When freshman basketball stand-out Sebastian Williams-Adams (‘25) stepped up to the free throw line with 3:22 left in his first collegiate game, his Auburn Tigers were down a point against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. Williams-Adams maintained his composure and made both free throws, giving his team the lead.
On the next play, the Wildcats were hoping to take the lead from the Tigers; fortunately, Williams-Adams blocked a lead-taking two-pointer. After two more minutes of exchanging baskets, the Tigers found themselves down two with 1:21 left. Stepping up again, Williams-Adams managed a clutch game-tying layup, which later helped the Tigers win the game by five in overtime. He described his reason for having an abundance of clutch baskets in a post-game interview.
“I didn’t want to lose at home,” Williams-Adams said. “I need to be able to help the team no matter what my role is.”
By the end of the game, William-Adams contributed 15 points, a respectable statistic for his first collegiate game. As a freshman, Williams-Adams understood that though he was younger, he still played a significant role on his team.
“I’ve had to adjust mentally because I’m the youngest on the team,” he said. “There have been some games where my job has been to go out there and wake the team up, as our coaches say.”
St. John’s students and faculty were excited for Williams-Adams to play basketball at Auburn, especially after his successful high school basketball career, during which he passed the 1,000 points mark. Now, at the end of his freshman year at Auburn, Williams-Adams has remained at the same playing level. Averaging 7 points and 1.2 steals per game this year, he played a key role in winning games; he was initially the first player off the bench and later promoted to the starting lineup.
Other than Auburn, Williams-Adams received an offer from national champion Michigan, along with offers from other ranked teams like Purdue, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Alabama. Talented local teams like Houston and Texas Tech also reached out. Above all, however, Williams-Adams chose Auburn. He hoped this choice would give him the best chance to land in the NBA, as the team was ranked number 20 nationally at the start of the season.
At the start of his career, Williams-Adams faced multiple ranked teams, including Michigan, Arizona and Houston, with Auburn maintaining an 18-16 record. This included conference play, in which the Tigers participate in the Southeastern Conference, one of the most prestigious college basketball conferences. They held a 7-11 record in conference play.
Through facing these challenging teams, Williams-Adams has been a fierce competitor. Even though his playing time is limited, he has averaged 27 minutes per game, and has had season highs of 15, 14 and 13 points. He attributes his intensity to his freshman status.
“Being a freshman, if I messed up, I had older guys who were there to pick up my slack, so that made it very easy,” Williams-Adams said. “What motivated me to win was my will as a competitor.”
Williams-Adams realized how he transformed as a player throughout his first collegiate year at Auburn. Whether it be his role on the team or his conditioning at practice, Williams-Adams is not only focused on improving his game but also contributing to the community around him.
“My role has improved to being not only a guy who produces on the court, but also one who gets out in the community,” Williams-Adams said. “I’ve done multiple things for the community, and I love seeing the joy on other people’s faces when they see the Auburn basketball team helping them with something.”
After the Tigers’ highly anticipated start to the season, Auburn fans and players were disappointed when the team narrowly missed the NCAA tournament, a year after being the number one overall seed in the tournament.
The Tigers chose to play in the NIT, a tournament for teams that do not get invited to play in the NCAA tournament. In the second round against Seattle University, Williams-Adams scored 15 points along with 2 steals in just 18 minutes; he went on to continue this hot streak in the following tournament rounds, right into the championship game, where the Tigers came back from a four-point deficit with 9 seconds left. They went on to win the game in overtime by six points.
Following the end of the regular season, Williams-Adams proceeded to set the freshman steals record for the Tigers in the quarterfinal game against Nevada. Nearing the end of an impressive freshman campaign, Williams-Adams does not focus on how many points he’s scored or even breaking records. Instead, he notes personal growth as his strong suit.
“I’m now proud of just being able to defy lots of people’s expectations,” Williams-Adams said. “Most saw me as someone who only plays 10 minutes a game, but I’ve become someone who closes games out for Auburn and starts a game depending on the situation.”
Williams-Adams has been in the news recently following his entrance into the transfer portal. Even though he was expected to return to Auburn for his sophomore season, he hit the transfer portal on April 20. While the Miami Hurricanes jumped out as early favorites, the Vanderbilt Commodores were able to get Williams-Adams in the end. After an impressive season, the Commodores hope to replicate success with Williams-Adams.
