Terrance Williams II talks offseason prep, areas of improvement, Dickinson’s departure

Before his senior season kicks off at Michigan, Terrance Williams II talked with Brian Boesch on the Defend The Block podcast this week about how his offseason has been.

“I cleaned up my shooting form, making it quicker and more efficient,” Williams said. “I get a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities in this offense and I didn’t hit a high percentage that I hoped for last year, but there’s always room for improvement.

Williams has also been working on ball handling daily along with lateral movement to guard one through five and be able to switch.

The veteran forward mentioned that he wants to get better as a leader. He’s always seen himself as someone who leads by example, but this season, he wants to focus on speaking up more.

“One thing I can improve on is the vocal part,” Williams said. “I’m still growing in that area, coach Howard knows I’m still growing in that area, I haven’t always been, I’ve been kind of an introvert most of my life, but I got to get out of the comfort zone to get to the next level. I didn’t do that last year and we didn’t achieve any of our goals — I got to use my voice, people want to see it from me, and I’m going to work on that this summer.”

When asked about returning Wolverines, Williams offered a lot of praise for Tarris Reed Jr., who proved to be one of Michigan’s best defenders last season.

“He’s one of those people that can switch 1 through 5, and I feel like that’s going to help our defense this year because he can stay in front of guards and guard big men,” Williams said. “That’s something special about him, those defensive instincts, and he’s a great shot blocker — T Reed can defend. He’s going to keep improving that part of his game and be an unstoppable defender. People aren’t going to be able to score on him soon.”

Pivoting to a center no longer on the roster, Williams said he knew about Dickinson’s decision to leave before the rest of the world did. In fact, he was one of the first people Dickinson told. He’s still great friends with Dickinson, who he’s known since they were kids in the D.C. area, and there appears to be no ill will.

“A lot of people are going to be mad at him, criticize him but I’m just proud of him. That’s my brother, I’m going to love him forever and it’s no harm with what he did. He made the best decision for himself. We’re going to continue to get better at Michigan and not harp on that. I feel like we got a good roster, T Reed is going to step up and we’re going to be good.”