After the NBA trade deadline, the NBA’s cellar-dwellers are giving their young talent a shot to prove their worth in the Association. The Phoenix Suns, who currently hold the second worst record in the West, are no exception. And since the Suns began moving towards this youth movement, no player has seized his opportunity as has center Alan “Big Sauce” Williams, a homegrown talent.

Since the All-Star break, Williams has averaged a double-double, putting up 15 points and 9 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. But this should come to no surprise to anyone who has followed Big Sauce’s career (as I have been, as a proud UCSB alum). Earlier this season, Williams put up similar numbers when he received extended minutes in games in which Suns’ big-men Tyson Chandler and Alex Len were unavailable.

Standing at 6-8, Williams has gone under the radar early in his career. Although Williams is on the shorter-end of NBA big-men, his 260-pound frame provides him the strength to match up against other NBA centers. With a strong nose for the boards and a soft touch around the rim, Williams looks like a Zach Randolph-esque player.

Everywhere Williams has played, he has been a beast on the boards. At UCSB he led the country in rebounding during his junior and senior years. Although Williams played at a small program, Big Sauce put up some of his biggest rebounding numbers against major programs like Kansas and UCLA. After going unselected in the 2015 NBA draft, Williams played a season in China, where he too was a beast on the boards. And during his two NBA Summer Leagues, Williams was also dominant on the glass.

Rebounding is about effort and instinct—two qualities that Williams unquestionably has. Williams’ NBA stock was no doubt diminished because he is undersized and played at a small school. But in his limited time, Williams has shown that he can compete. The next question is how he will respond once teams adjust to his tendencies. If Big Sauce can continue to produce for the rest of the season, he may just turn this audition to a fruitful NBA career.