Remember when I said Ben Couch’s interview with me was the best one I have done? Well, that didn’t last too long. Today I was able to interview Terrence Willaims, who I once Twitterviewed, over the phone. It is a bit short (only around 10 minutes – because of me, not him), but there is a lot of real good stuff and it is an awesome listen if you can get over me acting like a nervous 12 year old girl. For those who can’t, the transcript is after the jump. You can listen to the windows media file here, or you can just click play on the MP3 file below.
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Again, a big thank you goes out to Terrence Williams. He took the time out of what I am sure is his busy day, and he let me interview him. Transcript can be found after the jump.
NAS: When you heard your name get called and you realized that you were a NJ Net. What went through your head?
Terrence Williams: A big market
NAS: When I interviewed you over Twitter before, you said that if the Nets drafted you, you were looking forward to learning from Vince Carter. Are you a little disappointed he was traded?
Terrence Williams: Yeah. A lot, because that is somebody you look up to as a kid and you respect what he does for this game and to think about getting an opportunity to play with him and then not, it’s really disappointing.
NAS: What did the [summer league] games feel like? Did they feel like real games, or did they feel like scrimmages?
Terrence Williams: It felt more like a scrimmage. I mean you got refs and rules of the NBA are applied, but at the end of the day, it feels like a scrimmage. The other thing is we didn’t have our team, we had the split team so it definitely felt like a scrimmage.
NAS: What was the dynamics of that [The Split Team]? Did you talk to the guys on the Sixers, or did you just hang out with guys from the Nets?
Terrence Williams: We hung out with everybody. At the end of the day, we are cool people at it’s basketball, you know? But the split team is not something that should be continuing to go on.
NAS: Not to make excuse for you or your play, but did that effect your game?
Terrence Williams: Nah. I mean it was weird with split teams everybody was playing for different reasons, to be honest. Some people want to win because they already have contracts, some people want to show what they can do to get contracts, some people want to just score and win the MVP award or something. It effected what I do somewhat in terms of touching the ball or sometimes you may get upset because you are back down on defense but then you don’t touch the ball or get a rebound.
NAS: Have you talked with Lawrence Frank yet? If so, what about?
Terrence Williams: We talk almost every other day. Sometimes it isn’t even about basketball, we just shake hands and talk and stuff like that. He tells me what I need to do, as far as getting stronger with my legs and when I come to work out.
NAS: Do you talk with any of the players on the Nets?
Terrence Williams: I talk with a lot of the players. I was just working out with Sean and CDR, so I talk to them. I’ve talked to Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee. I have talked to a few of those guys.
NAS: When the Nets drafted you, I was really excited about your versatility. You can play a number of different positions. Is there a specific position you want to play in the pros?
Terrence Williams: Wherever they put me, but I played a lot of point this week in Vegas at Grgurich’s Camp and I think I did well. I did well with the ball in my hands when I was playing the point with my size seeing the court, taking the initial point off the ball and putting him in scoring mode. I liked playing point.
NAS: There are critics out there who call you a “tweener” saying you can do a lot of things well, but nothing great. What do you say to them?
Terrence Williams: You continue to work on what you do good. A lot of people want players that can do one thing great and a lot of things good. But if I can work on everything I do good, it can become great.
NAS: What part of your game are you working on the most?
Terrence Williams: There isn’t really a “most” everything is the same every day. Being on time as far as dribbling, shooting, and working in the weight room.
NAS: How is your shot coming along?
Terrence Williams: Good. Coach Frank has me working on my footwork and trying to stay balance. When I shot the corner 3, landing in the same.
NAS: You are very active on Twitter and have a blog over at RookieChronicles.com, do you like connecting with the fans that way?
Terrence Williams: Yeah, why not? Some of the fans actually believe that basketball players are too cocky or arrogant, and some believe that we’re not real, that we’re not human as funny as it may sound. So I believe that if a kid can get on Twitter and ask me a question and I answer it, I don’t know if I put a smile on the kid’s face, but if somebody was my hero when I was little and I could get on Twitter and write them a question and they answer, it would make my day. If you could get on XBox live and play against somebody you look up to in video games, it would make that person’s day.
NAS: Who were some of your heroes growing up basketball-wise?
Terrence Williams: Magic Johnson. I wanted to be Magic Johnson.
NAS: Scouts love your defense. Do you take pride in your defense?
Terrence Williams: I take pride in being Gary Payton’s friend. He plays defense, so that is where that comes from.
NAS: Do you have any expectations for the team or yourself?
Terrence Williams: No, you don’t go in expecting something because if you don’t get it, you’d be upset in the long run. If you go into the season and say I expect 40 wins, we could mess around and win more and go to the playoffs. I just expect for everyone to come out and play hard starting from training camp, in good condition and we will go from there.
NAS: I was reading a Luke Winn SI.com article about you and it says you have a little pregame speech you give yourself. When did you start doing that?
Terrence Williams: In college.
NAS: Do you care to repeat it, or is it a personal thing?
Terrence Williams: It’s something personal, but to sum it up, it just basically says go out and play hard, have fun, don’t take anything for granted because somebody has it worse off . And then I tell my family and the Lord to watch over me while I play on this court to protect me and everybody else on this court, the players, from injury. And just to have fun.
NAS: It was much talked about that you had a Barbie backpack when you were over at Louisville. Did you bring it to Jersey with you?
Terrence Williams: First of all, I had a Barbie backpack when I was in ninth grade. In Louisville, I didn’t even carry a backpack. So, I don’t know where people get that from, when they say in college. No, it was when I was 15 years old.
NAS: How are you liking Jersey?
Terrence Williams: Jersey is cool, besides the fact that major restaurants and stuff close around 11 or 12. Another thing that is different about Jersey is the weather, so far in the summer it has been hot. In Seattle, it’s cold and almost raining every day.
NAS: Thank you very much for taking the time out for the interview. I had fun, thanks.
Terrence Williams: Alright.
