By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
They came by the dozens to line up and take a picture with NBA veteran Robert Williams III during his basketball camp Monday on the LSUS campus. Kid after kid, but more significantly, smile after smile.
And the kids enjoyed it too. Robert Williams never got tired of smiling, no matter how many pictures there were.
“I remember being that age,” Williams said. “I would have loved to have my picture, even if I didn’t know who the guy was.”
And if he could have had that opportunity as a kid, who would he want to take his picture with? “Kevin Durant,” he says. “He was kind of my idol for a long time.”
However many campers there were, that’s how many times Williams flashed a smile. Of course, the kids did too, because it’s not every day that you get a chance to meet and take a picture with a six-year NBA player.
But make no mistake about it: Williams wasn’t just there to smile. The event, presented by Caddo Parks and Recreation, had a bigger purpose.
“It’s more than just about basketball,” Williams said. “It’s about instilling certain traits in these kids like respect. That’s what I told them when I walked in. I don’t have a lot of rules, but if you talk to an adult today, you better say ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, sir.’ I’m trying to get to the younger group and set that standard. The purpose of this camp is just to see the smiles and the love.”
It’s not surprising that Williams chose Kevin Durant as his idol because during much of his career at North Caddo, despite being 6-foot-7 at the time, he enjoyed shooting 3-pointers like the NBA All-Star.
“They used to have a little bit of a tussle trying to get me to go into the paint,” Williams said. “But I changed my mind when I figured out it’s all about what the team needs.”
After a career at Texas A&M in which he was twice named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, it was his defense that the Boston Celtics needed when he was selected in the first round (27th overall).
He wasn’t much of a scorer (only once has he averaged double digits for a season), but he became a key member of the Celtics as they grew into a perennial playoff team. The problem was that people began to realize that because he wasn’t on the floor.
It’s been a roll call of injuries for the (now) 6-foot-9 Williams.
In the 2021 playoffs, he suffered both a turf toe and a sprained ankle. The Celtics lost in the first round.
In the 2021-22 season, Williams he had a torn meniscus in his left knee during the regular season. He came back and played in the Finals against Golden State but was still hobbled by injury as the Celtics lost the series.
He played in only 35 games the following 82-game regular season due to knee surgery.
He has also had to deal with a vascular disease in both legs.
“My career has always been like that,” Williams said. “It’s something we can prepare for and try to prevent. You just have to get through it and come out strong.”
Then there was something else had to deal with – getting traded to the Portland Trail Blazers before this season began. On top of that – you guessed it – he got injured after only six games. This time, it was his right knee.
“It was tough with the trade and then to get hurt for the year,” Williams said. “But it helped me to work on my body to get better because that’s stuff I can’t work on during the season. I spent a lot of time with family and I did a lot of soul searching. There’s no reason to be miserable for the whole season so I had to find the good in it.”
Just this week, there have been reports that the Sacramento Kings might be looking to acquire Williams in a trade.
“I hear a lot of rumors but I try to keep my head out of it,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of trade talk and a lot of stuff going on. You just have to buckle down and work as hard as you can during the summer and whenever the time comes in September to get on the court, you have to be ready for it.”
Not only to get on the court, but to stay on the court.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com