BULLS: Williams Named to All-Rookie Second Team

Jay Williams splits the Milwaukee defense on his way to the hoop.

PG shows potential as a scorer and distributor in first season

Williams Named to All-Rookie Second Team

May 7, 2003 – Bulls point guard Jay Williams is among a cast of talented rookies named to the got milk? NBA All-Rookie Team, the NBA announced today.

“It’s definitely an honor to make the second team," Williams told Bulls.com. "At the same time, though, it gives me more incentive to keep fighting and work harder. I felt like I started to get into a groove by the end of the year and wish I had hit that groove a little earlier. I have all the incentive in the world to work hard this summer and come back even better.”

In 75 games, Williams made 54 starts and averaged 9.5 ppg (ninth among NBA rookies), 4.7 apg (leading NBA rookies and 27th in the NBA), 2.6 rpg and 1.15 spg (second on the Bulls), shooting .399 from the floor, .322 from three-point range and .640 from the free throw line. He set the Bulls all-time rookie record for three-point field goals, making 65 to rank third on the team.

“I learned a lot from some of the down situations [this past season] when things weren’t going well because they bring out your true character," Williams said of his rookie year. "It was hard to go from starting to not starting and so on but it was all a learning experience, no matter how well you did in college or whatever level you are coming from. It’s a whole new game up here and it’s a matter of growing up and learning the game.”

Williams showed potential as a scorer and distributor in his rookie NBA season. He was named as the NBA got milk? Rookie of the Month in December after averaging 11.6 ppg and 6.3 apg, shooting .425 from the floor and .340 from the free throw line. Williams will enter the 2003-04 campaign after averaging 13.1 ppg and 4.9 apg, shooting .594 from the floor, .688 from three-point range and .800 from the free throw line over the final eight games of 2002-03.

Williams said that the manner in which the Bulls' young players and the team as a whole finished the season was of great importance.

“Our outlook for next season changed a lot at the end of the season," he said. "It seemed like the whole year Jamal [Crawford] and I were fighting to play together and that made it hard. It may have created a little bit of animosity between us because we are both competitors and we both want to play. We both wanted to start and both wanted to be ‘the guy.’ There was nothing but daily competition between us, especially when everyone said that we couldn’t play together.

But over the last 19 games or so, due to some injuries, it just so happened that we got to play together and it was an opportunity we both felt we couldn’t let pass us by," Williams continued. "We took advantage of it and I had the best time. Those last eight or nine games, especially, showed you [the Bulls’] future. Tyson [Chandler] wasn’t able to be out with us the whole time, but we had Eddy [Curry] and Jamal and I and, even though we had a young team out there, we were really producing. The games were fun and that is what it’s all about. Hopefully next year we will build on that even more, keep growing and keep improving.”

After a little bit of rest and relaxation, Williams says he's ready to get back to work very soon.

“I plan on working on everything this summer, especially things like shooting and penetrating to the basket. The biggest thing about improving comes from experience and just being on the court," he stated. "I was starting to understand the game better as the season went on and as I keep growing and keep getting older, I’ll get a better understanding. I plan on getting in the best shape I can. You find that the guys who do that come back [at the start of the season] and they are able to play with a high level of energy for an extended period of time and that’s what I need to do.”

The got milk? NBA Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, the number one overall selection in the 2002 NBA Draft, were unanimous selections with 56 points each and were joined on the got milk? NBA All-Rookie First Team by Miami’s Caron Butler (55 points), Orlando’s Drew Gooden (45) and Denver’s Nene Hilario (40).

Stoudemire ranked first among all NBA rookies in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and tied for second in scoring (13.5 ppg) and blocks (1.06 bpg) while Yao rated first among rookies in blocks (1.79 bpg), second in rebounding (8.2 rpg) and tied for second in scoring (13.5 ppg).

The got milk? NBA All-Rookie Second Team consisted of San Antonio’s Emanuel Ginobili (38 points), Orlando’s Gordon Giricek (33 points), Cleveland’s Carlos Boozer (28 points), Williams (22 points) and Boston’s J.R. Bremer (18 points).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 29 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

The results of the balloting for the 2002-03 got milk? NBA All-Rookie teams:

2002-03 got milk? NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM

2002-03 got milk? NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM

Other players receiving votes, with point totals: Dajuan Wagner, Cleveland, 13; Mehmet Okur, Detroit, 11; Marco Jaric, LA Clippers, 6; Mike Dunleavy, Golden State, 4; Rasual Butler, Miami, 2; Junior Harrington, Denver, 2; Mike Batiste, Memphis, 2; Juan Dixon, Washington, 1; Vincent Yarbrough, Denver, 1; Reggie Evans, Seattle, 1; Casey Jacobsen, Phoenix, 1.