[外電] 龍郎傳（二）

[maxtail (伊利諾農夫魂)]

Deron Williams: The Total Package, Part 2

龍郎傳（二）

By Gordon Monson
The Salt Lake Tribune

Seven years after he made it, Deron Williams remains a bit baffled by his
decision to go to Illinois out of his Texas high school. Having grown up
mostly in and around Dallas, he'd never been to the university, and had no
real connection to it.

即使這件事已經過了有七年之久，
蝶龍還是摸不著頭緒自己當初怎會願意離鄉背井到伊利諾去打拼，
跟這所大學完全沒有任何關聯的他，
過去生活的範圍從來就沒有離開過達拉斯一帶。

After other schools, such as North Carolina and Georgia Tech, had blown him
off, Williams was coaxed into heading north by fellow incoming freshman Dee
Brown, who correctly surmised that the 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard could help
him win Big Ten championships - and maybe something bigger.

在被北卡與喬治亞相繼拒絕入學後（見前篇），
來自伊利諾的說客滴‧布朗鼓動他的三吋不爛之舌，
勸服這名六呎三吋、兩百零五磅的爿士後衛，
與他一同追逐大十聯盟的冠軍盃，甚至是更遠大的野望。

Still, Williams suffered in his first year with the Illini, despite starting
30 of 32 games and ranking third in the conference in assists. His sufferings
ranged from the emotional to the meteorological.

雖然那年三十二場季賽蝶龍先發了三十場，
在該區聯盟的助攻排行榜更名列前三，
在伊利諾的第一年依然讓他感覺身心俱疲，
不僅是情感上，還有一些是地理因素所引起。

"It was cold," he says. "I was homesick. I wanted to leave my whole freshman
year."

「天氣冷到不行，」蝶龍說，「我又犯鄉愁，」
「第一年我真的無時無刻想著要離開那兒。」

When his coach, Bill Self, took the job at Kansas at the end of that 2002-03
season, Williams was almost certain he wanted out. "I was going to transfer,"
he says. "I'd never heard of Bruce Weber. I didn't know him. Dee and Luther
[Head] convinced me to stay."

02-03球季在得知從前帶過他的教練要入主肯大的時候，
蝶龍幾乎確定自己馬上就會轉學離開伊利諾，
「我根本不曉得伊利諾聘的新教練韋伯是何方神聖，」
「是小滴跟小頭的強力勸說才讓我留了下來。」

There was another matter, a more personal one: In 2002, Williams had a baby
daughter with his longtime girlfriend and future wife, Amy - "I've known her
since the second grade," he says. Williams was still a teenager, and a little
unsure how best to handle his new role and responsibilities. He never knew
his own father, and that weighed heavy on his mind.

那一年還發生了一件大事，雖然嚴格說來只能算是他的私事：
他跟長跑多年的女友、後來成為他老婆的愛美有了愛的結晶。
「我們打從二年級就認識對方了！」還只是個小毛頭的蝶龍，
霎時間有點不太確定要怎麼去扮演他的新角色與承擔新的責任，
畢竟他從來就不曾享受過父愛，而這成為他心中的一大塊陰影。

"When I found out I was going to have a child, I wasn't mad, I just didn't
know if I was ready for that," Williams says. "I was scared, scared to tell
my mom. I didn't want to run from it. That's one of the reasons I thought
about transferring [back to a school in Texas]. I flew in and out of Dallas
to see her born. It was crazy, a great experience."

「在得知就要當爸爸了的時候，我並沒有因此失去理智，」
「相反地，我開始質疑自己是否已經做好準備，」
「我嚇到一開始還不敢跟老媽報告這消息咧，」
「但我知道我不會去逃避它。」
「就近照顧妻小也是當時我想轉學回德州的一個理由，」
「還記得那時候特地搭機回家迎接女兒出生的那一刻，」
「經歷一個小生命誕生的體驗真是太奇特、太萬德佛了！」

Meantime, Weber took stock of what was on hand at Illinois and quickly
figured out that Williams was his best player. He switched up the offense,
featuring the guard more, which allowed Williams to expand his game. Although
he broke his jaw in December of that second season, necessitating the
insertion of a plate and four screws, he led the team in scoring (14 points)
and averaged more than six assists. Williams was an all-Big Ten selection.

同時間，韋伯教練在檢視後立刻發現蝶龍才是他所擁有最好的球員，
於是他馬上著手改變攻擊戰術，提昇後衛的參與度，
好讓蝶龍能夠在場上全力施展拳腳。
雖然十二月蝶龍一度在他大學的第二個球季跌斷了下巴，
甚至為此捱了四根鋼釘，他還是打出全隊最高平均每場十四分的佳績，
同時平均助攻數也突破六個，並且入選大十聯盟的明星隊。

In his junior year, Williams was comfortable mostly feeding the ball to his
teammates - "I didn't have to score," he says, "I didn't care, as long as we
won" - and he enjoyed the college life in Champaign. Amy and the baby moved
to Illinois to be closer to Williams, who was probably a more mature player
than a fully grown adult at that stage. He lived and learned in both arenas.

本來菜鳥球季時，蝶龍習慣餵球的程度遠超過他得分的慾望，
「我不需要得分，我不在乎那個，只要我們能贏球就好。」
而後他發現自己愈來愈能融入香檳校區的生活，
因為愛美跟他的寶貝女兒都搬到伊利諾來了，
這也幫助了他在球場上與生活中變得更加成熟。

"We were treated like rock stars on that campus," he says.

「當時球隊在校園裡受歡迎的程度可一點都不輸搖滾巨星哪！」

The Illini went undefeated - until losing by one point to Ohio State in the
last game of the regular season. In a memorable NCAA Tournament, they came
back from a substantial deficit late against Arizona to beat the Wildcats in
overtime. Williams exerted himself in the final minutes in a manner with
which Jazz fans have become familiar, scoring 15 points over that short,
decisive span. "I still haven't watched that game," he says. "I'm waiting.
Maybe I'll watch it with my kids one day." Illinois went on to lose to UNC in
the title game.

伊利諾校隊這一年幾乎可以說是所向披靡，
一直到季賽最後一戰對俄亥俄州大才以一分飲恨。
他們在NCAA錦標賽中的表現同樣令人印象深刻，
對亞歷桑那州大時，由原本的大幅落後一路急起直追，
最後在延長賽中反敗為勝。
當時蝶龍在緊要關頭的表現，相信現在的阿爵也不陌生：
他在決定性的短短時刻內，一個人獨拿了十五分。
「我還沒能去回顧那場比賽，」蝶龍說，
「我在等著，也許有一天跟我的小孩一起回味，哈哈。」
那年的冠亞軍爭霸，伊利諾很可惜地輸給了北卡。

Thereafter, the Jazz moved up to take Williams with the No. 3 pick of the
2005 draft.

緊接著，爵士就在選秀會上用第三順位籤偷走了蝶龍。

Life as a rookie

菜兵日記

He says he was pleased by the move, that it finally showed him the respect he
had craved since being undersold, at least in his view, by so many coaches
and observers through his basketball career.

蝶龍深深為自己的選秀順位這麼頭前感到光榮，
這填補了他長久以來想要被別人肯定的渴望，
特別是在很多教練或媒體觀察員都不看好他的情況下。

Williams had no problem going to Utah.

到鹽湖城報到這件事兒，對蝶龍來說完全沒有困擾。

"All I cared about was winning," he says. "I had four kids on my high school
team who were Mormon. I knew them. They never seemed weird to me. I thought
this was the best situation for me."

「我想要的就是進一支能贏球的隊伍，」他說，
「我高中隊友有四個都是摩門教徒，我了解他們，」
「摩門教徒跟我們一樣都是平凡人，沒什麼特別的，」
「所以能夠為猶他打球，我深感榮幸。」

Williams had his doubts later, when Jerry Sloan limited his minutes through
his rookie season, sometimes playing guys like Keith McLeod and Milt Palacio
in front of him. At the time, Sloan justified his actions by saying that John
Stockton didn't start as a rookie, why should Williams? The trouble with that
thinking was that Stockton had Rickey Green, an All-Star point guard, ahead
of him. Williams had two scrubs.

不過這不代表從此就可以過著幸福快樂的日子，
教皇嚴格限縮這名菜鳥的上場時間，
McLeod與Palacio這兩個不成氣候的傢伙反而比較受到重用。
教皇的說法是：就算是老史當初菜鳥的時候也沒打過先發呀，
有什麼理由為了蝶龍破這個例？
問題是當初擋在老史前頭的可是大名鼎鼎的明星後衛Green，
而蝶龍前面這兩個，ㄟ，剛剛我說他們叫什麼名字來著？

"I probably should have played him more back then," Sloan confessed during
the Jazz's most recent playoff run, three seasons after the fact.

「現在想想我那時候還真該讓他多打些...」來自教皇的告解，
在看了蝶龍近三季的成長與季後賽力拔山河的驚人表現之後。

Williams agrees, but he knew it from jump.

蝶龍同意這樣的看法，
不過他可是從他還菜嗶吧的時候就如是想了。

"That first year, I was the best point guard here," he says. "No disrespect
to those other guys, but if I had started from the beginning, we would have
made the playoffs that year. We were only two wins away.

「打第一年開始，我就知道我是隊上最好的控球後衛，」
「那兩個叫什麼名字來著的，喔抱歉沒有冒犯你們的意思，」
「只是如果能夠讓我一開始就打先發，那年我們一定可以進季後賽，」
「結果你也知道啦，就是差了那麼兩步。」

"It was just Coach Sloan. He pissed me off - a lot. I hated him. I hated him.
I didn't like him too much . . . I was still going to play hard. Some guys
cry about it. I was going to play hard, no matter what. That's just me."

「感覺史龍教練就是故意要跟我過不去，」
「我簡直恨他入骨，不過只要上場我還是會全力表現，」
「有些人會因此變成小孬孬，我不會，」
「不管教練怎麼對我，我都會硬起來給你看。」

And that's why another issue with Sloan - an insinuation by the coach - that
angered Williams was his suggestion that the point guard needed to become
more diligent in his practice habits. "Coach talked about me not working
hard," he says. "I don't like to get into that." But he wanted to prove Sloan
wrong, just the way he had proved others wrong.

教皇的另一個說法更是讓蝶龍不爽到極點，
他說希望隊上控衛的練球態度可以更積極勤奮一些，
「教練根本就是針對我發言，但我沒有也不喜歡被別人這樣說。」
他極力要證明教皇看走了眼，就像他不容許其他人看扁他那樣。

That kind of sentiment and motivation was right in his wheelhouse.

這些刺激最終都成了他迅速成長最有效的原動力。

One additional hiccup that first season was Williams' infamous "Torrey Ellis"
episode in Park City with Robert Whaley, during which the Jazz rookies
scuffled with a bar patron, and, in the aftermath, gave police fabricated
names. They also initially lied to the Jazz about the incident. It's another
thing Williams doesn't like to get into, but it did bring to his attention a
serious need to further grow up. If he was going to become the Jazz's
centerpiece, he had to get smart - as a man and as a player.

他的菜鳥球季曾飽受在帕克市發生的「艾莉絲事件」困擾，
他與隊友Whaley在當地一家酒吧與人客發生扭打衝突，
然而在警方介入處理後，他們卻試圖用假名來掩飾自己，
面對球團這兩個傢伙一開始也沒能坦白說實話。
在打壞了自個兒形象後，蝶龍才恍然大悟自己應該學著長大，
假如他想成為爵士隊中未來最重要最大的那塊拼圖，
他就要學著把罩子放亮點，不管是當一名球員，或者是身為一個男人。

Off the court, he was a rough stone rolling.

在場下，也許他還是一塊有待琢磨的頑石。

On it, once Sloan lightened up, his education advanced quickly.

但在場上，教皇採取的激將策略大為奏效，
一輛無堅不摧的人肉坦克，即將在世人面前呈現。




                                                    ─ 待續 ─



                                                  P.S. 尾嫂我愛妳



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※ 編輯: maxtail         來自: 210.64.85.241        (07/06 00:55)
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