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The New York Times On Mark Williams

Duke’s young big man is going to surprise a lot of people

2022 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament - Championship
 NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 12: Mark Williams #15 of the Duke Blue Devils blocks the shot from Keve Aluma #22 of the Virginia Tech Hokies during the 2022 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament - Championship at Barclays Center on March 12, 2022 in New York City.
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

There are suggestions that Duke’s Mark Williams may end up with the New York Knicks in Thursday’s NBA Draft. The Knicks pick #11 and could use a solid big man.

Obviously we won’t know where Williams ends up until he actually gets picked, but the New York Times has a really nice piece up on Duke’s promising young big man.

There’s a lot of interesting details here about Williams that the local press never really got around to for whatever reason, but this article gets a lot.

There’s a lot about his sister, Elizabeth, who preceded him at Duke, and more on the rest of his family.

There’s also a lot about the grind of playing at that level. Most people have no idea of the amount of work that goes into it, not even a lot, maybe most college players who aspire to make it.

It’s really exhausting. It is is professional in every sense of the word and, as Williams is learning, talent alone won’t cut it.