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Don's Dynamic Diary

Dear Diary:
My Afternoon with T-Will :))

Recently, I sat down with Louisville "gunner" Terrence Williams to discuss the upcoming season.  It took me two to three weeks to fully decipher all that was discussed, thus my brief yet devastating hiatus.

As I took my seat across from T-Will at an area Starbucks (I wanted
Heine Brothers...T-Will said it was too "weird"), I realized
he was different from the player I watched on TV…he was not white.
From his countless ill-advised three point hoists to his no-look
"whip" passes into the post, Williams' play certainly mirrors that of
a Damon Bailey or, more recently, Greg (the great) Paulus.  His only
saving grace is his gravity-defying dunks and blazing speed.  So, I
guess I did know he was black; I just couldn't find a better way to
lead into the interview.

Me: Hello Terrence, thanks for coming.
Terrence: It's T-Will.
Me: Of course it is.  My apologies.  Before your freshman year here
at Da 'Ville, you said that you hated Kentucky.  After two attempts,
though, you haven't come close to beating them.  Are you afraid that
you may have cursed your team as you were a large reason for both
defeats?
T-Will: I know that if I press and take enough shots, we're going to
win.  Remember when "Pistol-face" hit that three at Marquette to win?
Who else was on the court?
Me: I see that you refer to Jerry Smith as "Pistol-face."  I guess we
can assume the rumors about the altercation at practice to be true?
T-Will: Look, if anyone is going to pistol-whip someone on this team,
it's going to be Edgar.  That little fireball doesn't own a
wife-beater that isn't blood-stained.
Me: Going into last season, you were touted as the star of the team,
how did that affect you?
T-Will: Being a mediocre player at best, I thought that if I really
improved on some little things, I would truly look like the star I was
supposed to be.  It's really all about perception.
Me: Could you elaborate on that?
T-Will: No.
Me: Please?
T-Will: No.
Me: C'mon!
T-Will: OK.  Things like over-celebrating.  If you ever watch a player
that gets a lot of pub for doing very little, you notice that the
really go nuts when they do anything remotely good.  Greg Paulus has
really perfected this act; I really look up to him.  He's truly an
inspiration to highly praised players with little talent.  I remember
hitting a three one time last year, and I screamed and flexed my
muscles for like fifteen seconds.  Sure our press broke down as a
result, but I am universally used as an avatar now!
Me: Anything else?
T-Will: Shooting a lot.  Anytime you shoot a lot in the game, the
announcers will assume that the offense runs through you and they give
you the benefit of the doubt.  They just think you are having an off
game.
Me: How much would you say you have grown-up from last year?
T-Will: I mean, probably less than an inch if anything.
Me: I meant as a player…
T-will: Oh.  Well, still, very little.  I still plan to take a lot of
threes, play lax defense, and force passes in transition.  That's
really my game.  I don't know how to play any other way.

T-Will is a member of my All I-would-never-allow-my-daughter-to-bring-this-guy-home Team, to be released later this week.

The writer can be reached at don@thespottedbass.com.

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