by Ryan Rogers
LSU senior Jermaine Williams has been roaming the court for the Tigers for four years now. His style of play has been about as textbook as you can imagine, and his career was basically summed up best by head coach John Brady after a recent game.
“I really like what Jermaine does for us,” Brady said. “He isn’t flashy and he doesn’t score a lot, but he does the little things so well and possesses the intangibles of a good basketball player that makes our team better. That’s what I really like about Jermaine.”
True to form, it’s quite obvious the Tigers are a better team when Williams is on the court. And that’s saying something, considering Williams is not a primary scoring threat, averaging 5.4 points per game.
In an age when big statistics are the only criteria used by fans and media to establish who the “good” players are, Williams often gets overlooked. So what exactly does Williams do that makes him so valuable?
It’s really hard to put what he does in writing. To see Williams’ subtle but significant contributions, you have to really pay close attention to his every move on the court. Watch how he glides across the floor, always in proper position both offensively and defensively. Watch how he settles his team down, a team that needs to be settled down when it succumbs to sporadic play. Or watch how he is fundamentally sound in defending, rebounding and passing.
Most importantly, watch how unselfish, yet bold Williams is. He truly knows his role on the team. He seeks and dishes the ball off to open shooters, yet still has the courage to drive to the basket or take the big shot, if necessary.
“It obvious that this team doesn’t need me to score with guys like Ronald (Dupree), Collis (Temple) and Torris (Bright),” Williams said. “I guess it just doesn’t seem right for me to take 15 shots a game. But then, if those guys aren’t on one night, I take the initiative to try and make something happen. My biggest job is to defend and rebound and keep everyone together so we can get some victories.”
For Williams, all four seasons at LSU have been inconceivably different journeys. As a true freshman for a young team, he was counted on to come off the bench and spark the offense with three pointers. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Tigers to an SEC championship and NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. And, over the past two years, Williams and his teammates have had to dig deep and scuffle to turn a season around in the second half of SEC play.
“When I was a freshmen I came in under two seniors Maurice Carter and Willie Anderson,” Williams said. “They told me to spot up and shoot and I ended up making big plays and big threes. By my sophomore year my job was to drive to the goal and not shoot from the outside so much. Now I try to do both.”
A word that has been associated with Williams throughout his career at LSU is “unselfish.” The senior forward has never tried to do more than he was capable of, and he always has gotten all of his teammates involved.
“You have to be humble,” Williams said. “I gained that from being a Christian. I live by the creed, ‘God First, everything else last’ I use the same aspect in basketball, put the team first and me last. It’s never been part of my persona to take 20 shots a game. I was like that in high school, but that’s never been my role on this team.”
When asked how he feels this season has unfolded so far, Williams’ only response is, “It hurts.” But neither he nor any of his teammates are ready to give up just yet.
“I want to go to the post-season,” he said. “I don’t care what it takes. It’s easy to say we are going to turn things around, but we’ve lost four in a row now and there are some doubts. We need to get some type of streak going heading into the SEC Tournament.”
Williams has learned a lot of lessons over the past four years, but going to college helped him learn his biggest lesson was right at home.
“I learned to respect my family,” Williams explained. “They come and support me and they really don’t have to do it. The last two games I played terrible, but they still are there to encourage me. No matter how good or bad I play they show me the same amount of affection. They keep my confidence up and my faith high.”
Williams wants to go out a winner, and he looks at this team’s future and is encouraged by its prospects.
“They have some great guys coming in next year,” he said. “The nucleus of the team will only get stronger. If they don’t compete for the SEC championship next year something is wrong.”