Houben's Rookie Report: Tasmania's immovable object

MICHAEL HOUBEN'S ROOKIE REPORTS

• Is this Cavalier the sharpshooter the Bullets need?
• College big man Jacob Holt's fit with the Brisbane Bullets
• What Cameron Huefner brings to the Perth Wildcats

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS RECRUIT KOBE WILLIAMSON

On name value, Tasmania have made a strong pick — after all, it’s hard to go wrong signing someone named Kobe. On face value, they’ve done even better: Williamson’s curly mullet and handlebar moustache perfectly channel the classic Australian aesthetic. But what about his on-court value?

Circling back to Williamson’s college career, the 6'8" big man was a key piece for Australia’s 2018 Under-17 World Cup squad, starting at the five and averaging 8.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and a block in only 19.3 minutes of play a game. With a solid frame and bruising physicality, Williamson was a reliable contributor in the paint for the young group, where he played alongside future NBL talents Luke Travers, Tamuri Wigness and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.

Collegiately, Williamson committed and spent the entirety of his NCAA career at Seattle University competing in the Western Athletic Conference, a modest level that allowed Williamson to play big minutes and man the five spot at his stature.

Williamson’s college-ready size and physicality made him an immediate contributor for the Redhawks, averaging 28 minutes per game as a freshman, but as his college career continued and new recruitment classes entered the rotation, Williamson’s freshman role would end up his largest.

That’s not to say Williamson didn’t improve throughout his college tenure, however. Notably, Williamson’s scoring prowess grew, the proliferation of his scoring almost doubling, whilst improving his efficiency from the field almost every year.

We see a lot of college players slowly increase their freedom to shoot from three as they work on their shot, but for Williamson, the inverse was true — he took less threes each year across his five year tenure, tasked less with stretching the floor and more on finishing inside. In fact, his shot profile’s from his freshman to graduate year look entirely different — let’s dive into it (numbers courtesy of Synergy Sports).

Williamson Freshman Shot Profile 2020-2021

Williamson Graduate Shot Profile 2024-2025

As a consistently good big man free-throw shooter, it’s understandable that Seattle saw a future for Williamson shooting the three ball, but on scraping above 30% from three in his final season as a personal best, it was clear that getting Williamson closer to the rim over time was a smart decision over time.

While Williamson’s minutes may not have improved, it definitely appears as though he became a more prominent feature of the line-ups he was involved in, getting a lot more of the ball as the roll man (somewhere he was efficient in all the way from his glimpses as a freshman) as well as in the block. His move closer to the rim also coincided with a shift from the four to the five — the position I would expect him to play more primarily at the NBL level, at least early on.

Williamson’s offensive game isn’t pretty, but it is solid. He has solid touch with both hands, can carve out deep position on the block, and possesses a comfortable right hand book. His solid motor on the boards generates second chances on the offensive glass, as well.

KOBE WILLIAMSON PLAYER PROFILE

Team: Tasmania JackJumpers

Height: 6'8"

Houben's NBL Comparison: Fabian Krslovic

Defensively, Williamson possessed great steal and block rates consistently throughout his five seasons in the WAC, averaging 2.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per 40 minutes. He’s not a highly mobile athlete, and will struggle in space, but it’s evident that Williamson made an impact for Seattle utilising his immovable frame in the post and smart fundamental and positional play.

Williamson was an effective piece at the lower end of Division 1 basketball, but how does it translate to the pros? The most immediate observation is that at 6'8", and with limited mobility, length and athleticism, Williamson will struggle to provide the requisite size at the centre spot, or the requisite skill level or mobility to play at the four. However, we’ve seen players within a similar mould carve out a career in the NBL.

Two names come to mind when thinking of NBL journeymen that have forged roles as undersized workhorse bigs — Fabian Krslovic and Kyle Bowen. All listed 6'8", all solidly built, all unremarkable athletes. First, let’s compare their final college seasons as a similar-context comparison.

All in all, these players all have relatively similar statistical profiles from college, but it’s the growth beyond college that has helped both NBL talents find their NBL-niche. In the NBL, both Krslovic and Bowen have established themselves as two of the league’s more tenacious rebounders, proved to be smart passers, both averaging nearly three assists per 36 minutes over the last few seasons, and continuing their shooting development. Krslovic going from a non-shooter in college to knocking down the occasional open three, and Bowen impressively translating his shot-put like release into 40% over a modest volume of open triples. Both are smart and gritty defenders, though pending matchups can look athletically overwhelmed.

Given Scott Roth’s reliance on Krslovic for four seasons, it makes sense that Roth is the one to bet on Williamson with a two year, fully rostered contract. It also makes sense that on a team headlined by two historically injury-prone big men, Josh Bannan and Will Magnay, that Roth would be keen on locking in some extra insurance in the frontcourt.

I doubt we’ll see much of Williamson as part of a fully-fit JackJumpers rotation this season, but expect grit and physicality when he does hit the floor.

While Williamson went away from his outside shot throughout his college career, his free-throw percentage and touch suggests some upside to become a decent low volume three point shooter, and it’s that outside prowess, along with the ability to make smart reads with the ball, that will allow him to build up enough offensive value not to be a liability on that end of the floor.

Physically, a lack of high end physical tools may limit his utility against certain matchups, but his size and fundamental play should provide some good depth as a complimentary piece in some line-ups.

About the Author

Michael Houben is an Australian basketball writer and scout based in Melbourne, Victoria. As well as covering the game as a journalist, Michael supports US colleges to identify and recruit Australian talent as the owner of Airtime Scouting, and supports grassroots athletes through Airtime Basketball.