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Bulpett/May On Eric Williams
Boston Herald
C's Williams leaves evil twin behind
by Steve Bulpett
Wednesday, October 6, 1999
Between continual updates on Pedro Martinez and Drew Bledsoe, you may have
noticed the Celtics picked up a guy named Eric Williams. And maybe you're
wondering, is this the same Eric Williams the Celtics had two years ago?
The answer is . . . more or less.
This is decidedly less than the Williams who was sent to Denver for two
second-round draft picks so the Celts would have money to sign immortals
Chris Mills and Tyus Edney. Williams was around 240 pounds when the C's
drafted him in 1995, and he had ballooned to 270 by his exit.
Maybe Denver has bad restaurants, but Williams showed up at training camp
this week sporting a sleek and muscular 225-pound body.
The ``more'' comes in when Williams talks about his personal changes.
He was basically dispatched from the Celtics when he failed to keep
appointments with strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown in that
first summer of Rick Pitino, and the coach drew a line in the sand on him.
``I was younger back then,'' said Williams, pleased with his new chance
with the Celtics. ``I'm more about professionalism now.
``When I went out to Colorado and then when I went down (for all but four
games of the '97-98 season with a torn right ACL), it gave me more time to
assess what was going on as far as me being a businessperson and a
professional athlete. I knew I had to come back in the right physical
shape. I had to work hard, and all that did was make me a better person
and a better athlete.''
Williams scored 26 points in two of those pre-injury games, but when he
came back last season, there was a new coach and a generally unsettled
result for him. He was said to be over the knee problem, but was a DNP by
coach's decision 10 times and averaged just 7.3 points for the year.
``I came to practice and I worked hard,'' Williams said. ``I felt I was
one of the best players on that team, and the organization, I guess,
thought otherwise.''
Now he thinks it is time to erase any issues Pitino had about his
dedication. After the first of two practices yesterday, everything was on
proper track.
``It was everything I expected, and it was good,'' Williams said of the
three-hour session. ``The guys came in in shape. I didn't want to be one
of the guys that didn't come in shape. You don't want to be labeled as not
a hard worker.''
And he doesn't want to squander another opportunity in Boston, a city
close to his New Jersey home and near where he went to college
(Providence).
``I'm happy for the chance to start all over again and come back to the
Boston Celtics, the place I want to end my career at,'' Williams said.
``It was motivation,'' he added, referring to having been traded by the
C's. ``I wanted to get back in here and prove I grew up a little bit and
that I can be committed to be in the best shape of my life.''
Having seen the NBA from a different time zone, Williams sounds more
appreciative of his surroundings here.
``The only organization I'd ever known was the Boston Celtics, and
everything else, if it didn't meet to that expectation, then it was like a
letdown,'' he said. ``There were times when I could say I didn't really
want to play there (in Denver). There were other times when there were a
lot of ups and downs. But I know here you've got to be on an up all the
time.''
That's Eric Williams talking - the one with less body and more
perspective.
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
He'll second that
After first try went awry, Williams looks
for better fit with Celtics
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/06/99
WALTHAM - He never wanted to go. He
never thought he'd go. Eric
Williams figured he and Antoine Walker
would be the bookend forwards of the
Celtics well into the millennium.
They still may be. Williams has been
welcomed back like a chastened schoolchild
and forgiven for being a stubborn summer
guy two years ago when he wasn't Pitino
Punctual.
Rick Pitino didn't want him then. Pitino
said he wants him now.
There aren't too many times when a player
gets traded and then is back in a couple
of years. In Celtic history, Don Chaney
was traded in 1975 and then brought back a
few years later. Sean Elliott was dealt to
Detroit and then brought back to San
Antonio, where he won a championship.
Williams, a 1995 first-round draft pick
from Providence College, played his first
two years in Boston and played well. Now,
after two forgettable years in Chernobyl
by the Rockies, he is elated to have his
No. 55 back and Walker at his side again.
Williams and Denver were a bad fit. His
first year was lost to injury. His second
was lost, period; he was a black hole on
offense, couldn't score, and was grounded
for 20 percent of the season by coach Mike
D'Antoni.
As you might expect, Williams doesn't have
a lot of fond Denver memories, although
when he first got there, he was excited
and eager. He was terrific for four games
in 1997-98 and then blew out his knee.
Last year, he was plain awful. He said the
Nuggets didn't bother with defense - only
Sacramento allowed more points and only
the Clippers allowed opponents to shoot a
higher percentage. Williams watched most
of it, playing only 20 minutes a game.
''The organization didn't want to risk
playing me [after his injury], that's all
I can think of,'' he said. Another theory:
Williams thought he was a scorer, thought
he had to score, and that is not his game.
''There were times when I can say I didn't
really want to play there,'' he said.
''Other times, there were a lot of ups and
downs. I know here you've got to be on an
up all the time. I have put in the time
and effort. I'm mentally prepared to go.
I'm physically prepared to go.''
It's way too early to plug Williams into
where he was when he last was here - a
34-minute a game starting small forward
with a penchant for getting to the line,
numerous up-fakes, and, when the spirit
moved him, on-the-ball defense. There's
plenty of competition at small forward;
Walker may well start there while Calbert
Cheaney and Paul Pierce also are
comfortable there.
Mostly, though, Williams is happy to be
back. He wasn't happy when he was traded
the first time. He was happy to be traded
a second time. Even with the revolving
turnstile roster the Celtics have had the
last couple of years, there are still
familiar faces around: Walker, Dana
Barros, Pervis Ellison, and, lest we
forget, three former Nuggets (Danny
Fortson, Eric Washington, and Tony
Battie), who were on the 11-71 squad of
1997-98.
''It's like I never missed a beat,'' he
said. ''It took me being away for me to
know what I had. And I'm back. I always
thought I was going to be a Celtic my
whole career. I just went away for a
couple years and now I'm back again. It's
up to me to make the best of it.''
Williams went through his first Pitino
practice yesterday as the Celtics
officially opened camp at their new
practice facility. There was another
practice last night and there will be
two-a-days for the next week. It's always
a good idea to come to camp in shape and
Williams looks a lot like he did when he
was a rookie in Boston in 1995.
The torn ACL suffered in 1997 has healed.
The Pillsbury Doughboy look that he
brought to camp in 1996 has disappeared
and, in its place, is a sleek, trim, fit
forward. Pitino noted that in the very
first practice, Williams was back to his
old ways, putting the ball on the floor,
going to the basket, and drawing fouls.
''He's quick. He's got one of the best
first steps I've seen,'' Pitino said.
And what does Williams think of playing
for the man who banished him to Denver for
two second-round picks?
''It's motivation for me,'' he said. ''To
get back here, to [show] that I grew up a
little bit, that I can be committed. I'm
ready to go.''
This story ran on page F01 of the Boston
Globe on 10/06/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.