Where'd you go, White Chocalate?

By Steve Apel Sports Central Columnist

Jason Williams, the seventh pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, was anything but a sure thing coming out of the University of Florida. The guy only played about 20 games before Billy Donovan kicked him off the team for drug violations. As with any troubled athlete, the signs were there.

He was a high school teammate of Randy Moss... Randy Moss! Could this match be anymore perfect? Moss, who's off-the-field troubles didn't allow him to play at Notre Dame or Florida State, has hit the pipe once or twice in his day.

Both players fall into the category of talented athletes who just "don't get it." Jason Williams has as much talent as any point guard in the NBA, yet he still chooses to fire up 30-foot bombs in the fourth quarter. He would complain in Sacramento about riding in the pine when the game was on the line, what's going through his head? Rick Adelman naturally felt much safer having the game Bobby Jackson's hands, a guard who knew he was in to distribute, not to throw the game away.

Williams turns the ball over like Jason Kidd drops assists. Although the fans want to see him out there, even they get weary of seeing his behind-the-back passes sailing into the fifth row. There is a time and a place for everything, but J-Will couldn't figure that out. He thought it was showtime all the time. That's why he was on the end of the bench, Adelman wanted to keep him as far away as possible if that's going to be his impact.

It started so sweet for Williams in Sac-town. When the Kings took the Jazz to a Game 5 overtime in his rookie year, it looked as if something special could be brewing. It did, but J-Will got kicked to the curb before things really got rolling.

Although Chris Webber will get all the credit for the Kings' turnaround, it was because of Williams the fans came, and it was because of Williams there was excitement over this once-pathetic excuse for a franchise. True Kings fans know J-Will's significance to Sacramento, something everyone seems to forget when Mike Bibby is taking over in the playoffs.

Williams is now but a distant memory in Sacramento, and he's currently providing his skills to the lowly Grizzlies. He went from being the man to being a nobody on a team that's worse than the Kings were when he first arrived.

If there is a silver lining, it's in his first year, Williams did lead the Grizzlies to a franchise record in wins. Oh, by the way, it was 23 games! The Grizz have been cursed ever since they wasted their inaugural pick on Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. "Big Country" contributed about as much as Michael Bolton did to music. Reeves claimed to have "retired," when really he just sugarcoated his inability to make an NBDL squad.

All hope is not lost for Jason Williams. Memphis does have a collection of talented youth that could contend in the future. Well they did with Bibby and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, but those players both knew what was good for them and got out of there.

Jerry West is leading the ship now, so if anyone is capable of turning it around, it's him. The guy did bring in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, thus rebuilding the Lakers' dynasty.

Hey, Jerry, you forgot one thing. You don't have the California appeal, no one wants to go to a town full of Elvis crazies. Your franchise record for wins is 23, and no one wants to hear Randy Travis instead of Jay-Z.

Ghandi couldn't turn this ship around. The Grizz are headed for Loserville every year. Get out of there, Jerry West, before they ruin you, as well.

It'll be interesting to see if West bails on J-Will once he finds some takers. Williams isn't exactly a player's coach, so his stay in Graceland could be brief. If anything, he's doing White Chocolate a favor. With his amount of skill and fan appeal, there has to be somebody out there who wants this guy.

A player of his ability should be running the show in Dallas. Better yet, he should quit the NBA and join the And1 Mix Tape Tour. It would be a perfect fit, a bunch of players who say "I coulda, woulda" when they forgot one thing, they didn't! The difference between them and J-Will would be that he got his shot, and he flushed it down the toilet.

Williams' future in the NBA is very uncertain. If West runs him out of Memphis, his chances of fulfilling his potential look bleak. If he knows what's good for him, he'll study some John Stockton tapes, listen to his coaches, and pull back on the 35-foot heaves late in the game.

Jason, you could be a great player in this league for a very long, long time. You are wasting your talent by not playing to the level you are capable of. You owe it to your teammates and the fans. Don't forget the people in the seats are the reason why you are a multimillionaire.

If the Grizzlies are ever going to amount to anything, it's going to be because of you. So forget the media, and go back to what you did when you were a rookie. If you don't start turning it around, you are going to be playing on blacktop's a lot sooner than you thought.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.