Clippers’ Williams Copes With a Long, Losing First Season

Reggie Williams has a lot of excuses at his disposal should he wish to use them. Both knees have been injured, forcing him to miss half the season. A severe case of flu put him out of action for a few more games. One-third of the players on the roster have been in the CBA this season. And the coach has used three offenses in his rookie season.

But Williams, the prized rookie from Georgetown who was the fourth player chosen in last year’s NBA draft, chooses not to use any of them. “I hate excuses ... ,” Williams said recently, moments after his Los Angeles Clippers had lost yet another game. “I’ve had some good moments, but I’ve had more lousy ones. If I play bad, I’ll be the first to tell you.”

Playing badly would probably be better than not playing at all, especially for a rookie. But Williams is out for the season, the result of a sprained left knee that is in a rather large brace.

Before that, Williams had rarely shown the pros the all-America form he exhibited in helping Georgetown win one NCAA title (1984) and advance to the final eight (1987). There have been a couple of dazzling performances of 30 points-plus. But in 35 games, Williams averaged 10.4 points per game on 35.6 percent field-goal shooting. Those who looked in the box score to find Williams, 1-10, or Williams, 1-11, probably figured the first name couldn’t have been Reggie, but it was.

The Clippers, namely General Manager Elgin Baylor and Coach Gene Shue, are still high on Williams and his potential. Williams, away from home for the first time, has had bouts with his own confidence, but returned to his characteristically upbeat self during a recent conversation.

“I can’t sit here and say that big expectations surprised me,” Williams said. “They drafted me high and paid me all this money, so people ought to expect a lot.

“I think what hurt me was that I came to camp late (like almost all first-round draft choices) and I didn’t know what my role was,” he said. “I expected to play the two-spot (off guard), but Mike Woodson (an eight-year veteran) had the upper hand there. The three-spot (small forward) was open, but all three of us (Williams and first-round draftees Ken Norman and Joe Wolf) had to share time there.

“I really was starting to get things together for a stretch. I was averaging 17 points a game before I caught the flu. I only missed two games, but I was weak and I lost the 10 pounds I had gained over the summer.

“Coach Shue told me I should have rested, but I figured, ‘They’re paying me all this money so I have to play.’ I didn’t play well for six games or so. Then I had a couple of good games on the East Coast trip, going into Capital Centre. But I ran into Muggsy (Tyrone Bogues, his best friend for 19 years) of all people, and I hurt my knee and had to miss six weeks.”

Williams already was having shooting problems, and trying to jump off a bad knee compounded them. “I didn’t have any spring for my jump shot and my shooting got really terrible,” he said. Two weeks ago against New Jersey, Williams was trying to compensate for the pain in the left knee, when he injured the right one. End of season.

“First time in eight seasons of basketball (at Dunbar High in Baltimore and Georgetown) that I had this many losses,” Williams said. “Part of my problem was that I wasn’t handling losing very well. I’d just go back to the hotel after a game, order room service, watch television and sulk. I’d get too depressed over losing a game, and you just can’t do that at this level.”

Especially not with a team that is bound to lose 60 games and finish in last place of the Pacific Division, again.

The most surprising thing to Williams was his poor shooting. “I thought I was the most confident guy in the whole world. But when I kept missing shots, my confidence was gone just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “I was thinking too much about whether to shoot or pass and the result was that I was throwing bricks.”

Just from watching Williams on television and a couple of times in person, Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Jerry West said he could tell part of what was ailing Williams.

“He’s got to get back the confidence he had in college,” West said. “The league was too much for him this year, but to judge him based on half a season would be crazy. I’m sure he’s had a miserable season, personally, but he’s still a terrific prospect. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid and he has to draw upon that right now to get his confidence back.”

Part of the problem for Williams was that at Georgetown, defense always comes first. “In the NBA, you have to be able to get your shot,” Williams said. “You want to play well in all areas, but you’ve got to shoot.”

Another problem was that the Clippers weren’t quite sure what to do with him. Shue had the team running a slow, half-court offense that nullified a lot of Williams’ talents. Williams, slight of build, was getting banged around when he played small forward, so Shue moved him back to guard. There was also a short, unsuccessful stint at point guard.

The Clippers are sure now that Williams will play off guard next season. “I certainly think that’s his best position,” West said.

Running also is good for Williams. And it’s likely, if Shue returns next season, that the Clippers will be running as they are. The team has played much better since picking up the pace and Williams is sorry he isn’t in uniform now.

Shue says he has talked to Williams quite a bit about many topics, from learning not to tear himself up after a loss to what technical improvements he’ll have to make.

One subtlety is that Williams finds he has more contact now when he has to run the baseline. “Before this latest injury, Reggie was getting a much better idea of things,” Shue said. “At the two-guard, he’s got to run the baseline and learn all the nuances of breaking open to take the 17-foot shot.”

Shooting isn’t the only problem. Williams is no different from many other rookies who have to learn to guard a man rather than guard a spot since the NBA isn’t allowed to play zone defense. Shue, Baylor and West all said they expected Williams’ transition to be tough.

But Baylor said he told Williams, “ ‘Nobody’s pushing you to tear the league apart. You’ll get your playing time.’ Most rookies are taking two, three years now, with the exception of a very few superstars, and I was explaining this to him. He’s got to be more patient.”

Williams is the first to say he’s impatient. He pores over the box scores every day to see how the other first-round picks are doing, Mark Jackson of the Knicks, Kenny Smith of the Kings, Dennis Hopson of the Nets, Derrick McKey of the SuperSonics, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant of the Bulls.

“It’s been a big adjustment in a lot of ways,” Williams said. “I get homesick, but I’m happy here. I like the people and I’m getting comfortable with California. Sometimes, though, I think about Mark Jackson, living at home with his family (in New York City) and the fact that he didn’t have to make one of the biggest adjustments.

“Missing games is tough, too, because I think I only missed four in college. But I’m going to come back fresh, with a positive attitude. The people here know I’m struggling, but I think they know I can play. I’ll show them.”