I shouldn't have to explain or justify that last sentence to most of you, because I'm sure most of you hate Duke too. It's that sense of entitlement, of elitism, you see it on their faces, their swag, the way they carry themselves. That whole "you're gonna work for us one day" bravado.
And the white players. All the damn white players. I'm no racist. Hell, my wife is white, and despite being from a Chicago suburb that was about 60% Hispanic, I'm currently living in a town that's about 80% white.
Nah, it's not racism. It's the annoyance that comes from knowing Coach K seems to almost purposely recruit an overabundance of white players. It's like he has a quota he needs to fulfill. Every year you look at his recruiting class, and it's always half-white if not more. I'm not saying he's racist either. But DAMN. You're telling me more black players couldn't excel academically and athletically at Duke?
My apologies, let me get back to the subject at hand. See, this isn't another "why I hate Duke" blog. Rather, this is a write-up about my all-time favorite college basketball player, who just happened to ball at...Duke.
HOLD UP. What the hell? Didn't I just go on about how much I hate Duke? And then I dropped the Hiroshima that my favorite college player was a Dukie? Yup. What can I say? Dude was nice like that.
Dude in questions is Jay Williams, known as Jason Williams at the time. It was 2000 and I was 16 years old the year I really started watching him and that Duke team. I had really just started watching college basketball about two years or so earlier, and while DePaul was my team, Quentin Richardson was off to the NBA and the Blue Demons went 12-18 that year. The Michigan State team I enjoyed watching the previous year had most of their main stars leave for the NBA as well. Illinois got a lot of love from me that year, they went 27-8 and had two of my all-time favorite Fighting Illini players, Sergio McClain and Sean Harrington.
But Illinois wasn't on TV much. Duke was on TV ALL THE TIME. Being a relatively new fan to college ball, I hadn't yet established my hate for Duke, so I gave them a chance. And I'm glad I did. They went on to win it all that year, so we all know the specifics. Great three point shooting team. Outstanding defense. Shane Battier was a wonderful defender. Boozer a great low post player. Dunleavy a jack-of-all-trades. Duhon a steady floor general.
But this Williams cat though. He was a former McDonald's All-American from New Jersey who had been a local legend in his high school days. A 6'2" killer, equally adept at slashing to the rim or firing away from the perimeter. He was solid defensively too. Even had that annoying Wojo-inspired court slap down pat. This dude almost single-handedly orchestrated the "miracle minute", coming back from being down ten with 54 seconds to go to send the game into overtime, where Duke prevailed.
That year, while everyone else voted Shane Battier the college player of the year, the coaches said Williams deserved the honor. Duke went on to win the national title against Arizona. The next year, Williams went on to average 21.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.5 RPG and 2.1 SPG. While the team didn't enjoy the same success they had the previous year, bowing out in the Sweet 16 in the tournament, Williams was voted the best player in college ball that year by just about everyone.
Earning his degree in three years, and with an NCAA title and multiple Player of the Year awards on his resume, there was nothing left to do but to declare for the NBA draft. There was only one other player who could stop Williams from being the top overall pick that year - 7'6" Chinese center Yao Ming.
My Chicago Bulls ended up with the second pick that year. It was a win-win situation. We either get the guy who was arguably the best player in college the previous two years, or we get the giant with the nice shooting touch that every analyst swore straight up and down would be much better than Shawn Bradley. We know how it all went down. Houston took Yao, and the Chicago Bulls selected Jay "no longer Jason" Williams.
Unfortunately, this is where our story takes a turn for the worse...
Williams had a respectable if not impressive 13, 7 and 7 on 66% shooting in his very first game. He shot 66% again in his second game. Though that was because he was only 2 of 3 that night and ended up with as many points as turnovers (4) and only 2 assists.
That would be the ongoing trend of his rookie year. More of the latter than the former, however. Occasionally, he would impress, but more often than not he would turn out a dud. No rookie really set the NBA on fire that year, Amare Stoudemire would end up winning the ROY, but many felt that Williams was a bust with the second overall pick.
He would go on to average 9.5, 4.7 and 2.6 and 39% shooting. Not exactly the type of numbers Bulls faithful were expecting. Thing is however, I never saw Williams as a bust. Perhaps it was the fact that I was such a fan of his, but I thought that he performed alright for a rookie point guard. Along with the center position, it is one of the hardest positions to learn in the NBA.
When I think of Williams' rookie year, the game that sticks out to me is his 26 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists triple double against the New Jersey Nets, and the man considered the top point guard in the league at the time, Jason Kidd. Williams was a revelation in that game, and I'm convinced we were destined for more of those types of performances, if only...
Williams ended the season with little fanfare, but most were confident that he would return a better player the next season, including himself.
Unfortunately, this is where our story really takes a turn for the worse...
On June 19, 2003, Williams was involved in a motorcycle accident. He severed a main vain, tore three ligaments and fractured his pelvis. He would never be the same player again. While Williams had violated the terms of his contract and the Bulls could have just cut him loose, they chose to buy out his contract first.
But the search was on for a new point guard, and the Bulls took Kirk Hinrich in the 2003 draft. We all know what happened next, and these days the Bulls are just fine at the point guard spot, thank you very much.
It's always fun to wonder what could have been, however. Would Williams had come back better and had the tools to lead the Bulls back to the postseason? Would he have continued to not impress? Would having Williams have meant losing out on Derrick Rose?
More importantly, it hurts as a fan sometimes to think of Williams never having the chance to reach his prime, or shine in the game again. Comeback attempts were more awkward than encouraging, and his career as a player is officially over these days. Meanwhile, there are still guys with less passion and work-ethic still collecting NBA checks on the regular. Dudes Williams would murder if he was still playing. Dudes that will never shine as bright as he once did. Frankly, his former teammate Eddy Curry comes to mind.
In the end, obviously, the Bulls ended up with the better deal. After all, it doesn't get much better than having an MVP point guard. But on occasion it's still fun to reminisce, and think about what might have been.
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