Some days, the goal was three deflections. Other days, it was making sure an opponent couldn’t get past him on a drive.

Nothing glamorous. Nothing that would ever appear in a box score.

But those were the kinds of daily challenges Karon Boyd taught T.J. Williams to set for himself last season, helping the Wichita State basketball standout discover a more deliberate approach to defense.

Williams had always taken pride in playing defense. Growing up at Wichita Heights, where toughness and defensive accountability were ingrained in the program’s identity, he understood the importance of making opponents uncomfortable.

What Boyd showed him was how much more went into the job at the Division I level, from studying opponents and mastering scouting reports to approaching every practice with a specific purpose.

Williams watched how Boyd carried himself like a professional, paying attention to the smallest details and setting daily goals to sharpen his defense.

Those lessons have taken on new meaning entering the 2026-27 season.

With Boyd gone, Wichita State coach Paul Mills is challenging Williams to become the Shockers’ next go-to perimeter defender, a responsibility that could require the 6-foot-5 sophomore to guard everyone from explosive point guards to physical forwards.

“T.J. Williams needs to step up as a defensive stopper,” Mills said. “There will be times where we just maintain T.J. on matchups because we think T.J. can really defend and he’ll accept that role.”

For Williams, it’s an opportunity to put everything he learned from Boyd into practice.

“He taught me a couple things that I never would have even thought of,” Williams said. “So it’s definitely big shoes to fill, but I’m embracing it. I love playing defense, so I definitely want to be that guy for the team.”

How T.J. Williams can become Wichita State basketball’s defensive stopper

Williams was arguably the biggest pleasant surprise of Wichita State’s 24-win season.

After redshirting his first year, the Heights graduate quickly became an indispensable part of the rotation with his relentless attacks to the basket, physical rebounding and all-around versatility.

He averaged 8.7 points and five rebounds, scored a career-high 27 points at East Carolina and produced a 17-point, 14-rebound performance in just 18 minutes against Wyoming during the NIT.

Even Mills was surprised by how quickly Williams made an impact.

But an offensive breakthrough doesn’t necessarily make someone a complete player.

Williams has the quick reflexes, strength and lateral mobility to become a difficult individual matchup defensively. He showed flashes of that ability last season, particularly against perimeter-oriented forwards.

There were also growing pains.

Playing primarily as an undersized power forward, Williams sometimes struggled against bigger opponents who could overpower him in the post. And while his effort on the ball was rarely in question, his attention occasionally wandered when the action moved elsewhere.

He could get caught watching the ball and lose track of a cutter. A late rotation could leave a teammate scrambling to cover an open shooter. Failing to locate someone to box out could turn an otherwise successful defensive possession into an offensive rebound.

Those mistakes are understandable for someone playing their first season of college basketball. They’re considerably less acceptable for someone expected to become a defensive leader.

And they illustrate why the jump from capable defender to dependable stopper is more complicated than simply being assigned the opponent’s best scorer.

It requires knowing the scouting report well enough to anticipate where that player wants to go. It means fighting through screens without losing contact, communicating rotations and recognizing when to help without abandoning an assignment.

Most importantly, it requires maintaining that concentration even when the ball is nowhere nearby.

Williams has already shown he can be a difficult matchup when he’s locked in defensively. Now the challenge is turning those flashes into something Wichita State can count on every possession.

His teammates believe he has everything necessary to make that leap.

“He has those intangibles on defense,” junior forward Dillon Battie said. “He has super quick reflexes. He’s first to the ball, and like I mean, he’s the leader of what he does, especially on defense, and you know that’s that has extreme value.”

Senior guard Kenyon Giles sees the same potential.

“I can easily see him being the go-to defender,” Giles said. “We have a lot of guys who are capable, but I feel like T is going to be up for that challenge. He’s built for that responsibility. He’s used to that, being the guy from Wichita for years.”

There is another reason Mills trusts Williams to handle more responsibility.

He’s not afraid to speak up.

Mills has praised Williams as one of the team’s most vocal players, a confidence that comes naturally to a hometown standout who grew up rooting for the Shockers. Entering his third year in the program, he is also the longest-tenured player in WSU’s rotation.

That familiarity matters when teammates need someone to recognize an opposing play, call out a screen or direct a defensive rotation before a mistake happens.

How T.J. Williams could transform Wichita State basketball’s defense

The departure of Boyd presents a fascinating challenge for WSU because his defensive value extended far beyond traditional statistics.

Boyd wasn’t a prolific shot-blocker or ball thief. He was a 6-foot-5, physical perimeter defender who could absorb contact, battle through screens and keep opposing guards from getting comfortable.

Mills doesn’t expect Williams to replace Boyd by himself. The Shockers will need a collective effort to maintain their defensive identity.

But Williams could become particularly important because of how WSU plans to defend ball screens.

The Shockers are likely to switch less frequently this season, especially with 7-foot-2 center William Berg primarily playing drop coverage, which means remaining closer to the basket rather than chasing smaller guards onto the perimeter.

WSU also wants to protect Giles, its undersized scoring dynamo, from unfavorable defensive switches that could leave him matched up against bigger, more physical opponents.

That places more responsibility on Williams and the other perimeter defenders to fight through screens and stay attached to dangerous scorers.

Instead of switching off his assignment whenever a screen arrives, Williams will be asked to chase a star guard over multiple picks, recover into position and contest a shot without fouling.

It’s exhausting work, particularly against players who spend an entire possession trying to create separation.

But it also represents an opportunity for Williams to use his physicality against players closer to his size rather than spending so much time wrestling with power forwards like last season.

The defensive possibilities become even more intriguing if Mills can consistently play Williams at small forward alongside Battie and Berg.

The Shockers ranked 92nd nationally in defensive rebounding percentage last season. Mills wants that number among the country’s top 50, believing better rebounding is one of the simplest ways to improve the defense.

A lineup featuring three of WSU’s strongest rebounders could help accomplish that while giving the Shockers considerably more size on the wing.

“Once we start sharing the floor together, we’re going to bring a ton of rebounding and scoring and defense,” Battie said. “I can’t wait.”

How T.J. Williams plans to expand his offensive game for Wichita State

Of course, making the Williams-Battie pairing work requires more than defensive versatility.

Last season, both players were most effective near the basket, making it difficult for Mills to play them together alongside a traditional center without cramping the offense.

As a result, they substituted for each other rather than sharing the court.

Mills doesn’t want a repeat.

“There has to be an expansion of their games, and we have to find a way in order to get T.J. and Dillon on the court together,” Mills said. “It wouldn’t make much sense to have two players of that caliber, and all they’re doing is substituting for each other again.”

The solution isn’t necessarily turning Williams into a 3-point shooter.

His shot profile from last season was unusually concentrated around the basket. According to CBB Analytics, more than 90% of his field-goal attempts came at the rim or in the paint. He made just one of 12 attempts from 3-point range.

Rather than force Williams away from his strengths, the coaching staff has focused on making those strengths harder to defend.

A naturally left-handed player, Williams was often determined to work his way back to his dominant hand last season. Smart defenses recognized the tendency and loaded up on his left side, daring him to beat them going right.

This offseason, Williams has worked on becoming more comfortable driving and finishing with either hand, as well as reading defenses that crowd the lane.

“I want to be able to get to my spots more efficiently and effectively,” Williams said.

He has also worked with assistant coach P.J. Couisnard on his perimeter shooting, although he understands that suddenly launching a steady diet of 3-pointers would do little to maximize his value.

A more natural expansion could come as a secondary playmaker.

Williams played point guard growing up and at Heights, and his ballhandling gives him the ability to attack a scrambling defense, make a pass out of a drive or operate in occasional pick-and-roll situations.

With Jahari Long and Jordan Frison expected to handle much of the primary creation and Giles stretching defenses with his barrage of 3-pointers, Williams could thrive attacking closeouts, cutting behind defenders and crashing the offensive glass.

Battie’s improved perimeter shooting could provide the necessary spacing for those opportunities.

It’s another way to get two of WSU’s most productive forwards on the floor together without asking either to become an entirely different player.

T.J. Williams’ ankle injury raises concern for Wichita State basketball

For all the excitement surrounding Williams’ potential, WSU’s first priority is getting him healthy.

An ankle injury has limited him throughout the preseason, and he looked rusty when the Shockers played Murray State in an October exhibition shortly after his return.

Mills later acknowledged regretting playing Williams a team-high 25 minutes in the exhibition, given how recently he had returned from the ankle injury.

“When he’s healthy, he’s very capable as a defensive stopper,” Mills said.

Williams is expected to be ready when the Shockers open the season at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against CSUN at Koch Arena.

He could face an immediate challenge in his expanded defensive role against Josiah Davis, CSUN’s 6-foot-3 veteran point guard who averaged 15.9 points and 7.4 assists last season.

It would be a fitting introduction to his new responsibilities.

A year ago, Williams entered the season with little idea of how much he could contribute after spending his first year watching from the bench. By March, he had become one of the Shockers’ most important players.

Now he knows exactly what his coach expects.

The challenge is no longer simply proving he belongs on the floor. It’s proving Wichita State can trust him against the player on the other team who is most capable of taking over a game.

And Williams understands better than he did a year ago that earning that trust doesn’t begin when the ball is tipped.

Sometimes, it begins with three deflections in practice.