Skytrans Cairns Taipans head coach Aaron Fearne wants fans to look past the box score to see just how effective Kerry Williams has been this season.

The Taipans mentor has hit back at recent criticisms from some quarters on the local point guard’s play.

“Those types of comments just disappoint me. Kerry’s a local guy, he’s been extremely loyal and he does great things defensively for us,” Fearne said.

“I think he does what he does really well; he works really hard, and he defends well.”

Fearne wants fans to look at Williams’ effect on the momentum of games rather than just his box score results at the end of a game.

The box scores do, however, return some impressive results. He ranks fifth in the NBL with 1.4 steals per game, despite averaging half the court time of those leading in this category.

In addition to crediting Williams’ ability to wear down opposing point guards and deny them access to the keyway, Fearne says his impact on the other end of the floor is just as important.

“In our Townsville round five game he turned the momentum with his ability to push the ball, and he swung the momentum in our favour.”

“Down in Wollongong on the weekend he did the same thing, coming into the first quarter with some other guys, pushing the ball hard and changing the momentum of the game,” Fearne said.

“I guess a lot of people don’t see that type of thing, but we’re happy with the way he’s playing and hopefully he continues to play like that.”

The Skytrans Cairns Taipans host the Sydney Kings tonight at the Cairns Convention Centre. Tip-off at 7.30pm.