Jay Williams is a two time college all american,national champion and former professional basketball player ( 2nd overall pick just after Yao Ming in the 2002 NBA Draft.) His career was promising, his future bright. But fate intervened. In this retrospective, Paul Savramis discusses the remarkable spirit of the former Rising Stars student athlete.
Q: How do you know Jay Williams?
Paul Savramis: Jay was one of my most promising student athletes in high school. We grew very close as he matured into a young man. In my opinion not only was Jay unquestionably one of the best point guards in college basketball history but also one of the best rounded students in college . Though he no longer plays, Jay is now among the top basketball analysts at ESPN and Rising Stars’ Goodwill Ambassador.
Q: Why did you encourage Williams to finish college instead of going directly into the NBA?
Paul Savramis: Jay was offered the chance to leave Duke after winning a national championship his sophomore year as the number one pick in the NBA draft. As proud as I and his parents were of his accomplishments on the court, we all agreed that Jay’s basketball skills were rivaled only by his academic prowess. We all agreed that professional basketball could wait one more year. He proved that was the right decision when he earned a degree from the University in just three years, which for Duke is a highly unusual feat. Today that accomplishment off the court is as regarded as those he has made on it.
Q: Why did Williams leave basketball?
Paul Savramis: Jay had a near-fatal motorcycle accident in June of 2003 that cost him his career and nearly his life. However, he survived and is thriving as a motivational speaker and top analyst for ESPN. He recently released a book titled Life is not an Accident – Memoirs of Reinvention. Instead of falling into depression and sadness over what he lost, Jay has gained a new passion for a life he only dreamed as possible.
Q: How did Williams get involved with Rising Stars as an ambassador?
Paul Savramis: After his accident, Jay knew he’d never play again. He felt , however, that if he could utilize basketball to help keep one child off the street that his bad luck was not for naught. He asked me what he could do to get involved with Rising Stars. Jay wanted to give back to a program he held dear and focus the world’s attention on something more than his accident.
I won’t lie, I didn’t hesitate to accept his help. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to be able to see Jay and so many of my other former students as grown men coming back to Rising Stars to foster a new generation’s love of the game and help make a difference in their lives.