By Kenroy Ellis

As Jason Williams slashes his way through his defenders and heads for the basket, eyes light up as people wait with bated breath to see what he will do next. The crowd screams and leaps to their feet. Williams scores again and again to lead Duke to yet another victory.

Williams has made his mark as unquestionably the best player in college basketball. A unique and fascinating player, Williams can play the point or the shooting guard spot and his outside shot is as deadly as his explosive first step to the basket. An All-American and the leading candidate for player of the year, Williams, a junior, already has scored more than 1,333 career points. He averages 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.2 steals in his career. His ability to shoot under extreme pressure and defense is clearly what makes him the best player on the nation’s best team. Williams is aspiring to stand amongst the greatest players in NCAA history. His ability to score from all areas and angles on the court, his ability to penetrate off the dribble, his winning attitude, his instinctive understanding of the game, and his ability to get his teammates involved are reasons why he stands amongst the greatest college players of all time.

However, the question that lies within is: Do we know the real Jason Williams off the court?”

Despite the stress, fatigue, hard work, frustration and pressure that are attached to the sport, Williams still manages to maintain an excellent academic standing. He is about to establish a precedent for college athletes by obtaining his college degree in three years, unlike many college athletes who simply bolt for NBA riches and forget about school. Omar Cook, for instance, left St. John’s for the NBA after one year and was eventually cut by the team that drafted him in the second round and is now trying to get back into the NBA.

By coming back to school in a year in which he certainly would have been the Number 1 pick, Williams hopes that earning his degree will set an example to others in a similar position.

How does Williams balance sports with academics? “I think that the biggest thing is getting your priorities straight,” he says. “Sometimes, especially in college, you don’t have time to go out and party or play video games with your friends all the time.” Williams does not define college as being a “stepping stone” to go to the NBA. Instead he views college as a means of obtaining knowledge as the most important asset an individual could ever possess. Williams also did not find it difficult to choose his college education over an opportunity to be drafted into the NBA, which is a common goal and dream for many college basketball players.

“It’s just been a great year for me just being a kid,” Williams says. “You know, going to parties, having fun, hopefully winning a National Championship, playing for another year, playing for a great coach, Coach K, playing with great teammates who are probably going to be playing in the NBA one day - it’s all about having fun.”

Williams is a product of well-grounded parents who still play a major role in Jason’s life. Learning what it’s like to live in the “real world,” Williams lives off campus in his own apartment and pays his own bills. He is an affable young man with a winsome personality and he is inspired by the hard work and willingness to succeed that was instilled in him by his mother and father. Williams hopes he can be an inspiration and role model for many young adults.

“I have never been a guy who was really into reading on the Internet or into reading newspapers, but it just happens in my life, that sometimes when I pick up the newspaper, I see an article that criticizes me a lot,” Williams says. “Like they’ll say that Jason Williams can’t do this - or he can’t shoot free throws - or this part of his game is rough so he needs to work on that…it’s always the guys who are such great basketball players who talk about me, they are the ones who motivate me. I think sometimes reading those things motivates me to become the player that I am. Also it’s just my own inspiration. I just want to be the best I can be and keep working hard until I can be that; working to try to be the best.”

Williams’ inspiration is his mother, and he says that his greatest asset “won’t be playing in the NBA,” it will be his college degree. In fact, Williams says he’s even thinking about coming back to school and earning a postgraduate degree once his basketball career is over. “I may want to become a doctor. I have been thinking about that,” Williams said. “I definitely plan to come back to school after I graduate and get my Masters. I definitely plan to do a lot of great things for my mother and my father since they have given me so much of their time and effort. A lot of people ask me what I want to do after my NBA career. The thing I tell them is that I plan to do a lot during my NBA career with my degree. I think a lot of people use their degree as something they fall back on. I am going to be using my degree all of the time.”

Williams is an extraordinary student-athlete who will almost surely reach NBA stardom. But when you break it down, he is a normal individual, living life in pursuit of happiness and greatness. Williams’ advice and message are geared for kids who are inspired by the things he has done. “I really do hope that I get looked at as being a role model because I am trying to do everything the right way,” Williams says “I am trying to show people that you don’t have to leave and never finish college. There are ways of getting by, still graduating from college and still fulfilling your dreams at the same time; it’s like knocking two birds with one stone.”

One of his dreams may already be complete. Jason Williams is indeed a role model for all student athletes.