New Jersey's Swiss Army Knife
By:
Alex Raskin
Last Updated: 11/5/09 10:57 AM ET
| 2275 times read
On a night when the Nets were without five valuable veterans and the loudest applause at the Izod Center was reserved for Denver's Kenyon Martin and the announcement of a Hideki Matsui home run, rookie Terrence Williams was getting a crash course in the NBA.
No Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling meant that Williams had to play point guard against Chauncey Billups.
No Jarvis Hayes and Yi Jianlian meant he had to play forward against Carmelo Anthony.
And had the Nets' mascot come down with the flu, Williams would have been firing the T-shirt gun into the crowd.
"Terrence is a rookie and (to think that he's) played all five positions this season… is pretty remarkable," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. "Now he's been thrown into a backup point guard role and he's obviously a backup wing player and when we play (small he plays power forward). A couple of games ago we actually subbed him in for (center Brook Lopez). He's getting thrown into the fire."
For a rookie playing on a winless, injury-prone team, this basketball buffet is becoming the norm. There is no settling into a role, no getting comfortable at any spot on the floor. Simply put, Williams has been asked to be everywhere, everything and everyone.
"If I have to learn 1 through 4 and come in at the 4 sometimes, I'll take it," Williams admitted. "I'm not pressured to feel like I have to stay at the 1 or stay at the 2 because at one point in time I did study the 2; at one point in time I did study the 1. And now, since I play all four, when I look at the play, I just look at all four positions and I study them all."
Obviously, it's a situation that Williams is surprisingly comfortable with.
"Honestly it's okay," said Williams. "I have a high basketball IQ coming from (coach Rick Pitino) at Louisville. It was the same thing at Louisville. Sometimes I played the five when we went small… One day they can see a guy that can play all four positions well."
Like anyone playing on this stage for the first time there are highs and lows. One minute Williams is sinking a 3-pointer (a supposed weakness of his game entering the NBA) and the next he flails wildly as fellow rookie Ty Lawson goes up-and-under for a nifty layup.
When he isn't sinking four of six field goals in his first nine minutes, he's spending the rest of the game shooting two of seven from the field.
"Besides the little cheap shots that I miss, I feel like I can do a lot out on the court – trying to make the open shot, reading the defense and just trying to take my time more," said Williams. "Especially getting into the paint, I think I did that well tonight. After the fifth game, I'm starting to feel like I can make it."
Williams does have an uncanny ability to knife into the paint – something that is sure to fit into Frank's drive-and-dish approach to offense. But a large part of that ability is Williams' athleticism.
And as admirable as athleticism is, there's a fine line between trying to out-run and out-muscle everyone and beating them with actual basketball maneuvers.
"I see a very good athlete," said Denver coach George Karl of Williams, "I see a lot of upper body with the strength, finding his way. I hear he's a very good passer. I didn't see that tonight, but I hear he is a good playmaker."
"He's a good player," added Billups. "I like him. He's solid and he's pretty versatile. He can do a lot of things out there. He's going to be a good pro."
Even though he frequently played the point under Pitino in college. Williams' playmaking skills may take the longest to develop.
Fortunately he has veterans like Rafer Alston, Harris and Dooling – who he refers to as his "older brother" on the team – to dispense valuable point guard wisdom. After all, you could be an All-American point guard from a major school and still not have the tools to do the job in the NBA.
So the Nets have given Williams (11.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg thus far) a support system – anything to keep him from hanging in the breeze.
"We got to help him out," said Alston. "Right now we only have one point guard – and that's me – until these guys get healthy. It is a lot for 'T.' To me, I think it's good experience. I try to give him some pointers, give him some things.
"The good thing is he's playing, he's going through it," Alston continued. "The bad thing is we're losing. We can't look at it as though he's the problem. We can help him out a little bit more than what we have been."
But sometimes, Williams is just going to have to help himself – particularly when he draws Anthony on defense.
Williams did hold his own against the All-Star. Anthony had been scoring close to 40 ppg early on this season, but settled for 22 points in a 28-point Nuggets' win.
"I think with Carmelo I did a decent job trying to contest his shots," said Williams. "He made a lot of contested shots against me. I tried my best. It's not like I'm guarding John Doe that just got drafted. I'm guarding an All-Star out there. I tip my hat of to him of course – someone that you look up to before you come into this league."
Williams did more than just tip his hat though. In a league where veteran stars often play overly physical without repercussions, this rookie dispenses all pleasantries as he fights through an entire game.
When Anthony pushed, Williams pushed back. He even went as far as to describe the practical shoving match with Anthony as "fun."
This goes back to Williams' basketball IQ. Knowing rookies have a target on their backs, Williams expected everything he got from Anthony (who at one moment nearly put Williams in a headlock). Heck, he'd been exactly that as a Cardinal.
"At Louisville I did the same thing," said Williams. "I'm going to take someone that is a freshman or a sophomore, someone that gets switched on me and teach them something about college. I was trying to get physical with (Anthony) to show that… I'm not going to back down."
When the Nets drafted Williams, the team was looking at more than just talent. They saw someone that's unfazed by problems – someone that can handle losing in front of an apathetic fan base.
Even in a loss, Williams brought smiles to the remaining fans in attendance in the fourth quarter of the loss to Denver. With about five minutes remaining, Williams went coast-to-coast before finishing with a violent right-handed dunk over Lawson.
It wasn't the exclamation point after a big win, but it is a good sign that Williams is out there to do his job and have some fun along the way.
"You got to keep playing and fighting through adversity," Williams said. "You still have to try and stay positive at it. You can't look at it as us (being) 0-5. Of course it doesn't sound good. But this isn't college. This isn't the Big East where you go 0-5 and you're at bottom of the pack. We've got 82 games. If we got this group healthy, who's to say we couldn't win 10 out of the next 12. You got to take the positives out of this and prepare for the next game."
The losing, the injuries, the added pressure of playing in a large market – these may seem like negatives in the short term. Years from now though, we could look back at this time to see that it forged a tremendous player.
"I actually like it," said Williams. "At this stage the main objective is to get on the court by any means – whether you're labeled a defensive player or whether you're labeled a backup point guard."
And that's the attitude that is endearing him to his coach and teammates.
"I love the kid," concluded Frank. "He's very, very receptive. He works hard and there are a lot of things to learn and it's a process, that's why it's the NBA."
About the Author: ALEX RASKIN
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Alex Raskin is HOOPSWORLD's senior Newslines Editor and also covers the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks for HOOPSWORLD. Alex also serves as a New York Giants Correspondent for CBSsports.com
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posted By Toolatecrew, 5 November 2009 2:22:10 PM
I really like this guy. One thing players can improve is their shot. Practice and reps can turn anyone who wants to work at it into a useful shooter (it won't make Dwight Howard steve Nash) like Bruce Bowen did. Its much harder to get a guy to be great defender, to become a playmaker or have a basketball IQ. Some guys just "get it" on the court. I think he does.
posted By Lucas, 5 November 2009 4:45:19 PM
this kids is a beast i watched every game this season and most of the preseason and im speachless his athleticism, his skill set, and even his work ethic he was out there before the game shooting and working on moves with only brook lopez and dwight howard out on the court. I think he could be the next vince carter, but this guy plays defense.
posted By oj, 5 November 2009 7:20:07 PM
i can see him being more of a scotti pippen type of player instead of vince carter
posted By derek, 5 November 2009 9:19:30 PM
Terrence is gonna end up a very good all around star. Playmaking, scoring, defense and rebouding. I'd love to steal him with CLee next time Magic trade with Nets :P
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