Marvin Williams keeps it low-key despite high profile

http://www.ajc.com/monday/content/epaper/editions/monday/news_24defcc7908411d6002e.html

Hawks draft pick keeps it low-key despite high profile
Sekou Smith - Staff
Monday, August 1, 2005

Sure, Marvin Williams could start spending some of the nearly $19 million the Hawks will pay him over the next five years.

But it's just not his nature.

"Basketball is what I care about, what I love," said the 19-year-old Williams, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's NBA draft. "I'm not worried about anything else but basketball right now."

Clearly.

Williams has no car, a limited wardrobe that consists mostly of Hawks attire, and no real desire to splurge on the things a young millionaire could if so inclined.

"I don't have a whip yet," he said about his vehicle-free existence, "but I'll get one before training camp. I promise I will."

A recent house-hunting trip in one of Atlanta's most exclusive ZIP codes left Williams decidedly underwhelmed. He wondered aloud at times why so much space was needed for one person.

He left the Hawks' weeklong summer league in Salt Lake City to head for the seclusion and security of his mother's modest three-bedroom apartment in Bremerton, Wash., where he grew up and says he'll always feel most at home.

He leaves the particulars of his first place of residence to his personal assistant, Marvin Williams Sr., who said he'll work for his son in whatever capacity is necessary to help ease his transition from precocious college freshman to newly minted multimillionaire.

"He tells me what he wants to do, and I try and take care of it so he doesn't have to worry about anything but basketball," said the elder Williams, who admits to leaning heavily on the Hawks' support staff to help him navigate his way in an unfamiliar city. "He doesn't want to do it anyway. He tells me 'Dad, could you please handle that for me?' "

Shot caller

Don't think for a minute that the father is micromanaging the son's affairs.

"He calls his own shots," said Marvin Sr. "That's his deal. He handles his own money and everything.

"And you have to understand some things about Marvin. He's real frugal. And he pays attention to everything. He also understands the concept that this doesn't last forever, this lifestyle and this earning potential. So when he says this is his limit of what he wants to spend, that's it."

While Marvin Jr. was concentrating on his first NBA practices at Philips Arena several weeks ago, Marvin Sr. was studying the city and perusing neighborhoods with real estate agent Aleta Saunders and Hawks player relations coordinator Julie Hogg.

"We went out so he could just get familiar with certain areas of the city," said Hogg, who has been dubbed the team mother by the Hawks' cadre of young players. "It gave me a chance to point out where [former Hawk] Shareef [Abdur-Rahim] lives and where Antoine [Walker] had a place when he was with us. He wanted to feel comfortable with where Marvin was going to live and what he was going to be doing.

"They've both been great to deal with. Marvin [Jr.] and I e-mail back and forth a million times a day to make sure he has what he needs. And Marvin Sr. right now is most concerned with getting him set up in the right situation and getting it set up right."

They aren't the only ones concerned with protecting the Hawks' prized rookie.

Hawks general manager Billy Knight has set up a group of staffers, including Arthur Triche, vice president of public relations; assistant coaches for player development David Fizzdale and Greg Ballard; and Hogg, to ensure that Williams and second-round pick Salim Stoudamire make a seamless transition into the NBA.

"Marvin's 19 years old. He just turned 19," Knight said. "He's a young guy. And no matter how mature he is, he's just 19. So we have those instruments in place to assist him and all our young players. We try and provide them with whatever they need to get acclimated because it's in the best interest of all involved."

There will be no entourage for Marvin Jr., though. One of his childhood friends from Bremerton, Phil Houston, is making plans to move to Atlanta. And Marvin Sr. will be in town, living in his own town house or apartment.

But the posse stops there.

"When your circle is real small, it's much easier to handle," Marvin Jr. said. "My dad is a businessman himself, always has been. He does the job of five people by himself. He's such a big help to me beyond just being my father, so why go outside of that? I'm lucky that he's able to be there for me. My mom [Andrea Gittens] and dad and my entire family are everything to me.''

More for others

That loyalty to his family is what has prompted Marvin Jr. to urge his mother and father to "get whatever they want," now that it is financially possible.

His mother and father separated when he was 4 years old, but they've always been there for him and his two younger brothers.

The only argument between father and son thus far has been about Marvin Sr.'s accommodations in Atlanta.

Marvin Jr. insists he find a house and a new car. Marvin Sr. isn't interested, preferring to stick with the tried and true methods he's employed his entire life.

"I'm more comfortable with a used car," Marvin Sr. said. "But he's real adamant about his mother and me getting new cars or whatever. He thinks that's what we want, but honestly, that's not what is important to us.

"After a while, you get used to not having certain things, and for me and his mom, not having to worry about that is going to take some getting used to because we're not those kind of people."

Marvin Jr. wanted his mother to quit her job as a bookkeeper at an eye clinic in downtown Seattle and put an end to the hourlong ferry rides she takes every morning and night.

But less than 24 hours after her son was introduced to the Atlanta media at Philips Arena, she was on a plane bound for Bremerton, where she'll stay.

"She's not budging," Marvin Jr. said. "She'll come down to visit and stuff, but she's never leaving Bremerton."

Marvin Sr. believes his son is destined for Bremerton eventually as well.

"He'll be the mayor of Bremerton someday," the father said. "He loves that town, and that town loves him. He's from a working-class family in that working-class town and grew up with a lot of people around him there who know how to work and provide the things that are necessary, and only what's necessary."

Marvin Sr. told a story about the time his son was in high school and asked him for some cash. He gave him $100, assuming it was for the usual teenage expenditures --- pizza, sodas, movie tickets, etc. But Marvin Jr. kept a $20 bill and gave the rest to his mother and brothers.

"He's always believed in helping his mom out in whatever way he could," Marvin Sr. said. "To me, that's the mark of a kid who has some different values."

That's why it's so easy for Marvin Jr. to shun all the material things within his grasp, and price range, now.

"It's not tough on me at all," Marvin Jr. said. "I've been broke for 19 years and made it just fine, so why change now? You always want nice things, and I'm no different there. But I don't need four cars and three houses or anything like that. One house and one car is enough."

Marketing Marvin

That humble, too-good-to-be-true personality is a potential marketing boon for the Hawks.

Jim Tanner, Williams' agent, was in Atlanta recently for a meeting with members of the Hawks' marketing, communications and community development staffs to plot strategy.

Tanner is a partner at Washington-based Williams & Connolly, the same firm that represents NBA superstars Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, Grant Hill and Shane Battier.

"That's the first time in my 16 years that any agent or player representative has taken the initiative to get a jump-start on his client's career in terms of the joint on- and off-the-floor possibilities," Triche said. "I think it speaks to what type of player Marvin is, but more importantly, what type of person he is and where he comes from.

"In the short time I've been around him, he strikes me as a very humble, family-oriented person. And it's not an act. He's the genuine article."

It shouldn't be hard to concoct ad campaigns for a player with a megawatt smile and the charismatic personality to match his dazzling potential.

There are potentially more millions to be had from video game and sneaker company deals, regardless of how long it takes Williams to blossom as an NBA player.

All the hoopla is fine with Marvin Jr. But he has more immediate concerns. He has just seven weeks to get himself back into top physical condition in time for training camp.

There is the matter of finding a place to stay, a task his father will complete for him. And he still needs adequate transportation.

"I've got to get my legs back under me first and foremost," Marvin Jr. said. "In college, it would have been a task. But here, you've got five or six hours a day to work, and then you get the rest of the day to do whatever you need to do. There's no class, no study hall, no nothing.

"Don't get me wrong, college was fun," he said as a smile creased the corners of his mouth, "but this is just a little different. And I've got no complaint's"

 

I'm sure he just skipped those three extra years at Carolina because he's not about the money...

 

still bitter, eh?