Does head coach Mark Fox play the players that give him the best chance to win, knowing they can’t sustain 40 minutes of play every game?

Or does he take his lumps, heaping minutes upon freshman backups, knowing full well that he isn’t as comfortable with them in the game?

It’s a conundrum that Fox has been attempting to find the answer to all season. The first-year coach has leaned heavily on his starting backcourt made up of guards Dustin Ware and Ricky McPhee, forcing them to play what he’s called “an unreasonable amount of minutes.”

Guard Vincent Williams scored a career-high seven points Saturday, as the freshman took on extra minutes for starting point guard Dustin Ware who was suffering from the flu. Photo by WES BLANKENSHIP

Georgia’s win Saturday over No. 20 Vanderbilt might have helped in answering that question for Fox — and the answer was not discovered by choice.

Fox had to rely heavily on freshman backup point guard Vincent Williams because starting point guard Dustin Ware was limited, suffering from the flu. And the message from Fox was simple.

“[Coach Fox] just told me what I had to do: just run the team,” Williams said.

Despite averaging only 1.4 points per game and playing only six minutes per game in SEC play heading into the Vanderbilt game, Williams thrived in the more prominent role, notching a career-high in points (7) and assists (4) in 16 minutes of action.

Fox was even comfortable enough with Williams down the stretch to count on him for 10 second-half minutes, including two minutes playing alongside Ware in the backcourt.

“[Vincent] knew he was going to have to play a lot because Dustin has had the flu, and we’ve worked with some crazy lineups to try to think about rotations and how we could match up the other day and Vincent gave us some really significant minutes and some very good plays,”Fox said.

Williams was able to step up for the Bulldogs and handle the pressure applied by the Vanderbilt defense. That stingy defense led to Georgia best offensive output in a half this season, scoring 49 second-half points.

“I knew I was going to have to carry the team because Dustin was sick. I was excited because I knew when I got in I was going to basically just try to carry the team,” Williams said.

And although sophomore forwards Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins provided the bulk of the scoring load as usual, perhaps no bucket was more important than Williams 3-pointer with 3:53 left in the second half, which stretched the Georgia lead to 11.

“I’ve been expecting Vincent to come in and play hard all year. He’s a great player, and he showed it [against Vanderbilt],” Thompkins said of Williams. “He showed he can play with the best of them.”

Added McPhee: “He was a huge factor in our win [against Vanderbilt]. He was able to knock down some big shots for us, handle the pressure and made some plays down the stretch.”

He may have also showed Fox and the starters that their backups can contribute meaningful minutes in the second half of league play.

“It was a big help,” Leslie said of William’s contribution. “He came out and gave us a lot of help off the bench. Normally we don’t have a lot of players coming off the bench.”

For a team looking to finally close out its first road game tonight at Auburn, Williams’ continued growth could spell great news for Georgia’s chances in the second half of SEC play.