Western Kentucky redshirt junior forward Carson Williams, who transferred to WKU last summer from Northern Kentucky, is healthy and ready to take the floor for the Hilltoppers after spending his first several months with the program rehabbing an injured knee.

The 2018-19 schedule was a sit-out season for Carson Williams in more ways than one.

The forward transferred last summer from Northern Kentucky to Western Kentucky. NCAA transfer rules prevented him from playing any games for the Hilltoppers.

Williams also was unable to practice much of the year. He injured his knee during his last of two years at NKU, then rehabbed it his first several months at WKU before he was finally cleared in January.

“Eventually, it just kind of came around,” Williams told the Daily News last month. “I spent a lot of hours in that training room, though, trying to get it right. I’m feeling good now, though.”

Williams is healthy and ready to take the floor for the Toppers. He’ll be eligible in 2019-20 as a redshirt junior for coach Rick Stansbury’s squad.

The 6-foot-5 forward was a prep star at Owen County High School and a productive college player in two seasons for the Norse. Williams is eager to make an impact at WKU.

“Whatever coach wants me to do to help the team, that’s what I’m going to do,” Williams said.

Williams was Kentucky Mr. Basketball his senior year at Owen County, averaging 26.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in 2015-16. He was offered a Hilltopper scholarship by Stansbury’s predecessor, Ray Harper, but chose Northern Kentucky.

As a freshman in 2016-17, Williams averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for a Norse squad that made its first NCAA Tournament as a Division I program.

The next year, Williams posted 12 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest.

Williams said he was battling a knee issue during the back half of his sophomore season. That issue lingered as the Owenton native completed his transfer to WKU.

“We think that there was a tear in the patellar tendon,” Williams said. “That’s what the original diagnosis was. It took longer to heal up than what was expected.”

Williams didn’t undergo surgery for that injury, instead rehabbing it with trainer John Erwin. He said he was unable to “go through a real practice” until January.

“Once we got it figured out and started improving, it was a huge weight off my shoulders,” Williams said. “I was always thinking, ‘Man, is this going to start getting better? Am I just going to have to play through this type of pain for the rest of my career?’

“Now being right at 100 percent, it’s a great feeling.”

Williams wants to show off an expanded game next season for the Hilltoppers. He said most of his baskets in high school and at NKU came “right around the paint area” on post-ups or drives to the rim.

Stansbury wanted Williams to work on ball handling and shooting. Williams said he’s performed dribbling drills with heavy balls, volleyball balls and tennis balls, while getting up about 1,000 shots a day.

Williams has also worked with strength coach Duane Hall on improving his quickness and agility.

“I’m really just trying to work on all aspects of my game, trying to leave no stone unturned,” Williams said.

Williams will enter the fold next season for a WKU squad that’s set to return plenty of production.

Guard Lamonte Bearden was the Toppers’ only senior starter in 2018-19. Starters Josh Anderson, Charles Bassey, Taveion Hollingsworth and Jared Savage can all return in 2019-20, though the center Bassey will have an NBA Draft decision to make.

“I see the kind of talent and the skills that these guys playing right now have that are supposed to be back with me next year and the following year,” Williams said.

“I’m hoping to keep building off that as a unit, getting better every day and every season.”{&end}