<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The sophomore year of the NBA education of Louis Williams has seen the 76ers' youngest player grow in confidence and realize more what the team wants to see from him, but still offers no guarantee of playing time. The Sixers made the 6-foot-1 Williams, who turns 20 on Friday, their only pick (No. 45 overall) in the 2005 draft. He played in just 30 games last season and has found it difficult to get playing time in the preseason, being one of six guards on the roster. But Williams is staying patient and working hard to improve himself, which he hopes will lead to a possible spot in the rotation. "We didn't make the playoffs last year, so the veteran guys are playing a lot more minutes than usual in the preseason just so we can get used to what we've got to do and get ready for the season," he said yesterday after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. As for what his role might be, Williams said simply, "Anywhere I can fill in and help out, I'll be happy with it." Williams put up good statistics for the Sixers in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league in July. He averaged a league-leading total of 5.2 assists to go with 22.0 points, the second-highest total among all players. But Williams had problems with turnovers, which led coach Maurice Cheeks to use him more off the ball in training camp instead of on the point. "I think he's not necessarily a point guard and I think we've come to realize that," Cheeks said. "He's a guy who can play with the ball or off the ball, but he's got to control his turnovers better. "I think he has more of a sense of urgency in doing that. In training camp and in games, he's been more conscious of his turnovers." Williams scored 3,338 points as a shooting guard at South Gwinnett High School near Atlanta, so he is comfortable at that position. He continues to work on his point-guard skills, pushing the ball up the court and setting up teammates where they like the ball. For now, he'll do anything the team asks. "I had a good feeling going into camp," he said. "I feel a lot more confident, a lot more comfortable here this year. So we're just going to try to translate that to winning basketball games and, hopefully, some playing time. But I take it day by day, one step at a time." Cheeks said he had seen Williams improve. "I think any time you've played a year in the league, you're going to grow," the coach said earlier in training camp. "You can see the maturity in him, the way he carries himself on the court now. Coming out of high school, you're going to be a little bit timid, but this year, he's a lot more confident in himself and his abilities." While Cheeks conceded yesterday that Williams could benefit from a stint in the National Basketball Development League, the NBA's farm system, if he got a chance to play, he added that being with the Sixers on the practice floor day after day also helped. "He hasn't necessarily played a lot of minutes in games," Cheeks said. "But he plays in practice settings, and certainly there's no better way of learning than being out on the floor." </div> Link
