East Rutherford, N.J.—Nearly seven minutes into the Friday press conference at the Nets Practice Facility in East Rutherford, following statements from Team President Rod Thorn, General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe and Head Coach Lawrence Frank, who introduced Terrence Williams as the newest Net, his turn had finally come. Head angled sideways and slightly up, Williams listened to Nets vice president of public relations Gary Sussman as the executive prompted Williams to discuss his excitement.

Reorienting his focus to the microphone in front of him, Williams paused for a beat. Then another. He separated his folded hands, placing palms flat upon the table as he hunched slightly toward the mike.

“… Hello,” Williams said, breaking into a wide smile as he leaned back. Laughs rolled through the room, and it became apparent that if the Louisville product’s timing is as good on-court as it can be in a quip, the Nets will have aced the 11th pick. Williams continued:

“I would like to say to the staff here, thanks for believing in me and the new direction that you’re trying to go in, and drafting me No. 11. A lot of people thought I was going to go somewhere else, but I felt when I first met them, when I went to lunch with them, I would like to be here because they’re straight shooters, like Coach (Rick) Pitino. This is a great situation for me, and so I’d like to really thank them for making that call to David Stern and saying, ‘This is who we want,’ and it happened to be me. I want to start off by saying I really appreciate that from you guys.

“To everybody else: I know there are things that I need to work on. With my hard work and dedication to playing basketball, I will work on those things. I’m not coming here trying to be something I’m not, I’m coming here to try and help win games and listen to the coaching staff. I’m excited to be a New Jersey Net.”

The answer was rife with the selflessness and team-first attitude that so define Williams’ play. It wasn’t scoring that enamored the Nets of the 6-foot-6, 213-pound swingman -- Williams averaged only 12.5 points per game as a senior, and the quality of his shot remains a question, though one Williams acknowledges and pledges to work hard to solve. From the end of the college season to the beginning of draft workouts, Williams trained for several hours each day with Sonics legend Gary Payton, who attempted to instill Williams with confidence in his shooting. The lessons are beginning to take; Williams believes himself able to hit 7-of-10 open shots in game action.

But scoring is only one aspect of the game, and Williams brings a variety of skills to the Nets roster. Last year at Louisville, he also averaged 8.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals while initiating Pitino’s offense as a point forward. And his defensive ability -- and potential to guard the 1, 2 or 3 at the NBA level likely sealed his selection by the Nets.

Thorn heralded Williams as potentially the best athlete in the draft, while Vandeweghe acknowledged that -- due to good scouting -- the Nets had placed Williams near the top of their draft board early in the process. Each described how his versatility and passing often elevated his teammates’ play. And Frank clarified that it’s far too early to pigeonhole Williams as a guard or a forward.

“I just think he’s a wing player,” Frank said. “When I saw him work out, I said, ‘You know at the end of the day his best position may be point guard.’ Because he has great ball skills and loves to pass. Whether you’re young or old, everybody wants to shoot the ball, but when you have a player who loves to move it, that’s contagious.”

Williams will likely become a popular teammate for all those reasons, and his off-court diplomacy will win over any holdouts. After wearing No. 1 at Louisville -- he chose it to reflect his goal of becoming the school’s No. 1 player -- he’s switching to No. 8 as a pro in light of incoming acquisition Rafer Alston’s affinity for No. 1.

And Williams’ good humor and dynamic personality will likely help to keep the locker room loose. Always one to put pen to page as an outlet, when it came time to choose a major at Louisville, Williams almost opted for creative writing rather than communications.

“I can write about anything,” Williams claimed. “I was going to do that in school, but their creative writing was more structured writing -- it wasn’t creative, so I didn’t want to do that. But I like to write short stories, poems. So if you ever get into an argument with your girlfriend, I can write a love poem for you.”

<< Back to All Access News