words by Ian Stonebrook
photos by Zaul Zamora
“We’re playing a 2-3, I need you down on the wing,” instructs Jason Williams to me at his own basketball camp. “I’ll be in the middle,” says #55 now playing the 5. “We gotta rebound.”
Such is the setting at Stance HQ in San Clemente, CA where myself and about 15 others are playing 5-on-5, both with and against the most creative point guard to ever play in the NBA or a pickup game.
Growing up in the age of the Internet and being blessed with a job at Nice Kicks, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to meet, work with and become friends with childhood heroes and people I look up to. This could involve getting on-the-job tips from the likes of Matt Halfhill, George Kiel, Nick DePaula, Joe La Puma or Russ Bengtson in regards to writing, or it could range to talking with Lil Wayne about his Dedication days and Carter come-up. All, super ill.
But an opportunity to hoop with J Dub though? Easily takes the cake. Following a heads up from Nick and a convo with Tzvi from Stance, a flight to California was booked on sight with no cares of cost, commitments or even a place to crash looked off in favor of crossing off a bucket list topper at the age of 30.
Pulling up at Stance’s celebrated hoops haven, it’s clear I wasn’t alone in my fandom at what most would call a ‘fantasy camp,’ as popularized by Michael Jordan and his lavish adult-attended Flight Schools.
With attendees ranging from active high school hoopers to 30-something pick-up players like myself, it was interesting to consider each age bracket’s relation to Williams. To kids consuming YouTube, he’s the guy that invented and pulled off The Elbow Pass. To young adults who grew up in the ’90s and ’00s he’s the flashiest, most unpredictable point guard to ever play the game. To this author and many more in my field, he’s our childhood hoops hero.
The camp, the first of its kind with upcoming stops headed to Sacramento – the place J Will became the NBA’s best-selling jersey – and Orlando – the place the proud pops calls home – is as interactive of a learning-from-a-legend experience as you’d ever get. Why is that? Jason Williams the player is still actively Jason Williams the player, both in real life and at the camp.
Led by Jason’s longtime friend, Nik Winkleman, the coach/trainer handled the instructions while Jason played ball and participated in drills just like the rest of the group. From introductory layup lines to full-court 3-on-3 cutthroat, Jason’s flash and fundamentals were on display for all to see in a gym far less packed than the NBA arenas he filled as a pro, but much more busy than the one he occupied as a kid.
Growing up in Belle, West Virginia, the pass-first point guard’s playground game earned him the adoration of fans, with comparisons to Pistol Pete and no true peer of his era, save for maybe Rafer “Skip 2 My Lou” Alston. While Skip was serving cats twice his age as a teenager at parks in Queens and Harlem, Williams was putting in time at his local high school gym, honing his skills with a blue-collar work ethic and art school imagination.
Hitting the hardwood for hours at end each day, thanks to his dad’s state trooper job affording him a key to the Dupont High gym that was adjacent to the Williams’ home, a young J Will would play games of 5-on-5 by himself, throwing passes to players that existed only in his own head. The lofty lobs would years later land in the hands of high school teammate Randy Moss, and NBA stars like Shaq, Chris Webber and other All-Stars who would feed off his imagination, energy and polished passing skills.
At the Saturday camp, these passes would land in the hands of myself and other attendees. While few lobs would be floated, plenty of gems would be dropped, proving the well-roundedness of the highlight reel regular.
What’s perhaps most overlooked about the man who rarely looked when he passed the ball is his hoops IQ and competitiveness. The latter was on full display at Stance when calling campers’ attention to get a stop on a full-court three-on-three drill with more at stake than socks. The former was found in advice to a promising young point guard finding fire beyond the arc. “If it’s not short it’s in!” yelled Jason with a smile on his face as big as the varsity kid he was coaching up.
While Williams is known and loved for pulling off some of the most dangerous moves seen on screen, it’s safe to say he’s one of the coolest cats just as in love with the game as when he first started. As his shirt reads, he’s #stillhoopin. Big ups to Jason, Nik, Tzvi and the whole Stance Hoops crew. Peep more shots from the camp below.
Keep up with Stance Hoops & J Will on Twitter for updates on future camps.
