I never had the privileges of going head to head with Jay Williams as I did matching up against his Blue Devil-peers William Avery or Trajan Langdon a season or two before his arrival. Can't say I would've wanted to go against the explosive guard(these days I may have his number 
). For those that have followed NBA basketball or Collegiate basketball should be quite familar with the Guard.
Jay Williams was an explosive mere 6'1-6'2 point guard who originally wanted to play for his childhood dream school at UNC-Chapel Hill. Long story short he was denied a scholarship and went 8 miles up the road to play for it's rival Duke Blue Devils. Anyone familar with the Tobacco Road rival would say that is the ultimate slap in the face.
Enter Jay Williams. Duke had been going through a temporary rebuilding phase after losing Trajan Langdon, Elton Brand and William Avery to the NBA draft. To throw a dagger at those guys in the nicest way possible - they never lived up to their NBA potential(some would argue Brand did). Jay made an immediate impact in his Freshman year averaging just over 14ppg playing alongside fellow future NBA players Mike Dunleavy, Shane Battier and Carlos Boozer. In his first 12 games he scored 10 or more points and ultimately led Duke to a 9-0 record in the ACC tournament before losing to eventual NCAA Champions Maryland(led by Juan Dixon and current NBA player Steve Blake). Duke went on to become #1 seed in the NCAA tournament before bowing out to Florida in the regional semi finals.
Sophomore year saw Jason Williams share the scoring load with Shane Battier. They lost Carlos Boozer to an injury down the stretch and the Williams led Blue Devils defeated the Gilbert Arenas led Arizona Wildcats to win their 3rd national championship. Williams averaged just over 21ppg to go along with 5apg. Williams could've went pro and easily became a top 10 pick(a decision he later regretted). However, he opted to return for his Junior year.
Following the departure to 4-year player Shane Battier, the team was all Williams. Boozer returned healthy, Duhon and the transferring Danthay Jones with Mike Dunleavy was the lineup. Duke as the national champions returned to the NCAA tournament and lost to Indiana by 1 point after jumping out to a 42-29 first half league in the Regional semis. Williams declared for the draft following the season. Williams again averaged 21ppg to go along with 5apg.
During his time at Duke he averaged 19.3ppg to go along with 6.0apg. Naismith and Wooden Award winner as well as only player I know in Duke Men's basketball history to have their jersey number retired while actively still playing on the team. He was later selected #2 overall in the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Everything thus far is all by memory. I was in Afghanistan on active duty during most of his Rookie year. From what I've seen over the years of his Rookie season he was immediately shifted into the starting lineup and the focus was on him and Jalen Rose to lead the team back to winning ways. Turnovers, inconsistency on the offensive end and losing playing time to Jamal Crawford(who appeared to be the only PG ever to have chemistry with Eddy Curry). To be blunt the team sucked and had desperately trying to build a winning team in the post-Jordan era. Despite showing flashes of what he's capable of doing. Despite the Bulls overall failures that season and lack of vocal leadership Williams averages were a stellar 9.5ppg and 4.7apg. Not bad considering how the draft classes have turned out over the years.
Unfortunately for Jay that would be his last season in the NBA. A motorcycle accident that broke his leg and tore his ACL put him out of basketball for a few years. The Bulls moved on and drafted Kirk Hinrich out of Kansas in the 2003 draft then Ben Gordon the following year, signaling the end of the Jay Williams-Era in Chicago. The Bulls bought out his contract and paid him $3 million, much of which went to medical expenses and rehab.
Jay made attempts at coming back with the New Jersey Nets 3 years later but was released. Another attempt few years later with the Miami Heat but was unable to secure a spot on the roster. In-between rehab and comeback attempts Williams became a College basketball analysis. Upon realizing he wasn't going to be able to fully make an NBA comeback he has made being an analysis his full-time job in his post-basketball life.
Through personal conversation and stories published online I've learned he delt with a great deal of depression. A personal story he shared with me from his 2006 comeback attempt with the Nets he shared he an attempted suicide attempt but with conversation with former Duke player; Reggie Love he decided against it. If not mistaken he has a book coming out that will emphasize his life before and after his injury.
Much like his fellow Duke-alumni Bobby Hurley he is another one of many players over the years of the inevitable; "What if?"
). For those that have followed NBA basketball or Collegiate basketball should be quite familar with the Guard.Jay Williams was an explosive mere 6'1-6'2 point guard who originally wanted to play for his childhood dream school at UNC-Chapel Hill. Long story short he was denied a scholarship and went 8 miles up the road to play for it's rival Duke Blue Devils. Anyone familar with the Tobacco Road rival would say that is the ultimate slap in the face.
Enter Jay Williams. Duke had been going through a temporary rebuilding phase after losing Trajan Langdon, Elton Brand and William Avery to the NBA draft. To throw a dagger at those guys in the nicest way possible - they never lived up to their NBA potential(some would argue Brand did). Jay made an immediate impact in his Freshman year averaging just over 14ppg playing alongside fellow future NBA players Mike Dunleavy, Shane Battier and Carlos Boozer. In his first 12 games he scored 10 or more points and ultimately led Duke to a 9-0 record in the ACC tournament before losing to eventual NCAA Champions Maryland(led by Juan Dixon and current NBA player Steve Blake). Duke went on to become #1 seed in the NCAA tournament before bowing out to Florida in the regional semi finals.
Sophomore year saw Jason Williams share the scoring load with Shane Battier. They lost Carlos Boozer to an injury down the stretch and the Williams led Blue Devils defeated the Gilbert Arenas led Arizona Wildcats to win their 3rd national championship. Williams averaged just over 21ppg to go along with 5apg. Williams could've went pro and easily became a top 10 pick(a decision he later regretted). However, he opted to return for his Junior year.
Following the departure to 4-year player Shane Battier, the team was all Williams. Boozer returned healthy, Duhon and the transferring Danthay Jones with Mike Dunleavy was the lineup. Duke as the national champions returned to the NCAA tournament and lost to Indiana by 1 point after jumping out to a 42-29 first half league in the Regional semis. Williams declared for the draft following the season. Williams again averaged 21ppg to go along with 5apg.
During his time at Duke he averaged 19.3ppg to go along with 6.0apg. Naismith and Wooden Award winner as well as only player I know in Duke Men's basketball history to have their jersey number retired while actively still playing on the team. He was later selected #2 overall in the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Everything thus far is all by memory. I was in Afghanistan on active duty during most of his Rookie year. From what I've seen over the years of his Rookie season he was immediately shifted into the starting lineup and the focus was on him and Jalen Rose to lead the team back to winning ways. Turnovers, inconsistency on the offensive end and losing playing time to Jamal Crawford(who appeared to be the only PG ever to have chemistry with Eddy Curry). To be blunt the team sucked and had desperately trying to build a winning team in the post-Jordan era. Despite showing flashes of what he's capable of doing. Despite the Bulls overall failures that season and lack of vocal leadership Williams averages were a stellar 9.5ppg and 4.7apg. Not bad considering how the draft classes have turned out over the years.
Unfortunately for Jay that would be his last season in the NBA. A motorcycle accident that broke his leg and tore his ACL put him out of basketball for a few years. The Bulls moved on and drafted Kirk Hinrich out of Kansas in the 2003 draft then Ben Gordon the following year, signaling the end of the Jay Williams-Era in Chicago. The Bulls bought out his contract and paid him $3 million, much of which went to medical expenses and rehab.
Jay made attempts at coming back with the New Jersey Nets 3 years later but was released. Another attempt few years later with the Miami Heat but was unable to secure a spot on the roster. In-between rehab and comeback attempts Williams became a College basketball analysis. Upon realizing he wasn't going to be able to fully make an NBA comeback he has made being an analysis his full-time job in his post-basketball life.
Through personal conversation and stories published online I've learned he delt with a great deal of depression. A personal story he shared with me from his 2006 comeback attempt with the Nets he shared he an attempted suicide attempt but with conversation with former Duke player; Reggie Love he decided against it. If not mistaken he has a book coming out that will emphasize his life before and after his injury.
Much like his fellow Duke-alumni Bobby Hurley he is another one of many players over the years of the inevitable; "What if?"
