02/12/2014
Lowell Sun
By Matt Langone
LOWELL -- Akeem Williams has already cemented a place among UMass Lowell's all-time great basketball players.
With five games remaining in his college career, the 5-foot-10 senior guard has amassed 1,960 career points, which is good for fifth all-time in program history. Barring injury, Williams is just about a lock to surpass the prestigious 2,000-point plateau.
UMass Lowell travels to first-place Vermont (15-9, 9-1 America East Conference) on Wednesday (7 p.m.) in a conference matchup.
Elad Inbar (2000-04) tops UML's scoring chart with 2,099 career points. Williams would have to score 140 more points, an average of 28 per game over the final five contests, to pass Inbar.
Considering the guard is averaging 15 points per game this season for the 8-15 River Hawks, Inbar's total seems out of reach.
But there is always a chance.
Nevertheless, Williams has a very realistic shot at passing Bill Quirk (1966-72; 2,032) at No. 4 and Stacey Moragne (2002-06; 2,041) at No. 3. John Paganetti (1980-84) sits comfortably at No. 2 at 2,091.
Williams can claim something that none of those aforementioned players can -- he is doing it at the Division 1 level. Williams played his first three seasons in Division 2 before UML transitioned to D1 and the America East Conference this academic year. He has been instrumental in guiding the River Hawks to a remarkable first year in the highest level of collegiate basketball. Their 8-15 record has been a huge surprise to most people.
Even more surprising is the fact that the River Hawks are tied for third in the conference standings with Albany at 6-5.
Williams, a Brockton native, also ranks eighth all-time in assists at UML with 340. He has career averages of 17.8 ppg and 3.1 apg.