| Jason Williams (basketball) |
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COLLEGE In 1995 after a superb high school career, Williams attended Marshall University in nearby Huntington, West Virginia. There he played for coach Billy Donovan . After redshirting his first season, he averaged 13.4 ppg and 6.4 apg in his freshman year(1996) at Marshall. When Donovan accepted the head coaching position at the University Of Florida in 1997, Williams followed him to Gainesville. Playing for Florida during the 1998 season, Williams led the Gators as their starting Point Guard . He put up averages of 17.1 points per game as well as 6.7 assists per game, and at times showed flashes of brilliance. Almost single-handedly, he beat the eventual NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats with a barrage of three-pointers at Rupp Arena . Later that season, Florida would suspend Williams from the team for breaking unspecified team rules. NBA CAREER After being suspended by Coach Donovan, Williams decided to make himself eligible for the NBA Draft . His choice paid dividends in June, when he was the 7th overall selection in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. Williams did not attend the draft but accepted an interview via satellite from Orlando . With the Kings, Jason Williams turned the team into a playoff contender, along with Chris Webber , Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic . Almost overnight Williams' popularity soared as his team kept on winning and the highlights kept on coming. His number 55 jersey was at one time the highest selling of all NBA Players . In 2001, the Sacramento Kings traded Williams to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Mike Bibby . However, the team relocated to Memphis prior to the 2001-02 Season . In his first season for the Grizzlies, Williams held together a team low in talent. With head coach Sidney Lowe , they improved insignificantly. In 2002, General Manager Jerry West lured Hubie Brown out of retirement to coach the team. Almost instantly Brown impacted the team positively. The team improved by a franchise record 28 wins in Brown's first season. In 2003-04 , the Grizzlies defied all expectations. The team coalesced behind Williams, Pau Gasol , coach Brown and GM West. The team won 50 games and for the first time made it to the NBA Playoffs as the sixth seed in the West. On August 2 , 2005, he and teammate James Posey were two of thirteen players involved in the biggest trade in league history that saw them being dealt to the Miami Heat in exchange for shooting guard Eddie Jones . PLAYING STYLE Williams is often called "White Chocolate" due to the fact that he reportedly plays an African American street-rooted style of basketball, despite being Caucasian . He also goes by the nicknames "J-Will" and "J-Dub". Williams is known to be an excellent passer and ball handler; however, early in his NBA career he tended to be quite extravagant with the ball. His play style resulted in a higher than average turnover per game ratio earning him a reputation of being excessively risky with the ball. Due to this playing style, he was also marked by many NBA analysts and coaches as a player with less skill and more flash. This style of playing had led Williams to be benched during crucial periods of games, for example in the 2000 Playoffs , Williams sat out most of the fourth quarter in all five games against the Los Angeles Lakers . In his latter years with the Memphis Grizzlies he had significantly tamed his extravagant playstyle and consistently achieved one of the highest assists per turnover ratios in the NBA. Despite this, his reputation has still stuck with him to a significant extent. TRIVIA
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