Trevion Williams keeps defying the odds with his signature style

Trevion Williams isn’t your average athlete. The six-foot-nine, 280-pound sophomore forward stands out for more than his size. While most college students are strolling campus in sweatpants and hoodies, Williams sports a style all his own. He loves to dress up, wearing tailored pants, pastel shirts, and bowties.

“That’s my style,” the Chicago native says. “I’m a big bowtie guy. Any chance I get, I try to wear one. I have at least 15 at home. I try to be different. It’s cool to be your own person. You don’t want do what everyone else is doing. My mom used to tell me all the time, ‘Don’t be like everybody else.’”

Another thing that makes Williams different? He’s now a gold medalist after contributing seven points and seven rebounds in the USA Basketball 19-and-under team’s championship game at the FIBA World Cup in July.

As a child growing up in the inner city, Williams was surrounded by gangs and gun violence. A close friend was shot and killed when Williams was 10. Four years later, his uncle was gunned down in front of his home for reasons unknown. Williams and his mother moved to Detroit to escape the violence.

“My mom played a big part in getting me to where I am,” Williams says. “It’s really tough getting a scholarship out of Chicago. It’s one of the toughest places to play.”

Now that he’s at Purdue, Williams is eyeing the next milestone — another Big Ten championship? The Final Four? A national championship? Williams is ready.

“We surprised everybody last year,” Williams says. “As a team, we’re going to have to work a little harder. But it’s a brotherhood. We’re connected. When times get tough, we’re in it together.”