Louisiana Tech's Cobe Williams thrives under pressure. His older brothers taught him to be tough.

Standing 6-feet tall, Cobe Williams has always been undersized, but growing up in Texas with three older brothers is what turned Williams into the athlete he is today at Louisiana Tech.

Williams played every sport possible, but his first love was football. Because of his size, there was only one thing that Williams could be: tough.

Williams was taught at an early age that he couldn't cry or complain when his brothers would pick on him. If you watch Williams during a game, that immediately translates to how hard he plays and how he's dealt with adversity throughout his basketball journey.

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Williams wasn't a highly recruited athlete out of Kimball High School in Dallas, but he was ranked No. 34 in Texas for the class of 2019, according to 247Sports Composite.

La Tech coach Eric Konkol remembers going to watch Williams practice in high school.

"(Williams) was a guy that had a reputation as a really hard competitor, and I think coming out of high school, the knock on him was that he was a little bit small, but I just saw a young man that loved to play basketball," Konkol said. "I saw him just getting after it in an open gym. He was their best player, but he's playing harder than anybody, and I wanted him here."

Williams first arrived to Ruston knowing that his role would be to come off the bench. But, in the last five games of his first season, injuries plagued the Bulldogs, and Williams' hard work paid off, playing 20-plus minutes. And it rolled over the next season, starting 26 of the 31 games .

Williams is one of five players averaging more than 10 points per game this season the the Bulldogs.

La Tech (15-3, 6-0 Conference USA) has won seven in a row and plays UAB (15-4, 5-1) on Saturday (3 p.m., Stadium) at the Thomas Assembly Center.

It's Cobe with a C for Kobe Bryant

Williams, who's named after the late Kobe Bryant, has heard the comparisons his whole life, but he models his game after another guard.

"I love Kobe a lot," Williams said. "I always think Mamba Mentality, but even though I started off knowing Kobe first, basketball just wasn't my favorite sport, so I wasn't having a favorite player until I seen Russell Westbrook. That's who I try to model my game after."

Although Williams dons No. 24, he gives flashes of both Bryant and Westbrook. Williams will dash to the basket, leaving his defender in the dust to finish a finesse layup or on a fastbreak looks unstoppable as he runs downhill towards the basket like Westbrook.

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Bryant was known to play through injuries, but he would still make an impact. Williams did the same last season when he broke his left hand. Amazingly, he only missed one game before returning off the bench for the final five games of the season, including the NIT Tournament run.

The road back to full strength wasn't a matter of healing, but there was a mental block in trusting himself and his body to excel.

"I was scared to hit it the wrong way again or something, but then I just had to say I just need to hoop," Williams said. "I can't control injury. It was like, it's now or never. We might not get another chance with this."

Williams has gained an even larger leadership role this season, averaging 10.3 points and leading the Bulldogs in assists (67) and steals (21).

"You're (the fans) going to get your all out of Cobe Williams and the whole team-95," Williams said. "We're not going to disappoint."

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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: LA Tech basketball: Cobe Williams embodies Kobe Bryant's toughness