Jason Williams-Stalking Horse??

[keithg]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=Ao4vUUE2P6szANOpCxBAAebevbYF?slug=ys-agents031109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I refuse to call him Jay, btw...

[Billy Dat]

Jeez - yet another example of liking the hot dog but not wanting to see how it is made. Just reading this thing made my skin crawl, especially JDubs' role. Kevin Love managed a nice nasty jab at him too, ugh.

[AtlBluRew]

It's a smarmy business. I hate seeing JW involved in that

[yancem]

It's a smarmy business. I hate seeing JW involved in that

To say the least! I couldn't even finish the article. It's disapointing to see any former Duke player involved in this kind of cess pool, let alone one of the all time greats that sure has better open doors to walk through.

[geraldsneighbor]

It hurts reading this being he is my favorite Duke player of all-time. I really wish he wouldn't have gotten involved in this business because Ceruzzi sports or whatever sounds pretty sketchy.

[geraldsneighbor]

I hate Kevin Love now. Why do you bring up the motorcycle accident?

[zingit]

To be fair, it sounds like Williams went in with innocent intentions and backed out once he started to see what they were up to:


Using the access Barrett offered, Grantham sent in his star recruiter, Williams, to court Love and other Pac-10 players. Williams was working for ESPN as a color commentator and had been hired as a salaried employee by Ceruzzi Sports. He envisioned it as an entry-level job with a future as a full-time sports agent. He was out of the NBA but at 26 still carried cache with young players.

“That’s what I was used for, the wow stick,” Williams said.

[. . .]

Williams left Ceruzzi Sports after efforts to sign Love failed saying he grew disenchanted with an industry where agents thought they could “buy off” prospects. He was also troubled by the cutthroat battles for clients.

[. . .]

It’s a different level, man,” Williams said. “The agents are the guys making a lot of money. Middle people get a [percentage point of a player’s contract] here, or cash there. That’s how you eat. I’ve seen grown men get jumped for ratting somebody out. I’ve seen it. That’s one reason I stepped away.

[davekay1971]

Read the whole article. Jay's comments toward the end are interesting and informative. It sounds like he got into the business, got a very bad taste, and got out. I'm not judging the guy for that...

[SupaDave]

All you gotta know is that money changes things.

[Acymetric]

I hate Kevin Love now. Why do you bring up the motorcycle accident?

Yeah. Wow, a twenty-something year old guy did something stupid and got one of the worst possible outcomes from it. Low class.

[-jk]

Yeah. Wow, a twenty-something year old guy did something stupid and got one of the worst possible outcomes from it. Low class.

Let's take it easy, folks.

-jk

[devildownunder]

couldn't get the link to work.

[gumbomoop]

All you gotta know is that money changes things.

True enough. As a very interesting poet once put it, "Money doesn't talk, it swears." Truer still.

[dukemsu]

This story just made me sad, period. From the outside looking in, it seems like JWill is searching for his niche, which would be tough considering he was planning on nearing his prime as a player right about now. Sounds like he has learned that the agent game is not for him.

I know what happened to him was something he could have prevented by not getting on that bike, but it is still sad. I hope he's able to find his spot. I thought he was doing a good job as an analyst, not sure if he is still doing it.

I hope he remembers how much support he has from the Duke family. I did not attend Duke but have seen how much the Duke community loves the guy-starting with K.

I am no psychiatrist or anything, this is just a roundabout way of hoping that JWill is able to find his way on his path. I am sure this is not what he had in mind.

dukemsu

[jma4life]

Maybe I'm going too far with this but honesty, I lost pretty much all respect for Love after that comment. No need to take that kind of a cheap shot at Williams. I wouldn't put it past him still being upset about not getting recruited by Duke.

And I don't know what he's saying about being a down to earth kid. Maybe he's changed but all reports out of high school were that he was one of the more arrogant kids coming out from his class.

[Greg_Newton]

I hope he's able to find his spot. I thought he was doing a good job as an analyst, not sure if he is still doing it.
dukemsu

I actually saw him on an ESPN bracket panel thing today after I read that article, so he must still be doing okay with that. He seems like too likable and ambitious of a guy to not be successful in the long run. Best of luck to him.

[jma4life]

Yea, he's on the ESPN college show pretty often, or at least a high percentage of the times that I actually turn it on. To be honest, I thought he was pretty average as an announcer/analyst when he first began but he's been really good the times that I've seen him this year. Definitely has a future in that gig if thats what he wants to keep doing.