The Toros sent a distress signal out into the farthest reaches of the basketball universe last Friday in an attempt to right their badly teetering ship and make something out of a season that’s in danger of spiraling wildly out of control:
“SOS! SOS!”
(Which, in this case, didn’t stand for “Save Our Ship” but rather “Shit! Oh and Six!”)
Taking pity on the flailing D-Leaguers, the basketball gods heard these lamentations and sent them what could be a miracle: former Duke superstar and No. 2 NBA draft pick Jay Williams. Now I say “could be” because Williams is a question mark if there ever was one: a once-great prospect blessed with a deep well of talent and potential but cursed with afflictions that would give even Job pause.
On June 19, 2003, after an encouraging rookie NBA season, Williams crashed his motorcycle into a light pole in Chicago, fracturing his pelvis, tearing knee ligaments, and causing nerve damage in his left leg. The damage was so severe, in fact, that doctors thought they might have to amputate his leg, which is, nine times out of 10, unwelcome news for a basketball player. He spent 3 1/2 months in the hospital and was eventually waived by the Chicago Bulls, who, in an act of generosity rarely seen these days (especially in the world of professional sports), agreed to buy out the point guard’s three-year, $16 million contract for $3 million, this despite terms in the contract that expressly forbade Williams from riding a motorcycle. In other words, the Bulls had every legal right to simply waive the poor guy and leave him to his own devices, without a penny to his name or a friend in the world, but they chose instead to perform a mitzvah and do right by their young star. Almost makes you want to be a Bulls fan.
So Williams took the next three years and went through intense rehab, getting himself back into fighting form. Now he’s looking to get back home to the NBA. He took his first shot this summer, signing a nonguaranteed contract with the New Jersey Nets, who, unfortunately, were flush with both guaranteed-contract players and guards and so had to let him go. So, like all right-thinking individuals, Williams left the East Coast and moved to Austin, where, this past Friday, the Toros announced his signing, along with the resultant waiving of recently drafted point guard Melvin Scott, which followed hard upon the news from earlier in the week that the team had waived second-year center Jeff Hagen and re-signed forward Justin Bowen, whom they had let go on the last day of training camp only two weeks prior. Musical chairs of this magnitude only weeks into a season are never a good sign.
(It’s funny: Just when you’re getting comfortable with a team, the coach goes and changes everything up on you, leaving you out in the cold again, like your feelings and opinions don’t mean anything. I’ve been with this team since open tryouts back in October; they’re my people. So why wouldn’t coach Johnson consult me on these lineup changes? Just when you think you know a guy.)
Anyway, William’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Toros have looked miserable through six games. Here’s hoping the much-touted young point guard with much to prove is the answer to their problems: the floor general they’ve been sorely missing, ready to lead his young tribe out of the seemingly endless desert of minor-league irrelevance and into the promised land of playoff contention.
Okay, Jay Williams, this is Austin calling out to you.
You’re our guy now, our miracle man, our Lazarus: back from the dead to demonstrate to all us sinners the abiding power of redemption.
We’re counting on you.
You’re counting on you.
No pressure.
Welcome to Austin.
This article appears in December 8 • 2006.