Merry is a regular poster and a good friend to us at DBR. She penned this message about her feelings when she heard about Jason Williams' accident, and agreed to share them with the readers. This was written on June 21.
I just can't put in to words how sick I am over Jay's accident.
Obviously I am relieved that he did not suffer head injuries and his
life is not
in danger. Of course I am a lot more concerned about his health and well
being
than his NBA career (although there is a piece of me that agrees with
those
who've posted that it feels like many of our best players have been
cursed).I just realized the other day, I've been a Duke fan for 30 years. The
amount
of time and energy I devote to Duke basketball has gone up and down over
the
years with all time highs probably being the 1978 and 2001 seasons, and
all time
lows being around 81-82 when I was living in Maryland, couldn't afford
trips out
of town and Duke was basically never on TV. There have been players I've
been
crazy about and who could do no wrong in my book and many that I have
admired
immensely as players or people or both. There have been teams, games and
just
special moments that really lifted my heart. I know you guys all know
what I
mean. After the early exits of 1999 (especially Avery who I loved
watching) I
told myself the days of watching a kid grow up over the course of their
career
at Duke are probably over, and it's better not to place to much stock infreshmen and sophomores because they may not stick around. But at
midnight
madness on October 1999 Jason Williams took my breathe away and somehow
I never
quite got it back.His game was one thing (one amazing thing) but he had this enthusiasm
and
determination, and he seemed just so young and sincere. I mean that in a
good
way - the quality the DBR calls earnestness, his playfulness, his
obvious love
of hoops so strong that after watching a women's basketball game he
often
couldn't resist going out on the court to shoot around with the little
kids. One
night in January 2000 after just such a game he squatted down for a face
to face
conversation with my then 4 year old son and autographed his basketball.
Any of
you Moms out there know the feeling - my heart just melted.Now my heart breaks for him for having to go through this. I know he
will get
through it and come out the other side, still a wonderful person, and he
will
have a good life. I know there are much worse things for someone to have
to live
through than what has happened to him, and he's fortunate to have the
physical
and emotional strength and the family support system that he has around
him
right now. When I started writing this I imagined it would be much
longer, a
story about mid air behind-the-back passes to Carlos, ACC championship
celebrations, sweaty and intense summer pickup games in Cameron that I
was lucky
enough to see, and watching him shoot pool with Dahntay the night before
the
2001 national championship game. But I can't write that story right now
because
it would feel too much like a tribute to something that's gone and I
couldn't
bear that.