- Publish date:
11 ARIZONA
Talk about a badcase of mistaken identity. Wildcats sophomore Marcus Williams received callslast season from people who thought he'd been suspended for stealingcomputers--an offense that was famously committed by another NBA prospect namedMarcus Williams, who played at Connecticut. "They'd say, 'I heard you gotsome laptops,'" recalls the Arizona Williams, who also received a franticmessage from his mother, Gayle, saying, "Maybe you should change yourname."
Not to worry,Mom: The other Marcus Williams is in the NBA now, and your son is fast making aname for himself as one of the top swingmen in the college game. In fact, noteam in the land has a trio of wings as explosive as Arizona's 6'7"Williams, 6'7" freshman Chase Budinger and 6'4" junior JawannMcClellan. While other elite outfits are building around big men, coach LuteOlson plans to go smaller and faster, complementing two seniors (6'3" pointguard Mustafa Shakur and 6'10" Serbian forward Ivan Radenovic) with hiswingman trio. "I'd love to have all three on the floor at the sametime," says Olson, who believes McClellan has enough muscle to guard tallerpower forwards on the blocks.
Williams (above)has a deadly touch (43.5% from three-point range as a freshman), and Olson hasasked him to be more vocal. "I'm expected to be the leader," saysWilliams, who turned heads in March by lighting up UCLA (25 points) andVillanova (24). "Freshmen sometimes defer to the older guys, but now I havethe confidence to be a leader and take us to Atlanta."
STARTINGLINEUP
COACH: Lute Olson (24th year)
6'11"Sr.6.1 ppg1.52 bpg
RETURNINGSTARTER *HIGH SCHOOL STATS
SCHEDULE
Nov. 12 atVirginia
Nov. 15 NorthernArizona
Nov. 19 NewMexico State
Nov. 22Samford
Nov. 28 UNLV
Dec. 2Illinois*
Dec. 5Louisville†
Dec. 9 at SanDiego State
Dec. 17Houston
Dec. 20Memphis
Dec. 28California
Dec. 30Stanford
Jan. 4 atWashington
Jan. 6 atWashington State
Jan. 11 OregonState
Jan. 14Oregon
Jan. 18 atUSC
Jan. 20 atUCLA
Jan. 24 ArizonaState
Jan. 27 NorthCarolina
Feb. 1Washington State
Feb. 3Washington
Feb. 8 at OregonState
Feb. 10 atOregon
Feb. 15 USC
Feb. 17 UCLA
Feb. 25 atArizona State
March 1 atCalifornia
March 3 atStanford
*Hall of FameChallenge, Phoenix †Jimmy V Classic, New York City
ILLUSTRATION
PHOTO
BOB DONNAN/US PRESSWIRE
