Deron Williams With Something to Prove

D-Will with Something to Prove

From his days at The Colony High School, a suburban high school in Dallas, to the University of Illinois, and the NBA, Deron Williams has consistently to prove that he belongs amongst the elite point guards in his generation. Despite guiding The Colony to back to back state semifinals in his final 2 years with averages of 17 points and over 8 assists a game, Deron found himself overshadowed by teammate Bracey Wright, a future star in his own right. The oversight wasn’t strictly local, as Deron Williams found himself snubbed for a spot in the Mcdonald’s All America game, the premier showcase for the nation’s top high school ballers. Going into his college career D-Will was motivated to prove himself as one of the best point guards in the world. Recalling that motivation, Williams confessed to the Dallas News that “It motivated me a lot to see the attention Bracey was getting. He deserved it, but at the same time, I wanted the same attention. It made me want it a lot more.” As a freshman Williams started 30 of 32 games and led the Big 10 in assists during conference play. In that impressive freshman campaign, he managed to lead  the Fighting Illini to an NCAA tournament bid and a victory over Western Kentucky in the first round. In his first postseason outing, Williams proved he wouldn’t be easily rattled finishing with 11 points, 4 assist, plus 3 steals, shooting 3-3 from the three point range. After his freshman season, D-Will was selected to the USA men’s national junior team. Starting all eight games for his country , he led the team in assists while providing a nice scoring clip at 8.4 points per game.

During Williams’ sophomore season, he doubled his scoring average to lead the team with 14 points per game and increased his assist average to 6.17 a game. In his second season at Illinois, Williams went on to lead the team to their second straight NCAA tournament appearance as well. Recognizing his excellent play and consistent output, the coaches and media selected D-Will to the first team All-Big 10. For the second straight season, D-Will led the conference in assists. In the process he became the third player to do so in his first two seasons in the conference, joining the legendary Magic Johnson and Bruce Douglas.

The 2004-2005 season for the Fighting Illini was one of the best in the school’s basketball history. D-Will was the driving force and floor general of an Illini team that made it to the National Championship game. Williams was named to the Final Four All-tournament team and was honored with his second consecutive first team All-Big ten selection. After this successful junior season at the University of Illinois, D-Will declared for the 2005 NBA draft with the hopes of being the top point guard drafted. The Utah Jazz selected Deron Williams with the third overall pick, one ahead of fellow point guard and career nemesis Chris Paul. In Utah Deron was attempting to fill the legacy left behind by John Stockton, Utah’s first great point guard.

In Deron Williams’ rookie season in the NBA, he notched 80 games while averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 assist to go along with a healthy 2.4 rebounds per game. As a result of this successful rookie campaign, D-Will was named to the first NBA All-Rookie team. The first four seasons of his career Williams increased his assist and point per game totals every season, solidifying himself as one of the top point guards in the NBA. In his second season he led the team all the way to the western conference finals, before falling to the San Antonio Spurs, the eventual world champions. On February 23, 2011, in the midst of his sixth professional season, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets, who would relocate across the Hudson River and become the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets immediately made him the face of their franchise, signing him to a five year deal worth $98 million. After signing that monstrous deal, D-Will’s numbers saw a steady decline in every subsequent season. In fact this past season Williams had his lowest averages since his rookie year, including career playoff lows. Although he’s struggled to meet the lofty standards he set early on, D-Will has not been without moments of brilliance in Brooklyn. In game 3 of the 2014-15 playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, D-Will showed a flash of why he was drafted third overall and was once considered the best point guard in the NBA. He finished the game with 35 points 7 assist and 5 rebounds, while shooting 7-11 from the three point line to carry Brooklyn to a win.

During the off season Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets reached an agreement on a contract buyout. While this was the culmination of a disappointing run in Brooklyn, it left Williams free to sign with any team in the NBA. Being a three-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, and an olympic gold medalist, it didn’t take long for him to sign with a team. Once the Dallas Mavericks came with a offer, it was a no brainer for D-Will to return to the place he once called home. The Mavericks have been contenders every year, and consistently one of the top offensive teams in the tough western conference. Led by NBA champion and future hall of famer Dirk Nowitzki, D-Will should fit right in.

It was a very busy offseason for Dallas, who lost their top scorer, combo guard Monta Ellis. The Mavs used their abundant cap space to replace him with the versatile Wesley Matthews, a former teammate of Williams in Utah, forming a strong backcourt trio with Chandler Parsons. With these additions, the Mavs have a chance to contend once again in the Western conference, where the champion Warriors play. I think D-WIll has that hunger he had coming out of high school and college; the hunger to prove he’s still one of the best players at his position. His talent is definitely still there and if he gives Dallas 20 points and 10 assists a game, the Mavericks might finish top 5 in the tough western conference! The only question is will he return back to All-Star form, for his hometown team the Dallas Mavericks. For now, however, only Williams knows the answer to that question.