ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Terrance Williams sat down at the interview table after the victory over Buffalo pleased. He was still dressed in his uniform only sporting crocs with donuts adorned on them.

His Jordan headband was upside down. This wasn't an accident.

"I feel like it's different," Williams said with a smirk. "I like being different."

The word 'different' is the perfect encapsulation of what Williams brings to Juwan Howard's squad. Not quite a wing and not quite a forward, the 6-foot-7 tweener does a lot of different things when asked of him.

From doing the dirty work, playing stingy defense and bringing a spark off the bench that the Wolverines desperately need, it certainly appears that Williams has embraced his role and carved his niche into the squad.

For Williams, it didn't come easy, nor does it ever. It took some level of personal sacrifice to see the hard work paying off for him.

From heading to Ann Arbor early, paying his dues not only on the court but from his own wallet as well. It all culminated into what occurred on the court against Buffalo on Wednesday night.

The junkyard dog found his bite.

"I love the way he competes," Howard said. "I loved it last season. I love this summer how he came in early, before class started on July 1, I think he was in, maybe, a month early. He paid his own way. Stayed in an apartment and paid his own way with that. Came in and transformed his body, trimming down and buying into the culture since day one when he became a freshman. Changed his diet. He also worked extremely hard on his game.

"Coach knows it, staff knew it, his teammates saw it. When a guy had a game like this—this year, we're going to play more games. I just know, and we all trust, that what he's going to provide—there's not always going to be a night where he scores 15."

Williams' 15 points were crucial in thwarting a furious Buffalo comeback that started in the late stages of the first half. Over the course of his freshman season, Williams has helped his program bring a spark off the bench when needed.

That seemed to continue on Wednesday. A banked-in three, another three that was pure, it's all in a day's work for him.

At the end of the day, though, Williams is the ultimate puzzle piece. The antithesis of a square peg into a round hole.

The glue that's going to hold a lot of things together for the Wolverines this season.

"I feel like I'm just a plug-and-play type," Williams said. "He had me at the four. It's just who I'm on the floor with, to be honest. I didn't know the lineup, I didn't know the rotation and how we were going to play. I'm just plug-and-play. I was at the two, three, four. It doesn't really matter to me. (Howard) doesn't really talk about that, I just try to look and see who I'm on the floor with and see where I fit in at."