Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks and Wizards correspondent, and his own blog, Hoops Haven.
Jay Williams, who last played in an NBA game in 2003, is attempting to relaunch his once promising pro basketball career in China. Jay Will, formerly of Duke, not to be confused with Jason “White Chocolate“Williams was the 2nd overall draft pick of the Chicago Bulls in ’02 behind Yao Ming. A horrific motorcycle accident robbed him of his NBA career and almost his life.
Williams made a valiant attempt at a return to the NBA with his hometown NJ Nets in ’06 who sent him the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, but was waived to further rehab his reconstructed knee. After realizing his playing career was probably over, he excelled as a NCAA and NBA basketball analyst.
The lure of playing basketball on the highest level has once again inspired Williams to attempt yet another comeback, this time with the Chinese Basketball Association(CBA). With a strong showing in their Summer League, he could be drafted on a team for their regular season this Winter. While not of the same caliber as the NBA or even European leagues, the CBA is growing in talent and popularity in recent years with a number of former NBA pros and college players participating in the league. The league made news recently by signing highly ranked HS junior Jeremy Tyler to a 2 year deal, foregoing his senior year in school.
Williams, now 28, was the NCAA Player of the year in ’01 at Duke by leading the ACC in scoring at 21+ ppg and earning Final Four most Outstanding Player as he led a talented Duke squad which included Carlos Boozer, to the ’01 National Title. He finished 6th All Time in scoring for the Blue Devils in only 3 seasons. He also played for the US National Team in the ’02 FIBA World Championships.
Bryan Gates, who coached one of the CBA teams and is an assistant with the Sacramento Kings observed that Williams displayed sharp passes, quick moves, and that opposing guards struggled to defend Williams. He also sports a new tattoo of a Chinese symbol that means sacrifice.
Shawn Kemp, who was supposed to star alongside Williams this Summer, pulled out at the last minute due to recurring “family problems”. Formerly known as “Reign Man” while with the Supersonics, he has quite a following in China since he was drafted by Seattle in ’89. Kemp, now 40, last played in the NBA for the Orlando Magic in 2003. He has had many comeback attempts even most recently in ‘08 with an Italian League team but only played in 3 pre-season games.
Kemp’s son, Shawn Jr, who is a highly rated 6’9, 220 lb center, also has a bright hoops career in front of him since he has committed to play for Alabama in ’09 after being named an alternate for the ’09 McDonalds Classic.
Jay Williams will hopefully get a chance to regain his once promising career while Shawn Kemp continues to destroy his.
Here is some footage of “J Dubs” at his best scoring 17 straight points for Duke vs UCLA in an ’01 Final Four game:
