NOTHING BUT The Truth

Sporting News, The, March 15, 1999 by Gregg Doyel

"William's one of the better point guards in the country," Krzyzewski says. "I have to admit, he's surprised me with how far he's come in one year. I knew he'd be a key player for us, a starter, but I didn't see him having this kind of success so soon. He's become a great player."

Not everyone is a believer. Earlier this season, North Carolina senior forward Ademola Okulaja said he'd take his point guard, junior Ed Cota, over Avery "10 limes out of 10." And Corn, meanwhile, watered down a few compliments of Avery by questioning his quickness and suggesting that the high quality of Avery's supporting cast eased his transition from reserve to starter.

"He's got two of the best players in the country (Brand and Langdon) to pass it to," Cota said. "He should have a lot of assists."

Cora was more gracious after Duke's 81-61 expulsion of the Tar Heels on February 27, when Avery outscored him, 24-12. "He's a great point guard," Cora said.

Coming into that night, Avery had averaged 10.3 points over the previous four games. In the days leading up to the North Carolina game, Krzyzewski devoted extra practice time to getting Avery more shots, telling his point guard to be more selfish.

"It shows how good a kid William is, because the thing he's supposed to do well--shoot--he hadn't done that much," Krzyzewski says. "William had been focusing so much on running the team that he hadn't looked for his shots. He really is remarkable."

The spoils of this season have had a dizzying effect on Avery, who, a year ago, couldn't break into the starting lineup for a single game and now is contemplating coming out for the 1999 NBA draft. Krzyzewski never has had a player leave school early for the NBA--not Grant Hill, not Christian Laettner, not anybody--and the assumption in October was that if the streak were to end, it would end with Brand, the 6-8, 260-pound monster forward. Instead, Avery has put enough thought into it to know where he will draw the line between staying in school or turning pro.

"If I'm going to be a lottery pick, I think I'd have to do it," Avery says. "That kind of deal would be hard to turn your back on. I know I'm going to have a decision to make. I just hope I make the right one."

This basketball odyssey began on a sheet of red clay in Augusta, Ga., where Avery learned the game in his grandmother's back yard. When the weather turned, rain rotted the wood backboard and turned the court into mush.

"When it rained, there'd be mud for five days. I think it helped my ball-handling a lot, because I was out there dribbling around all that stuff," Avery says. "Then I'd go out there and shoot it and try to run and get the ball before it fell in a water puddle. It really helped me follow my shot."

Ask Clemson. At the 1998 ACC tournament, the fifth-seeded Tigers played No. 1 Duke to a 64-64 draw with 7.8 seconds remaining. Avery took the in-bounds pass, darted up the court and let go a running jumper from the left side over the 5-9 McIntyre. While everyone else watched the shot, Avery kept on running to the rim, where he caught his rebound in midair and in one motion laid it into the basket with three-tenths of a second left for the victory.