Williams Not Worried About Wearing Down

Shapecity · Sep 6, 2008

Thanks to the 14-hour time difference between Beijing and Utah, Deron Williams has spent more time stuck in the fog of jet lag than basking in the glow of his gold medal since returning from the Olympics.
Once he is able to stop waking up at 5 a.m., Williams had better enjoy the chance to rest. The Jazz will report to training camp in Boise, Idaho, a month from today, at the end of a whirlwind summer for their star guard.
"It's been a short summer," Williams said at a Thursday news conference. "It's been a long summer, but a short summer. Things have gone fast for me. But I'm excited about this season. So I'm ready to get it going." Williams was away for 35 days with USA Basketball, which fulfilled its "Redeem Team" mission of reclaiming gold. Before that, Williams spent the first three weeks of July waiting to agree on a contract extension that could be worth upwards of $70 million.
"I've been enjoying it," Williams said. "It's been a fun ride. I just want to get caught up on my sleep right now and then I'll be a lot happier, have a little more chance to reflect." As he posed for pictures with the medal, which he said he wore the entire flight home from China to safeguard, Williams again insisted that his summer with USA Basketball shouldn't have any effect on his play this season. "We've been over this," Williams said. "I played 20 minutes a game, so 20 minutes of working out a day is about 2 hours and 20 minutes less than what I do when I'm at home. So you can tell me if that's enough [rest]." Williams said winning gold "by far" was a bigger thrill than reaching the NCAA Final Four with Illinois or the Western Conference finals with the Jazz. He added that he would play in the 2010 world championships and 2012 Olympics if asked.
"As long as they want me back, I'm there," Williams said, adding that the experience of playing for U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was such a positive, "I think most of the guys that were on this team want him back." Williams was awed by a visit to the Great Wall ("It was just amazing that that could be man-made," he said) and watched Michael Phelps swim in person. As for food, Williams said he ate all his meals at the team hotel, except for trips to California Pizza Kitchen and Tony Roma's in Shanghai.
Williams also was happy the Americans were tested in the fourth quarter of their 118-107 victory over Spain in the gold-medal game.
"It did make it more special," Williams said, "being a close game and having to pull through some adversity, something we really hadn't had to do for the whole Olympics."
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Source: Salt Lake City Tribune

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Williams Not Worried About Wearing Down

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Williams Not Worried About Wearing Down

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