68 victory over Western Illinois.
“I think there was a little pressure on him the last couple ballgames,” Hallberg said. “It’s like going for Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak or something. I think he’s glad that it’s over, and I’m glad that it’s over, too.”
It was over for Youngstown State (3-9, 1-4) when UIC (8-5, 4-1) took control in the final six minutes. The Penguins had gotten within 11 when Williams helped nail it down with four straight points-two free throws and a crowd-pleasing reverse layup-to give the Flames a 76-61 lead with 5:50 to play.
UIC forward Sherell Ford led all scorers with 30 points, and the Flames shot an impressive 59 percent for the game (33 of 56).
Williams, who fouled out with 3:14 to play, has other things in mind beyond the scoring record.
“This is a great milestone, but I want to end my career in the (NCAA) tournament,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.”
