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Reaction To Terrence Williams Pick

by Sebastian Pruiti

Jun 28, 2009 Reactions, Rookies, Terrence Williams

The guys over at Rookies Chronicles (A great site that follows the adventures of Terrence Williams, DeMar DeRozen, and Patty Mills – check it out, all of Terrence’s stuff can be found here) asked me to talk about my reaction to the Terrence Williams pick. So here goes nothing:

When David Stern came up and announced that Terrence Williams was the Nets’ selection at 11, it brought a smile to my (and I am assuming all Nets’ fans) face(s) the first time all day.  I am going to admit that I didn’t hop onto the “draft Terrence Williams” train until late in the game (a couple days before his workout here in NJ), but once I did a little bit of research (and an interview), and saw what he was all about, I was pulling for him to get drafted.

So why was I so pumped?  Well, Terrence is a seasoned guy (stayed in school all 4 years) who played under a great coach in a fast-paced system (this is going to be key.  I mean look at our roster this year, we are going to be running and gunning for the most part – or at least I hope we do), and he is crazy athletic.  He combines that athletic ability with a body that allows him to effectivly play 3 positions in the pros.  This, along with the trade of Vince Carter, means that Williams should get a good amount of playing time for a rookie, which will lead to Williams hopefully developing faster than the normal rookie.  We can look at newest Net Courtney Lee for an example of this.  Last year with Orlando, Lee got a lot of time during the season, and just look how he played in the playoffs.

What impresses me most about Williams is his mentality both on and off the court.  On the court, Terrence Williams is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win.  Back when I interviewed him (I am going to milk the hell out of this) when I asked who he molds his game after, his answer shows what he is all about:

- NetsRScorching@TheRealTWill Is there a NBA player that you mold your game after?about 10 hours ago from web in reply to TheRealTWill

- TheRealTWill@NetsRScorching as far a game wise I try to e like lebron passing wise, rebounding N team first concept that’s my whole motto

So he wants to be the guy who does everything on the court.  He wants to create for everyone else, rebound, and play defense.  Just let the scoring come.  As a rookie, that is the right mentality to take.  Especially with this team.  We got Brook, Devin Harris and Courtney Lee to do most of our scoring.  Off the court, he has the swagger and the confidence you like to see in a player.  He also has shown a willingness to get in the gym and work on the things he needs to improve.

With all this being said, he does need to work on some things.  The most important and most noticible being his shot.  He did shoot well, well in his workout with us, but I would call that more of a good shooting night than what you would expect to see from him normally.  I am not worried though, because I know that Gary Payton won’t let him not work on his shooting.

All told, I am extremly happy with the pick (In case you couldn’t tell).  With the 11th pick in a supposedly weak draft you shouldn’t be able to get a player that will be able to help you team immedeatly, but that is what we got with Terrence Williams.