48MoH: Rediscovering Marcus Williams

[CubanMustGo]

http://www.48minutesof .com/2009/...rcus-williams/

All Grown Up, Marcus Deserves His Shot at a Roster Spot
Michael Schwartz

Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns read my recent Conversation with Marcus Williams with more interest than most. Prior to his work at Valley of the Suns, Michael covered Marcus while they were both students at the University of Arizona. Given that history, he provided us with this personal retrospective on Marcus Williams.

When I read Tim Varner’s in-depth conversation with Marcus Williams last week, one thought stuck with me above all the rest: Marcus has finally grown up. He’s faced two seasons worth of D-League action and the NBA telling him he’s not good enough, and now he’s at the point of his career where he’s ready to be an NBA player.

Back in college, he didn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, but he was exceptional at doing everything at least pretty well. You might be surprised to learn that with his unorthodox stroke and all, Williams was the only Wildcat Arizona’s Hall of Fame head coach Lute Olson gave a green light to on three-pointers during a freshman year in which he shot 43.5 percent from deep. I felt his versatility would transfer over to the NBA game, as he could guard multiple positions on defense and pass, shoot and dribble on offense. The only thing I worried about was his at ude.

Sop re year from media day on he was a different player than he was as a freshman, according to my Arizona Daily Wildcat colleague who covered the team both years. He had a chip on his shoulder, almost as if he was above playing college basketball after he flirted with leaving school following his stellar freshman year. On the floor he still had a solid year as a sop re, but mentally it seemed like Marcus’ head had already left the Wildcats in favor of another League. When Marcus declared for the draft at the end of his sop re year, he thought he was a no-brainer first-rounder.

“I think I wanted obviously to make sure I was going to be in the first round,” Williams said at his goodbye presser about why he decided to leave early. “That was a big key for me. As long as I continue to work hard, that’s going to be a reality for me. I thought that was pretty key. If I can go in with a team where I have a chance to play at least, that’s going to be important.”

Williams must have been flabbergasted that he lasted until pick No. 33 of the second round in the 2007 draft, going to a loaded organization like the Spurs that hasn’t given him a chance to play yet, unless you count the Austin Toros. What I admire most about Williams is that he’s stuck it out for two long years, riding buses and taking cold showers in the D-League when lesser compe ors would have headed for a payday in Europe. In Varner’s piece, Marcus said, “I don’t think you’ll ever have guys who’ll dream of playing D-League.” As a sop re in college, Marcus Williams was the last guy who ever would have expected to even step foot into a D-League arena during his career. But the thing about Marcus is that he’s addicted to basketball, D-League, C-League or The League. He’s a gym rat who absolutely loves the game, as Spurs fans will see this year.

Before his sop re year in college, speaking of his summer, he said, “That’s the most important time, when no one’s looking at you. That’s the time when you’ve really got to work hard. That separates the people who get to play in Final Fours.” That quote basically defines Williams’ past two seasons. It’s essentially been a two-year summer away from the spotlight of major college or professional basketball. Except for Spurs fans like Tim who follow the D-League closely and a few curious Wildcat fans, nobody has paid an ounce of attention to Marcus Williams.

In that time he’s devoured every inch of the Spurs’ playbook. He knows how to play the point guard position in that system, he knows how to be a wing and he knows how to defend multiple positions the Spurs way. Spurs fans may think of Marcus as the 12th man, an oversized third-string point guard who only should play when things are way out of hand, but don’t be fooled. Marcus always could ball. Instead of playing his final two eligible years in college, he spent them in the Minors, and now it seems as if Marcus Williams is entering the NBA anew with the maturity of a man four years removed from high school.

It’s certainly debatable whether Marcus would have been better off staying in college all four years, but now with a comprehensive understanding of the Spurs’ system he’s finally getting his chance to prove why he thought he was no-brainer first rounder to begin with.

*****

Practically Marcus’ Little Brother

When the Spurs and Nets get together and Marcus Williams and Nets rookie Terrence Williams share a tighter than usual embrace, it’s not because they’re actually brothers. But the Williams’ did grow up together in the Seattle area, and Terrence actually moved in with Marcus’ family at one point. Because of that Marcus considers Terrence like a little brother. It’s kind of funny that when the two players hooked up in college during the 2006-07 season, Marcus was a star and Terrence was unheralded considering the fact that Marcus ended up being a second-round pick while Terrence went in the lotto.

[Blackjack]

Practically Marcus’ Little Brother

When the Spurs and Nets get together and Marcus Williams and Nets rookie Terrence Williams share a tighter than usual embrace, it’s not because they’re actually brothers. But the Williams’ did grow up together in the Seattle area, and Terrence actually moved in with Marcus’ family at one point. Because of that Marcus considers Terrence like a little brother. It’s kind of funny that when the two players hooked up in college during the 2006-07 season, Marcus was a star and Terrence was unheralded considering the fact that Marcus ended up being a second-round pick while Terrence went in the lotto.

Just laying the groundwork to bring T-Will to the black and silver.

[NFGIII]

Nice article but it remains to be seen if he can contribute for the Spurs. Would be nice to really see that he has finally grown up. An added surprise for next season. Maybe that is. We'll see.

[angelbelow]

Articles like this get me excited. But does it sound too good to be true?

[CubanMustGo]

Articles like this get me excited. But does it sound too good to be true?

Well, the author was a student at the same time Marcus was playing, so, yeah, he's definitely viewing the situation through rose-colored glasses. Let's hope for the best but he's still a long shot to contribute much.

[ceperez]

But the thing about Marcus is that he’s addicted to basketball, D-League, C-League or The League. He’s a gym rat who absolutely loves the game, as Spurs fans will see this year..

This is precisely what I want to hear from our players. In general, plenty of players that don't make it to the NBA have the same athletic ability as those who do. The key is at ude and can you play within someone's system.

My problem with Mahinmi is that he doesn't seem to be a gym rat. I mean, Bonner for example works damn hard at his game (unfortunately, he's not as athletic).

Marcus Haislip has unbelievable athletic upside, but the big open question is "will he work on his game?"

[Ocotillo]

Well he has improved as a player and is now more familiar with the Spurs system then a lot of the new guys. He was tearing up the D-League at the end of last season and of course that is the D-League and the not the NBA but one can hold out hope he could evolve into a role player for the Spurs.

I keep hoping to see him, George Hill and Manu on the floor at the same time with Marcus being the primary ballhandler. He could guard the wing with his size and Hill could take the other teams point guard. Plus with that group you would have three ballhandlers on the floor at the same time.

[The Truth #6]

The FO finally realized they needed to rejuvenate the roster. I hope this acceptance of reality translates to Marcus or Malik getting some chance to show themselves. There's absolutely no reason to shelf these guys instead of Finley in the beginning. We know what we have with Finley already. And besides, Finley is older and should have his minutes monitored so he can be saved for the playoffs, assuming he hasn't already jumped the shark?

[#2!]

I keep hoping to see him, George Hill and Manu on the floor at the same time with Marcus being the primary ballhandler. He could guard the wing with his size and Hill could take the other teams point guard. Plus with that group you would have three ballhandlers on the floor at the same time.

Remember last year when Manu would come back from injury and would be playing alongside Hill...and it would be awkward basketball littered with miscues. This is b/c when Manu is on the 2nd unit its his team, and he likes to have savvy players around him that are good at things like being in the right place at the right time, something hard for younger guys to know how to do.

My question is do George, or especially Marcus, have the savvy to stay on the court for real minutes with Manu, and if they are out there, will manu even want to give up the ball?

[The Truth #6]

I wish I knew how to put these players in order, I like them all a lot. Mailik, Marcus, Jack and Gist are all good young talents. I know Malik is number 1 for me. He has been a really good guy and plays hard every minute. I have seen him a lot and he has never disapointed. I simply like Gist because of his athletic ability and his 3/4 potential. That and he loves to defend. Williams on the other hand has never impressed me as a player. He says the right things and he works hard, but it seems that he has an off night every time I watch him play. Now McClinton is someone who can provide instant offense right now. He won't be in the game late, but he has the ability to maybe go for a 5/6 or 7/8 night shooting wise and then on the other nights go 2/6 or 1/7. There are ups and downs to each player. now if only they could become one player and we him Mack Giston.

Overall, hopefully at least one of these players pans out. I agree about Malik however I haven't seen enough of Marcus to dismiss him yet. The times you saw him play - was this with the Toros? I don't recall him getting any real minutes yet with the Spurs, though I could have missed a game here or there.

With McClinton, I'm curious to see how he responds from his Summer league performance. So far, he doesn't seem ready for the NBA. Hopefully it was just jitters in the SL because his shooting was off.

[The Truth #6]

Remember last year when Manu would come back from injury and would be playing alongside Hill...and it would be awkward basketball littered with miscues. This is b/c when Manu is on the 2nd unit its his team, and he likes to have savvy players around him that are good at things like being in the right place at the right time, something hard for younger guys to know how to do.

My question is do George, or especially Marcus, have the savvy to stay on the court for real minutes with Manu, and if they are out there, will manu even want to give up the ball?

Yes, those were some awkward moments. To be fair, the majority of the NBA probably isn't near Manu's level of seeing and understanding the game. I think Hill deferred to Manu and just hid out in the corner. Obviously not a great thing for fluid basketball. Hopefully Hill has improved his confidence. From the SL, it seems like he has. As for Marcus, we'll see. I just hope he gets a chance to succeed or fail and doesn't get lost on the end of the bench. Who knows - if Jefferson's thumb keeps him out any time in the beginning of training camp it might pay dividends for the young guys to get a chance to show something?