Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams hits 1,000-point milestone

Corey Kispert sought out Johnathan Williams in the locker room, offered a handshake and told the senior forward “congratulations.”

“For what?” Williams replied.

“A thousand points,” the freshman wing said.

Walk-on guard Alex Martin quickly followed Kispert as the next Zag to congratulate Williams.

The milestone wasn’t at the forefront of Williams’ thoughts.

“Actually I didn’t know until a couple weeks before the season, one of my friends told me that’s what’s up,” Williams said. “Got it done, it’s good feeling.”

He got it done with a move he’s pulled off dozens of times in his Gonzaga career. Williams swept into the lane with a couple of dribbles, rose up over a defender and hit a soft-touch 5-footer late in the first half.

The basket pushed Williams over the 1,000-career point plateau. Williams finished with 12 points and nine boards as the Zags routed Howard 106-69 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Williams scored 585 points in two seasons at Missouri – he led the Tigers in scoring as a sophomore – before deciding to transfer to Gonzaga. After sitting out one season under NCAA transfer rules, Williams had 397 points for the Zags as they reached the Final Four last year.

Williams opened the season with 16 points in Friday’s win over Texas Southern.