Beaver Basketball Preview: Freshman Ja'Quavis Williford Could Play Major Minutes for Oregon State

The three-star freshman Ja'Quavis Williford was a Top 300 player in the nation coming out of high school. What kind of impact can he have?

Oregon State's head coach Wayne Tinkle talks to the team during a timeout in the game against Bushnell on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 at OSU in Corvallis, Ore. Osuvsbushnell710 / ABIGAIL DOLLINS / STATESMAN JOURNAL / USA TODAY NETWORK

Coming out of Middlebrooks Academy in Los Angeles, California, former St. Louis signee Ja’Quavis Williford asked out of his Letter of Intent after former Billikens head coach Travis Ford’s departure.

After mulling over several offers, including UNLV, Fresno State, Oklahoma State, Cal State-Fullerton, and Indiana State, Williford eventually signed with Wayne Tinkle’s Beavers as the headliner of the class and a national top 300 prospect according to 247 Sports. 

Williford is a small forward with ideal size for his position at the collegiate level – standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 180 pounds, he is a fluid athlete that moves around the floor well as a wing and has some potential as a multi-positional defender. He turns his hips well, and though he does occasionally get beat off of the bounce, this is an issue that, through coaching, can likely be remedied.

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Though the sample size is limited, Williford, according to Synergy Sports, struggled a bit with his efficiency, despite his overall points per shot numbers being solid (0.97, good for 58th percentile, which is categorized as “Good”). Still, he shot just 37.8% from the field with an effective field goal rate of 48.6%, and shot below 33% from beyond the arc in this small amount of games at the prep level.

Still, on a roster with more questions than answers, Williford seems to be of the latter category, someone that can step in day one and contribute from a perimeter spot. He's not a star on the offensive end yet, as he does struggle to get separation off of the bounce, though this is not particularly his role as an off-ball player.

He has shown flashes of ability to drive to the basket, though his body type will require putting on more mass in order to better finish through contact. If he can build himself up physically, he may be effective closer to the basket, which would give a boost to his efficiency numbers.

Overall, Williford has a decent amount of potential, and could play a real role on this year's Oregon State roster.