No one has joined the UB men's basketball program with more fanfare than Jeenathan Williams.

He finished ranked 83rd in Rivals.com's top 150 prospects from the Class of 2018, making Williams the highest rated recruit in Bulls history.

While Williams said he didn't feel pressure carrying that honor into his freshman year, the immediate impact many believed he'd bring didn't happen. He averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game that first season, playing in 36 games, but only averaging about 9.1 minutes of action on a Bulls squad that finished 32-4 and was ranked nationally the entire season.

"I knew the team we had," Williams said. "Once I realized how good those guys were, I didn't mind waiting my turn. It was frustrating for sure. It was frustrating. It was hard, but I just thought about it. There's a time and place for everything. Everybody's time will come. You just keep working hard, keep working hard and keep at it and it'll happen for you and that's what I'm starting to show."

"He's come a long ways from when he walked in the door thinking I'm going to come in here and do A, B, and C," UB head coach Jim Whitesell said, who was an assistant coach for the Bulls during Williams' freshman year. "So he's really put the work in and I think the college game teaches kids that. I keep telling him, every team's got good players. Now you've got to keep working and get a competitive edge and keep building on it and that's what he's always interested in doing."

Williams slid into a starting role his sophomore season and saw his production rise. He elevated to 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

But after UB was upset in their MAC tournament opener, Williams went immediately to work on really improving his game. First he trained alongside teammate Ronaldo Segu down in Florida for two months. Then Williams went across the country to California for another two months of training with another coach.

"Being a better shooter," Williams said. "Being a better ball-handler. Being a better finisher. I just focused on everything. I really went into this summer just like, man, I've got a lot of work to do. Every day just got to it and it was just consistent, real hard grind."

The grind consisted of four workouts a day. He also focused in on his diet and other ways to improve his body.

It didn't take long for results to show.

"Three months into the process of me training hard every day, I knew I was a better player," Williams said. "I knew I was different player than last year. I knew it. Before the season even kicked off, I was still in California and we were just playing pick-up. It was high level pick-up with pros. And I just knew it. I was like, okay, this is going to be a good year for me. I knew it. I just felt different. I didn't feel the same as I did last year."

The numbers back that up. Williams leads UB with 17.1 PPG and is 2nd with 7.1 RPG. Those numbers both rank top ten in the MAC, one of just three players in the conference to do so.

Still, Williams believes his best is still yet to come.

"I feel like there's never a ceiling," Williams said. "It's never a ceiling. You can always get better no matter what point in the season it is, no matter when it is. You can always progress and get better. That's all I'm doing. Just staying true to my routine and just keep working and staying patient because I know something big's going to happen."

UB wraps up the regular season Friday when they host Kent State at 6 pm. They'll begin their MAC Tournament run in Cleveland next Thurday.