Most college basketball players dream to be drafted into the NBA - when given the opportunity, why didn’t you grab it - What did you say to yourself when offered a lot of money, etc.?

Williams: It wasn’t that hard to turn down, actually. I think that the opportunity to be a kid another year and not have to not worry about the responsibilities of paying bills, and worry about getting an agent and worry about getting an accountant was important. There are the responsibilities of going to school and doing something that I love everyday which is playing basketball which is very gratifying to me. I think that a lot of kids miss out on opportunities sometimes to be in college. To graduate from Duke University in 3 years will be a great honor for me.

What goes through your mind when your team is down or tied - how do you spark your team to rally around and get the best out of them?

Williams: I have not been a guy who is big on what you say or yelling at somebody. I think it’s just the way you handle yourself. If you handle yourself in a manner that you are still going to win the game when you are down and you look like you are not worried about it, I think that makes a difference. I think that often it is not what you say; it’s about what you do and how you act. The way you act is what can really inspire your teammates to step up to another level, also.

Our society is driven to win. Winning seems to be the most important thing. Is this a good thing - and how do you interpret losing?

Williams: I think winning can be a good thing. I think the thing we do at Duke, which is really interesting, is that we learn a lot from winning. Everybody says that it takes a loss to lose and I think it did take a loss for us to lose in a sense. But overall, when we win games here at Duke, and we don’t play well, we might as well have lost the game. The next day is going to be the hardest day - because you know it’s going to be a day when you come in from 2-3 hours of watching tapes and the coach is yelling at you because you know he wants you to get better. Getting by is not what Duke basketball is all about. It’s really going out there and playing really hard. I think that one of the great things about Duke University is that we go out there and are true to ourselves and we are true to our opponents. We play fair and we play hard. If we win the game we win, if we lose the game, we lose.

We are all familiar with the slogan, ‘I want to be like Mike’. How would you translate ‘I want to be like Jason?’ Do you consider yourself to be a role model for youngsters? What is your greatest asset? Who was your inspiration?

Williams: My inspiration was definitely my mother. Seeing her go back to school and working to get her degree to be a Principal really inspired me for the past year. She had to get up early and get ready to go to work and then come home and then go to school and come back really late and then wake up early again - I mean it was really rough. That really inspired me. I think that my overall greatest asset will be graduating from college. It won’t be playing in the NBA - it won’t be anything like that - I think when it comes down to it, having my degree is going to be a really big thing - and I really do hope that I get looked at as being a role model because I am trying to do everything the right way. You know I am trying to show people that you don’t have to leave and never finish your college. There are ways of getting by, still graduating from college, and still fulfilling both of your dreams at the same time - it’s like knocking 2 birds down with 1 stone. So, I really do hope that I can be a role model for people.

In your opinion, how does pro ball differ from college ball? Do players have the same fire within themselves each time they step out on the court?

Williams: Yeah, I think that players have the same pride. You just have to remember that in the NBA you are playing 82 games and players in college play between 32 and 38 games a year. I am beat tired. It gets really difficult to bring that emotion and that level of intensity and enthusiasm every single day. That’s what is expected from me in college. We are told that every time we step out onto the court we are expected to bring that kind of fire and emotion and intensity to every single game. In the NBA, you are playing 82 games. There may be a game at 8:00 p.m. and players catch the red eye and go from one side of the country to the other side of the country and play a game the next day. It can get really tiring. It’s a big job that’s much harder and much more difficult.

Where do you get your drive?

Williams: I think I just want to win all the time. Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to win everything that I played.

What do you play besides basketball?

Williams: The question is what didn’t I play besides basketball! I played everything. When I was little I played soccer. I had the chance to go to Rutgers for soccer. I played volley ball and made Second Team All State in high school, and played tennis with my dad. I could ice skate and played hockey all of the time. I did everything. I was multi-athletic.

What do you hope to do after the NBA with the degree that you get from college?

Williams: Well, I may actually come back here to school. I may want to become a doctor - I’ve been really thinking about that. I have taken some courses and have done really well in science and biology. I may see where that goes. I definitely plan to come back to school after I graduate and get my Masters. I plan to have my own business one day.