It is immeasurable how much impact having a healthy Keaston Willis can have on TU basketball this season.

With a sharpshooting Willis draining 3-pointers, like he did in the regular season opener against NSU, Tulsa’s offense can be balanced and potent.

Tulsa fans will get another chance to see Willis this Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. while TU hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Reynolds Center.

Last season was to be Willis’ best and final season as a college player, but his left foot didn’t cooperate. He played only 2 games, averaging 12.5 points, before reinjuring his foot and missing the rest of the season.

Losing Willis was a tough setback. He could have helped TU win more games.

The good news for TU is that Willis wouldn’t have been here this year if not injured last year. A healthy Willis definitely means more wins for the Golden Hurricane.

“It’s great. It feels like a normal foot,” Willis said. “I’m 100 percent.”

Willis is grateful for another chance. He says he is fully healthy, but getting back into midseason form is not just like snapping a finger. But he used the time to his advantage to improve.

“I definitely feel like there is rust in getting back into that mode of playing,” Willis said. “As far as my game, I feel like my game has actually gotten better being able to sit out, and being able to watch from the sideline. But I do feel a little rusty, just getting out here and playing as many minutes as I can play.”

The season-opening 82-68 win over NSU showcased Willis’ shooting, as he was hot from the get-go, scoring TU’s first 6 points on two 3-pointers, while finishing 5 of 9 on three-pointers with a team-high 17 points.

Tulsa coach Eric Konkol has said many times that Willis is such an accomplished shooter, that it is actually surprising when he misses.

What TU is getting in Willis is a player who has been a double-digit scorer who averaged at least 12 points in every year of his previous 5 seasons in college. He started out playing two seasons for Incarnate Word, averaging 13.3 points as a freshman, and 19 points as a sophomore.

Taking a step up to Louisiana Tech to play for Konkol as a junior, Willis averaged 12.1 points for a team that finished 24-10. That was much more fun than going 9-22 and 8-14 in his two seasons at Incarnate Word.