The Nets would like to take this opportunity to thank Jordan Williams’ mother.
After all, she got him out of a soccer goal and onto a basketball court.
“I was 12,” Williams recalled, noting he was a big kid who virtually covered the goal. “I was nasty, man. I was bigger than the goal. I was huge. At that age, you play in the smaller goals, you don’t play in the big goal, and I was pretty big for my size. … I hurt my knee. A cleat went through my knee. I had to get stitches, so my mom made me stop playing.”
So the Nets say, “Thanks, Mom,” because the 6-foot-10, second-round draft pick out of Maryland is blossoming, active and showing terrific hands around the rim.
“He’s catching the ball, he’s finishing inside. He’s rebounding the ball on both ends,” said coach Avery Johnson, enthusiastic about the continued growth and development of young guys Williams, MarShon Brooks and D-League steal Gerald Green, a trio that has a huge task tonight in Newark against Southeast champ Miami, fresh off its Garden victory over the Knicks.
“He’s gotten better in the last month. He’s in shape now,” said Deron Williams. “He’s been yelled at, so he has a thicker skin. He’s just out there playing … learning how to play and being in the right spots. That comes with a feel for the game, learning how to play, learning our system. He’s doing a much better job with that. He has great hands around the basket and he does a good job of finishing.”
That part about being in shape? If he could do it over, the rookie said he would have come into camp in better shape, in better condition. But he can’t, although even in that scenario, he finds a positive.
“Sure, if I could go back and change it, obviously I would,” Jordan Williams said. “But on the other hand, I wouldn’t change it and just learn from it. I went into training camp at the bottom. And I’ve had to learn from the bottom up.”
The learning had brought improvement in all areas — he had his first career double-double in the loss to Boston Saturday when he had his seventh double-figure scoring game, his fourth in his last 10 outings. His confidence grows. Not bad for a guy who showed up out of shape, suffered dehydration and eventually was shipped to the D-League.
And not bad for a one-time goalie.