COLUMBUS, Ohio – It happened the most when Ohio State was having a rough shooting night: Thad Matta would gaze to the end of his bench and find Kam Williams.

"I know he can put it in," Matta thought to himself. But that's where the thoughts ended.

Though Williams, a true freshman last season, may have held the key to resolving Ohio State's shooting struggles in his hands, Matta couldn't allow himself to put him into the game.

"I didn't want to be selfish from my part and let him play a quarter of a year, or maybe not even that much, and that be his season for his freshman year," Matta said. "I couldn't do it myself, even though we had troubles scoring, I didn't want to take a year of his eligibility."

Williams was a promising player last season, but he missed all of training camp when becoming ill with mononucleosis. When Williams recovered, he had lost too much weight and had become too weak to return to the court in a full capacity right away.

By the time he was back to nearly 100 percent, it was February. Between missing all of training camp and the beginning portion of Ohio State's schedule – the time during which youthful players typically grow the most – Williams wasn't an option.

"It was very tough (not playing), but I talked to my mom and my dad and they told me to look at it in the long run," Williams said. "I think me sitting out was the best thing for me because it helped my body mature and it helped me become a better offensive and defensive player."

Ohio State's Kam Williams finishes a dunk against UMass-Lowell during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat UMass-Lowell 92-55.

But while Williams stepped back behind the scenes, it became increasingly easier to forget that he's a former four-star prospect of Baltimore Mount St. Joseph's whom Rivals.com rated the No. 21 shooting guard in the 2013 class.

And now that Ohio State is headed into a season with so much promise – which continues Tuesday night at home vs. Marquette – Williams has lost attention to players such as freshmen D'Angelo Russell and Keita Bates-Diop.

"I do think that when you redshirt, you're a little bit forgotten in terms of everyone else," Matta said. "We haven't forgotten about him.

"The biggest thing I have been pleased with is that Kam has really picked up defensively. He's not gambling as much and he's understanding poisitiing a lot better. The fact that he can make shots, he's very athletic and quick, is definitely good for our offense."

Pardon Williams for being a little eager during Ohio State's 77-37 exhibition win over Walsh on Nov. 9, which is why he made 1-of-6 shots and scored only three points in 16 minutes. Williams said he played too fast, didn't let the game come to him.

In Ohio State's 92-55 season-opening win over UMass-Lowell on Friday, things looked a lot more natural for Williams. He played only 13 minutes, but he connected on 5-of-7 shots and scored 12 points, providing the Buckeyes a huge scoring boost off the bench.

"I was more comfortable, more relaxed, more composed," Williams said. "The (exhibition game) opened my eyes. After that, I took a step back and realized that everything doesn't have to be at one speed, and that's fast.

"But I never really lose confidence in my scoring abilities. That's something that has made me who I am on the basketball court. I was just coming in and helping with whatever the team needs, it's just a great opportunity for me. We have so many different weapons, it's going to be hard to stop all of us at the same time."

Williams is right. Ohio State will be hard to stop.

What'll be impossible, though, is forgetting about Williams for a second straight year.