Williams ready for second season By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 07/16/06 Salt Lake City — By simply peeling his battered body off the floor at Salt Lake Community College time after time Friday night, Marvin Williams proved he has cleared one of the mental hurdles that plagued him as a Hawks rookie. The tentative teen from last season has given way to a more aggressive, mature second-year forward who won't let a few hard fouls deter him, as he showed in a Rocky Mountain Revue rumble with Utah. "Their coach [Jerry Sloan] was talking about how he wanted his guys to be tougher," Williams said Saturday morning from the lobby of the Hawks' hotel. "They came out and were physical, and I think we handled that." He took licks all night in the Hawks' summer league opener against the Jazz, but Williams didn't back down. And when bruising Jazz center Rafael Araujo sent him to the floor for the second time with 6:14 to go in the third quarter, Williams had finally had enough. He had to be restrained by members of both teams as he tried to go after the 6-foot-11, 295-pound Araujo, who was ejected after his second flagrant foul, both on Williams. "I came in here last year at this time and my head was spinning," said Williams, who scored a game-high 22 points, including a 14-for-18 showing from the line, courtesy of his repeated trips to the floor, in the Hawks' 98-76 loss. "I didn't know what to expect. "But I felt totally different [Friday] as opposed to last year. If somebody knocks you down, you have to get up to get better. And there wasn't a time out there when I got knocked down that I couldn't get up on my own. This is a man's game, and I'm willing to take a man's lumps to be here. ... I'm not backing down from anyone or any challenge." Williams has been the star of the summer league so far, coming through with a 30-point, 10-rebound effort in Saturday night's 94-93 overtime loss to Dallas. That's what Hawks coaches hoped to see. After bringing Williams along slowly as a rookie, they expect him to grow up quickly this season. "I told Marvin he has really grown in the area of how to respond to certain situations," said Hawks assistant Larry Drew, who is serving as the head coach of the summer squad. "Last year this time, had he been knocked down to the floor the number of times he was knocked down, he would have stopped taking the ball to the basket. "This year, he used that a motivational factor. He got knocked down a couple of times, they took a couple of cheap shots at him, and he kept going right at them. He's really grown in that area. I think now he understands that if he attacks, teams are going to do one of two things. They're going to give you baskets or they're going to send you to the free throw line, and he's willing to take that chance now." Williams realizes the pressure the Hawks' young nucleus will have to deal with as they try to move from postseason afterthought to contender. That's why his first offseason has included as many workouts and late-night shooting sessions as it has time analyzing his solid but hardly spectacular rookie season. There's been no shortage of outside analysis — from coaches, family, friends. Williams has soaked it all in while reminding himself to stay true to what has led him this far. But he knows his success this season is primarily in his hands. That's why he's undergone the mental makeover. "I've been working on my post game and everything else, but it all starts right here," he said, pointing to his head. 資料來源--記得點進去看照片。 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0716hawks.html --

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