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| Wednesday, July 16 |
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| Duke's Williams Prepped to Succeed By Jeff Lemberg SchoolSports.com | ||||||
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Jason Williams has always been a smart guy. He graduated from St. Joseph's High in Metuchen, N.J., in 1999 with a 3.6 GPA. He received countless literary awards, was a member of the St. Joseph's National Honor Society and earned admission to Duke University, a prestigious academic institution located in Durham, N.C. But Williams isn't among the finest college basketball players in the nation because of his years spent hitting the books. Rather, it was the 6-foot-2 point guard's education out of the classroom that helped him become one of the most electrifying all-around talents in the game today.
"I worked for a pharmacy (while in high school)," says Williams, who spent this past summer playing for the USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men team. "I delivered medicine to people in homes that were on Medicare and needed help. I thought it was good to meet people and help people out. Some people never saw young faces, so that was good for them to see me." A giver of himself. "All of our students here are very well-rounded," says St. Joseph's athletic director John Kohutanycz (pronounced Co-A-tonics), now in his 17th year on the job. "And Jason fit in very well. I remember he was a pretty good chess player." A master strategist. "He went out of his way to make anyone feel comfortable, from the seniors all the way down to the freshman," adds Kohutanycz. "In addition to basketball, he was a key member (the starting setter) of our volleyball team, which made it to the state semifinals in his senior year." A leader who can get others involved. After helping guide the St. Joseph's basketball team to the Parochial A-South state final in both his junior and senior years -- he's the leading scorer in school history with 1,993 points -- earning 1999 McDonald's All-American honors and the Morgan Wootten Award, given to the high school Player of the Year, Williams took his act to Duke. There, he became only the third freshman to start at point guard for 25-year coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski -- Bobby Hurley and Steve Wojciechowski were the other two. Williams lived up to his billing as the nation's top freshman last year. He averaged 14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and a team-high 6.5 assists per game, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Williams led Duke (29-5) to the NCAA Tournament Regional semifinals. "I think there was no more valuable freshman in the country last year than Jason Williams," says Krzyzewski, who's now in his 21st year as Duke's head coach and owned a 498-160 career record at the school entering this season. "No one had a harder role to fulfill and did it better than Jason Williams." Thanks to all that the 19-year-old has done in his life, no one was as prepared to succeed as Williams was last year. As a student at St. Joseph's, Williams would often donate his time to the Lakeview Elementary School in Edison, N.J., mentoring a handful of students with mental and physical disabilities. But he didn't do it to pad his college resume or to get in good with his school's principal. Williams regularly gave of himself because that's what leaders do. But make no mistake, Jason Williams has become the basketball player he is today thanks, in large part, to the countless hours spent shooting, running and practicing. His off-the-court interests have helped compliment his hardwood skills, but Williams will be the first to admit that excellence can only come from determination. "I was always a kid in high school who everyone looked past," says Williams, who would like to get involved in broadcasting once his playing days are over. "I was an underclassman and never got invited to any select camps. I came out of nowhere and the hard work, it paid off. "You have to want it more than the others, and there are always others out there who are trying to be the best they can be, too, so you have to try and work harder than them. I still believe in that today."
Material from SchoolSports.com.Visit their web site at www.schoolsports.com | |
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