That’s a serious warning from former Chicago Bulls guard Jay Williams, and he gives it to anyone who’ll listen. In a recent exclusive interview with The STAR, the rising star of the NBA fell in a heap. And it was all because of one mistake.
"It’s all about decisions. Last year, I made a bad decision," recounts an obviously pained Williams, second overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in 2002, right after the celebrated choice of Yao Ming by the Houston Rockets. "I did a lot of great things in college, won a national championship, played for Duke University (19 points, 6 assists, 3.7 rebounds career average), won three National Player of the Year awards, was coached by the greatest coach you could ever want, had great teammates. I had all my dreams come true."
All his life, the 6’2" guard dreamed of being a basketball player. As a sophomore, he led Duke to the NCAA championship, and became the first Duke player since Danny Ferry to lead the league in scoring. He was named "Point Guard of the Year" by ESPN Magazine. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, and actually wore number 22 when he joined the Bulls. Williams was named the NBA’s got milk? Rookie of the Month in December of 2002, when he averaged 11.6 points and 6.3 assists in that span, all while adjusting to a new system. He averaged 9.5 points (ninth among NBA rookies) and 4.7 assists (leading NBA rookies and 27th in the NBA), 2.6 rebounds and 1.15 steals (second on the Bulls) for the season. He also registered the Bulls’ first triple-double since 1998.
But he was also a young man on a young team with plenty of time. Jalen Rose was already the oldest member of the Bulls then, a mere 29. The average age was about 24. William himself was 21.
"One day, I was faced with a decision. As you know, it’s in our contract that we can’t ride motorbikes, jet skis and things like that," he explained. "We got up at 8, had practice at 9, and by 11, our day was over. So we had a lot of time to be involved in things we shouldn’t be involved in. I had a lot of friends in the Chicago area, they had bikes. You know, have some fun, the season’s over. So I got a bike."
And that’s where his life made a U-turn, in the wrong direction. He was cruising along at about 40, 50 miles an hour, "not doing anything stupid,"in his own words. He shifted the motorcycle into what he thought was neutral, wanting to rev the engine. It automatically kicked into fourth gear, and Jay instantly found himself wrapped around a pole.
"My body was all twisted in different ways. I was scared." The first thing I said wasn’t "I’m gonna die." The first thing I said was "I threw it all away." I kept screaming, I kept crying that out." He had just been named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
A platoon of 15, 16 doctors attended to him. His leg was broken, and he was bleeding internally. Both his parents were crying. The signs were not good.
"The first thing I thought about was basketball. Basketball, basketball, basketball. Work on my jumper, what else I gotta do to get better. Man, this guy’s contract was out. I wanted to beat him for his spot. I wanted to play for the US Olympic team. Then I realized that it’s about real life. Then I passed out," he recalls. ""When I woke up, my leg was bent up; I had pins in my hips. It was like everything you didn’t want to happen, happened to me.
As a consequence, the Bulls cut him from the team for violating his contract. He blew millions of dollars in salary, not to mention potential endorsements in one of the biggest media markets in the US, next only perhaps to New York and Los Angeles. Today, struggling to hook up with a team, he will tell anybody who will listen, particularly young players, about how to take care of the fits they’ve been given, and to cherish the blessings they have worked so hard for.
"Maybe some of you guys are just content to be here. This is a dream come true for you guys. I was in awe with all those coaches there. I looked at the guys on either side of me, and I said "I’m gonna take it from you." That’s the way it’s always been for me. So when you guys are out there playing, nothing’s guaranteed to you guys. Not just basketball. It’s easy to be done. This is about your life."
You may reach me through bill_velasco@hotmail.com