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Orlando Williams has waited patiently lor this sea
son.
Since he left Portland's Benson High School in 1000,
where he earned Oregon Prep Player of the Year hon
ors and led his team to the 4A state championship.
Williams has sat through a gruelling redshirt season,
played for one of the worst teams in Oregon basketball
history and had to adjust to a new coach with a new
style and philosophy.
But on the evening of Nov. 1, Williams got the vote
STORY BY DAVE CHARBONNEAU
INSTANT
senior year at Henson. anti vs .is named to the first in
thr Hi s/ prop all star listing At tin* tilin', l.oyola
Marvrnoiint was a nationol povvtir with its run and
gun, 100 point-averaging style of play
Loyola rn : rolled Williams hard, and Williams likt'd
the thought of play mg the same style of offense he had
prospered in while at Henson He was i lose to signing,
lint held off until he had a ihnni.e to v isit Oregon
Mm h to the dismay of Williams' buddies. Williams
det ided, after talking to fellow Portlander Hrandon,
of confidence and appreciation tie needed.
That night the Oregon basketball program had
"Late Night With ferry Green," which was designed
to showcase the 1993-94 men's basketball team.
During introductions, each player walked out
under the glare of a spotlight and received a
hefty welcome from the 4.000 or so fans in
attendance. But when Williams was intro
duced, it was different.
When Williams' name was called, the
crowd erupted into a deep hum of
"Oooooooo." The spotlight on
Williams was no brighter, but the
response of the crowd made it obvi
ous that the 6-foot junior guard is
the player Oregon fans are counting
on to bring this team of new, largely
unrecognizable faces together and
make them at least competitive
when the Ducks open the season
Tuesday against Bamburg Club at
McArthur Court.
"1 know the fans are expecting a
lot of mo this season, and that's a
lot of pressure," Williams said.
"But 1 definitely feel more comfort
able being the player people are
looking for to step up. I really feel like
I can't let the fans down this season."
For the past three years, Williams has
watched Antoine Stoudamire (1991-93)
and Terrell Brandon (1990-91) earn the
title as the "go-to guy” for Oregon. Now,
Williams is hoping that he, too. can liecome
as dependable as his predecessors
Green said that even with all the new talent,
there's no question Williams js going to be an
important piece in the puzzle.
"He's going to bo relied on heavily this year, he
said. "Especially with his long-range shooting abili
ties.”
min nr wumu m i
Williams liked the thought of Ireing able to play with
Brandon. whom lit’ had played against and with
numerous times in high school and on the play*
ground.
"I saw what Terrell was accomplishing here. 1
thought it was something I wouldn't mind
being a part of." Williams said "I i mild just
picture Terrell |Ninetrating and then kit king
it ha< k out to me."
Hut that vision never got farther than the
playground.
Williams' first season (Brandon's
junior year) for the Ducks was spent on
the Item h as a redshirt because then
coach Don Munson believed Oregon's
SH other freshmen, Jordy l.yden and Clyde
Iordan, were a little ahead ol Williams
talent wise
Again, Williams talked with
Brandon, who also thought it was a
good idea, and eventually decided to
| redshirt
Williams now said the decision to
redshirt was one of the lies! det isions
he's made ill Ins life, because it gave
him an extra year with Green.
Prior to the following season, Brandon
left the Ducks for the NBA. Brandon's
decision, along with numerous iu|tiries,
sent Oregon's team spinning down the
drain In Williams' first season of play with
the Dm ks, Oregon finished with the worst
re< ord in school history and < ost its coach a
job
"I’d never experienced that many losses over,"
Williams said "I was anxious to he playing and
winning games. I had seen Terrell ami those guys
lieat some good teams and was hoping to do that
again, but it didn't happen It was real depressing."
The only bright part of the season was that Williams
OVERANXIOUS
Williams is so ready to jump into (lit) role us the
money man for the Ducks that he said he may be over
doing it a bit. He wants to prove his three-point shot is
better than ever. He wants to prove he s better at han
dling the ball, and he wants to prove he can be a
leader. But his anxiousness on the court, by his own
admission, sometimes hurts Oregon s game plan. In
fact, there’s still doubt in his mind about whether he'll
even be starting once the season starts.
"The coaches have jumped on me a lot in practice
because I’ve been trying to do too much. Williams
said. "Right now, I’m not even on the (starting) team in
practice. I have to tone things down in practice
because I shoot a lot in practice and I've been trying to
do a lot of one on-one stuff, and I don't think the
coaches like that too much."
With six new players still trying to leant Green s
crash course on his complicated style of basketball,
there's no time for ill-advised shots and hot dogging.
Green and his coaching staff have let Williams know
that the important things ut this stage in the season is
passing and cutting to the hoop, not dunking and
bombing from 25.
"Coach Green has told me he's not going to play me
if I go outside the offense." Williams said. "But I think
he's right. The important thing right now is for the new
guys to learn the system. 1 need to tone it down right
now, and once the season gets going and the shots start
falling, everything will work out fine.”
Williams shot 41 percent and was fourth in the
Pacific-10 Conference in three-point shooting last sea
son. Green said it's important for the coaches to make
sure Williams plays smart Iwsketball without demon
strating a lack of confidence in his obvious shooting
abilities
"We treat shooting very delicately.” Green said.
"You have to Ihi careful about getting on a player too
much for taking the outside shot I never want Orlando
to doubt the fact that he (.an take any shot he wants as
long as he’s open. However, we won't be successful if
he's shooting (lie ball over defenders who are rigfit in
his face."
Green said the coaches also make sure to get on
Williams when he passes up a wide-open shot.
THE ROUGH YEARS
Williams averaged 26 points a game during his
ti'" i'**■ .7 ...r -
game that would work m tlm Pan-10. Stoudamire,
another Portlander, was at times the only bright spot
for the Dunks, but by the end of the season. Williams
started to work his way into the spotlight
In the Dunks' final game of the season. Williams
knocked down 27 points against Call in his (test perfor
mance of the season.
"Antoine did a lot of the scoring that season.”
Williams said. "It took me a while to realize that he
couldn’t do all of the scoring So as the season pro
gressed, I tried to get involved a little more Hy the end
of the season, I wanted to go out on a note that would
carry into the next season, and I ended up scoring 27
against Cal."
A NEW ERA
When Williams returned for his sophomore season.
Green wasted no time in getting the team familiar with
his system. Green wanted the Ducks to play fast-paced,
high-scoring basketball. Ironically, it resembled the
type of offense Loyola-Marymount was using when it
went after Williams two years before.
Gone was Monson's make-them-boat-you-at-your
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