<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">TORONTO ? Before his biggest game this year, Deron Williams had a serious case of jitters ? understandably so, since it was merely the most-recent NCAA title game pitting champ North Carolina vs. Illinois. Wednesday, they were back. Again, he was not surprised. Williams ? the former Illini point guard taken No. 3 overall in last June's NBA Draft ? freely admits he's had his share of butterflies. "I'm nervous before every game," said Williams, who made his NBA preseason debut in the Jazz's 102-101 overtime win over Toronto on Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre. Another Jazz youngster, second-round selection C.J. Miles, showed nerves of steel ? and a few butterflies of his own ? in a night for rookies Wednesday. Miles cast up one 3-point try after another, and his third of three in the final minute of regulation ? taken after a rebound and kickout pass from fellow second-rounder Robert Whaley ? finally fell with 2.4 seconds to go to force overtime at 89-89. Miles, who finished with a game-high 14 points in 18 minutes, committed a turnover late in OT that allowed Toronto to go ahead 101-100. But the Jazz were not done. Andre Owens, a free agent and the fourth point in Jazz camp, put up a jumper that Whaley tipped in for the win with just .8 seconds remaining in the five-minute extra session. For all, it was a lesson in overcoming nerves. For Williams in particular, it was evidence that plenty of control measures are in place as he embarks on a career that Jazz brass hopes will calm more front-office nerves than it frays. For starters, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan started incumbent Keith McLeod ? he opened 47 games for Utah a season ago ? at the point Wednesday. Moreover, there is a veteran promising to aid Williams as much as he pushes the rookie. "I'm going to try to be a mentor for him," said Milt Palacio, who spent the last season in Toronto before signing with the Jazz as a free agent this past offseason. "Just coming out here the past couple of weeks working out with him ? he's a good kid. He likes to listen." Palacio, who has played for five teams during his first six NBA seasons, vows not to overstep his bounds: "I'm not going to sit and try to coach him, or anything like that ? because he'll definitely have to learn on his own."</div> <div align="center">Source</div>
