Williams excels on, off court

Towering over six feet tall and recording her second straight Dean ' s List semester, Lady Jackets forward Jessica Williams exudes the many qualities of the quintessential student-athlete. After a first look at Williams, one can easily conclude that she might be a star athlete, but a conversation with the Riverdale, Ga. native reveals her personality as that of astute, humorous, sarcastic at times and especially personable.

Williams attributes her role as the team ' s unofficial voice and leader to her experience. As a junior with one varsity letter under her belt, Williams has grown into the leadership role.

" It ' s funny because I really had to go outside of myself to become a team leader because I ' m very self-sufficient, " Williams reflected. " And my mom knows that if she puts me somewhere, I ' ll be fine. Sometimes I assume that everyone is like that, but I have learned that some people might need that extra push and might need my help. I ' m not the type of person to push you out and put you down, I try to encourage and bring you along with me. "

Fortunately, the vibrant personality will not go to waste. The third-year Management major dreams of a career in show business after graduation. " That ' s like my dream job; everyone has their far-out dream, and this is mine. I have always wanted to be an actress, and my mom is the one who says ' Oh, it ' s going to happen. ' "

Williams looks toward Tech alumnus John Salley and his contributions to the talk show business as an inspiration.

Almost three-quarters of her teammates voted her as the most likely to host a talk show in the future in a preseason survey.

" I look at [Salley], and he has got his own sports show. I have met him before and he ' s a really nice person. " She looks forward to the summer where she might land an internship with Salley.

In the same preseason survey almost 80 percent of her teammates could see Williams as a part of The Real World, an MTV show which brings together random young adults to live together for a set period of time while recording their everyday activities.

" I think I ' m corny, but other people think I ' m funny and a good fit for the show. I think that I say what other people are thinking or say things that make other people say ' yeah, that makes sense ' . When I ' m watching The Real World, I ' m always like ' come on; ' I ' m not rude, but I ' ll say the truth, " Williams said.

At 6 ' 1 " , Williams is the team ' s tallest body on the court. Naturally she plays near the basket. Head Coach MaChelle Joseph calls her a " defensive stopper, " but Williams does not leave her intelligence in the classroom when she is posting up some of the ACC ' s best. " I am a post player, " said Williams as she defines her game and style of play. " Physically, I am a forward; I am a true power forward. One word that describes me is that I am smart on the court. I usually make really good decisions, and I help bring calmness and a sense of order when I ' m on the court, " she said.

A lot of the leadership and values that Williams passes along to her younger teammates could not have come without a character-building road trip to Costa Rica before the season started. Here Williams and her teammates learned about teamwork and what the true meaning of playing hard.

" What impressed me about the Costa Ricans is how hard they played no matter what point of the game it was while we went undefeated there. They never stopped, they kept each other motivated and patted each other on the back and they had such good sportsmanship and wanted to take pictures with us. During the game they were scrapping [for loose balls] and after the game, they wanted to spend time with us; they were great, " Williams said.

During the season Williams feels the team really came together at a high during the Georgia game. " I scored only two points but my performance as far as helping to lead my teammates to victory and keeping us going mentally and how they responded to that was probably my best performance this season, " Williams said.

Several months later, the season is nearing its conclusion. Looking back Williams logically deduces that she does not regret anything that happened this season, and that it only serves as a learning experience.

" I don ' t think I would necessarily change anything because I think that as a person I have learned to evaluate situations and experiences and always grow from them. I don ' t think I would change anything because I don ' t think I would have grown from them. You can ' t go back and say I would have this differently because would you have learned that lesson or would it have motivated you as much if something went wrong? " she said.

Williams relates this piece of logic to her team, which she believes has grown tremendously since last year. The same growing pains she experienced as an underclassman are helping her to better her teammates as she passes down the knowledge.

Looking forward, the ACC Tournament is a week away and like the men ' s side, the ACC is never easy.

The conference is deep, with every team from the elite top tier all the way down to the last team in the standings playing competitively. " That ' s what it is about. [In] the ACC you could lose 20 games in a row, and yet you still don ' t know what ' s going to happen in that 21st game. You never know...you can give your predictions, if you want to, but they ' re never right. It doesn ' t add up. The ACC is full of talent from the top teams to the lowest; there ' s no better league, " she said.

From ranking in the top five in her high school class to accomplishing consecutive Dean ' s List semesters while contributing invaluable leadership qualities and a strong defensive presence to the young Lady Jackets, Williams is certainly the type of player that is up for the challenge of the league.