Coming Back for Some More

Rather than declare early for the June 27 NBA draft, where many experts predict he would be the top selection, Jason Williams decided to remain at Duke to pursue his degree, which he is on schedule to receive after his junior year. Williams recently spoke with Dialogue's Keith Lawrence about his decision and a number of other topics.

Q: Many people were surprised you decided to stay in college. Can you explain your reasons?

A: I think people who don't understand my position don't really understand what college means to me. I love basketball and playing under a great teacher like Coach K, but there's so much more to college than basketball, which is why I chose to come to Duke in the first place. There's a whole process of growing up, not just physically, but mentally being ready to go to that next level. I don't think of myself as grown up. I'm only 19 years old. This year I'll have my own apartment for the first time in my life. I'll learn what it takes to be by yourself and be your own man while still learning in school. I think a lot of kids miss out on opportunities sometimes to grow up.

Q: How much does an extra year in college prepare you for the NBA?

A: I want to be a player who comes in - like I think Shane (Battier) will - ... and has an immediate impact on his team. ... It's sad sometimes to see a kid with so much talent who gets picked high in the draft, and then he rarely plays for two or three years. He might get time here and there, but definitely not the time if he stayed two or three or four years in college and got physically and mentally ready. It's a different lifestyle (in the NBA), always traveling on the road, being by yourself ... I think this extra year is really going to help me mentally prepare for the NBA, and I know I'll learn more about the responsibilities of being a point guard and a leader with one more year.

Q: How influential were your parents in your decision?

A: They were very influential. It's difficult to turn down an opportunity to be a top draft choice. My mother and father are my rock. One thing my mother said really stands out, and I think about it a lot: "Every day, from now on, when you're 35 or 45, you have to look in the mirror at yourself. What person do you want to see? Do you want to see a person who can say he got the best out of himself?" I want to enjoy the rest of college and then play pro ball. I'm not saying couldn't leave this year and still come back and graduate from Duke, but that's hard. ... I'm close to getting my degree now and I want to achieve that goal. I want to be the guy when he's 35 or 40 who can look back and say, "Wow, I graduated from a prestigious university, I won a national championship - hopefully, two - and I played under a Hall of Fame coach."

Q: What role did Coach K and the basketball staff play in helping you reach your decision?

A: When I was making my decision, a lot of people asked, "Why would you listen to Coach K? He's out for himself and wants to keep you around in order to win." Coach K is like my father down here, like my father away from my father. He wants what's best for me and I think he wants what's best for all his players. He sat down with me and talked with me about where I would go in the NBA draft and why he thought I could do better if I stayed. He promised me I would be a better player if I stayed, and he said I have a chance to do something very uncommon, which is to graduate from a prestigious university like Duke in three years. ... My relationship with Coach K means a lot to me. It's blossomed so much since my freshman year, and I really want to see where it goes from this year to next.

Q: What lessons do you feel you have learned from Coach K?

A: I've learned a lot of things on the court, but the best thing about Coach K is I'm learning so many different things off the court - how to handle myself, how to represent myself, how to go into situations and be a leader of an organization. ... Sometimes I'll watch him talking to people, and he's such a great person and a great leader. Sometimes I don't think he realizes it, but watching him I've learned so much about everyday life.

Q: What will earning a Duke diploma mean to you?

A: The Duke diploma means the world to me. ... I came to Duke because it combined the best academics with the best basketball. I've had a lot of great teachers here who have helped me learn how to think and be independent. Staying in college may not be right for every kid who can go to the pros, but it is for me. I think kids who go early can miss out on a lot. They miss out on the whole college life, the social aspects of college life, meeting new people, learning from your teachers, establishing relationships with your teachers. You meet so many different kinds of people in college. You never know, your best friend could be the CEO of a company one day.

Q: Do you worry about getting injured?

A: It's always a possibility, but if I do get hurt and can't play basketball, I'll have my Duke degree and I'll be able to do things in life other than just basketball.

Q: Did the speculation about whether you would leave early get tiresome? Is that why in mid-season you announced you weren't going early to the NBA?

A: It definitely got annoying ... When I was in a press conference after a game, I wanted the questions to be about, "How do you feel your team played?" "How do you feel you performed?" I didn't want questions like, "Since you scored 30 points, are you going to the NBA?" Questions like that could distract the team away from what we needed to do to win the national championship. I wanted to cut the distractions off head-on, and I tried to do that by being honest and saying, "I'm going to stay." If I say something, I mean it. ... It was difficult because people didn't believe me, especially after (Virginia Tech quarterback) Michael Vick said he was going to stay and then declared early (for the NFL draft.) ... When the deadline came (to declare for the NBA draft), people said, "I guess he's really not leaving." And all I could say was, "I tried to tell you since day one I wasn't leaving."

Q: Are you comfortable being held up as someone who resisted the money and is perceived by many to have his priorities in order?

A: I'm definitely comfortable being held up in that light. But who really can classify me as someone who did it the right way? It's the right way for me, but it doesn't mean it's the right way for the next guy who comes along. I know my family is fine, so I don't have to worry about that ... but the next guy who comes along, his mother might be working three jobs and he may have two or three sisters and his dad's not around. There are different situations for different people. Everyone has a different agenda, and I just credit God that my agenda and my situation allow me to ... graduate from college.

Q: You were the president of your chess club in high school. What is it about chess that attracts you?

A: Chess has taught me a lot. ... It's a game that you have to be really poised at and you have to always look ahead to what your opponent may do. But there's always the chance that he could do something else and you have to be ready to counteract it. I think chess is like life, and it really relates to my decision. You look at the overall picture of the game, which is to win. You want to put yourself in the best situation in order to win. And I think right now I'm doing that by completing my college education, and then hopefully I'll go on and play in the NBA.

Q: What is your major and why did you choose it?

A: I picked sociology because it gives me a general background for life after the NBA. I tried to do pre-med at first, but that was really hard because my schedule was so consumed with basketball. ... I really would like to be a doctor one day, so maybe after my NBA career, I'll think about coming back for pre-med studies.

Q: Are there any teachers at Duke who have greatly influenced you?

A: It would be unfair to say one teacher is better than another because they've all been great. I had a sociology class with Miss Ida Simpson,"Change in the American Family," and I did a report about players leaving early for the NBA.. ... I learned a lot from that. A lot of the players who do leave early for the NBA come from one-parent families ... In all my classes, I find out so many different things that I never knew existed.

Q: Can you explain Coach K's concept of the fist and its impact on you?

A: It's about team work and how one guy can't do it alone. ... Think about it. If you swing with an open hand, your fingers can get broken, whereas if you swing with a fist, you have a much bigger impact, because you have all five fingers working together. ... Not just five, but a team, and that relates to life in a way because I have a team. I think of Duke University as my team. I think of Coach K as my team. ... I think of my mother and my father as my team, and my team is working with me to get what's best out of life for me.

... A lot of kids who are going to the NBA sometimes don't really know who their team is. You have so many people coming at you, you don't really know who's looking out for you, who's really interested in you as a person, not just you as a basketball player. I think by staying here, I'm establishing my team, I'm finding people who are interested in me as a person. ... By establishing my team now - which is Duke and my family and the great people who are at Duke - it will help me out in life in the long run.