Auburn fifth-year senior Jaylin Williams wanted Wednesday night’s game against Alabama to be one he could proudly tell his children about years later.
“In, like, 20 years, you can say, ‘I beat them my last year,'” Williams said of the Crimson Tide on Tuesday, leading up to the Alabama-Auburn rematch. “That would be pretty cool to tell my kids some day.”
Williams, who had lost his previous three games versus Alabama, was hoping for nothing more than a win over “that team up north” on Wednesday night. Williams simply wanted to be able to tell that narrative in 20 years; everything else was supplementary.
And against the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night, the extras simply kept coming, adding to Williams’ future story. When it comes to tale time, Williams will have to decide where to begin, as he has several alternatives.
If he likes, Williams may begin his story before tipoff, when he was honored for his 1,000th career point in front of a boisterous home crowd. Williams’ 1,000th career point came in December, when he scored 20 against Alabama State.
Why did Auburn wait until February 7 to recognize him? Who knows. But, for the purpose of argument, let us assume it was something that required to be included in his story.
If Williams didn’t want to start there, his story might take up immediately before halftime of Wednesday night’s game, when Auburn led 53-41 with just over 33 seconds left in the first half. After an Alabama miss, Auburn sophomore Tre Donaldson grabbed the rebound and immediately moved the ball down the floor with a pass to Williams, who banged home a windmill dunk to extend Auburn’s lead to 14.
“I think I almost broke my wrist,” Williams joked after the game.
Following Williams’ dunk, which elicited one of the greatest Neville Arena explosions of the season, Alabama head coach Nate Oaks was forced to call a timeout in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, as the lights dimmed, Williams was greeted by his teammates, who couldn’t believe what they had just seen.
“I’m jealous,” Auburn junior center Johni Broome said following the game. “Listen, we discuss windmills all the time. I learnt how to windmill from him this year. I’ve always wanted to get an in-game windmill.
So, when Williams relates the story of February 7, 2024, he may begin with the dunk that made his teammates green with envy.
Alternatively, Williams may skip ahead until late in the second half.
The second half of Wednesday’s game was less interesting than the first. Instead of windmill dunks, there were plenty of free throws. Auburn attempted 34 free throws in the second half, with Williams going to the line for eight attempts.
Williams shot 7-for-8 from the line in the second half, pushing his total for the night to 9-for-10.
Williams walked to the line for the last time with just over five minutes to go, having scored 24 points on the night, tying his career high set against Ole Miss on January 6, 2021.
Williams would set a new career high with just one or two makes. Williams finished the night with 26 points after making two shots.
“I knew going into the game that (Nick) Pringle wasn’t 100%, and neither were some of the other players. When questioned about his huge night, Williams replied, “I thought they were going to play smaller. “It was just going in, I just I had to be patient, be more aggressive inside.”
And, with the pregame presentation, the first-half windmill dunk, the new career high, and the huge home rivalry triumph, Williams has a pretty fantastic story.
How will he start? Well, that is up to him.
