Payton Willis seemed to announce his arrival in the fifth game of the 2016-17 season, playing 27 minutes and scoring 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting in a loss to Butler.
But that turned out to be the high point of the season for Willis. After the Butler game, Willis moved into the starting lineup and averaged 25.4 minutes a game for the next ten games. He averaged 7.6 ppg and 3.5 apg during this stretch. He was limited by foul trouble to 11 minutes in the first game against Kentucky at Memorial Gym, then started and played just 11 minutes against Tennessee before losing his spot in the starting lineup.