Jay Williams
From Hoopedia
Jason "Jay" Williams (born September 10, 1981 in Plainfield, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player. He last signed with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, but was waived on December 30, 2006 to rehabilitate a nagging injury. Even though his first name is actually Jason, he asked to be known as "Jay" upon joining the National Basketball Association in 2002. This was necessary to avoid confusion with then-active NBA players Jason Williams and Jayson Williams. Williams claimed that "Jay" was what he was called by those close to him.
The 6'2" (188 cm) point guard grew up in New Jersey, and attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, graduating in 1999. He not only excelled at basketball, but took an active interest in other activities, notably chess. His nickname in high school was "Jay Dubs." He also played junior varsity soccer during his freshman year and varsity volleyball during his senior year. In college, he was a star at Duke University where he graduated in three years, and had his jersey number #22 retired. After his junior season, he became the most sought-after American player in the 2002 NBA Draft. He was voted as the best player in college basketball and received the Naismith Award. Subsequently, he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the second overall pick, after Chinese player Yao Ming was selected first by the Houston Rockets.
Williams was a starter in the Bulls' line-up for most of the 2002-03 NBA season. Although his performance was inconsistent and he competed for playing time with Jamal Crawford, he showed signs of promise including posting a triple-double in a win over his hometown New Jersey Nets.
His life almost ended on June 19, 2003. After speaking to youths at a basketball camp about personal responsibilty, he crashed his motorcycle into a pole at the intersection of Fletcher and Honore in Chicago, Illinois. Williams was driving a new Yamaha YZF-R6, a powerful sport bike. Williams severed a main nerve in his leg, fractured his pelvis and tore three ligaments in his left knee including the ACL and required physical therapy to regain the use of his leg. Many months later, after it was clear he would not be returning to the Bulls for some time (if at all), they waived him and drafted point guard Kirk Hinrich to take his place. The Bulls could have refused to pay Williams (since he violated his contract by riding a motorcycle), but instead they offered a buyout worth approximately $3 million. At the time, it was not clear that he would be able to return to professional basketball, although he continued to train toward that goal. In the interim, he appeared in college and high school basketball broadcasts on ESPN as a color commentator.
In the summer of 2006, Williams impressed scouts with his recovery efforts. On September 28, 2006, the New Jersey Nets announced that the organization had signed Williams to a non-guaranteed contract, giving the guard the opportunity to play for his hometown team. However, on October 22, Williams was released.
On December 30, 2006, Williams was waived by the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League due to injury.
He attended grammar school at Sacred Heart in South Plainfield, New Jersey.
Williams has since announced that he has no plans at the moment to resume his basketball career. He is currently working for a fitness company and doing motivational speaking.
