Lou Williams has the
potential to give Sixers a lift

Off the Dribble
By Ryan Smith

When the 76ers drafted Lou Williams with the 45th pick in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, it seemed like ages before we’d see that pick come to fruition.
At the time, the choice was tough to swallow.
With Allen Iverson and Chris Webber about to embark on their first full season together, Sixers’ faithful were seeking more immediate help.
What good would another undersize point guard do on a team already hampered by Iverson’s defensive deficiencies?
But just two seasons later, Iverson and Webber are long gone, and Williams is suddenly an integral piece of the new-look Sixers.
His name is beginning to show up regularly in box scores, and as he continues to offer instant offense off the Sixers bench, the comparisons to Iverson are sure to increase.
Williams, born in 1986 — three years after the Sixers won their last title — grew up in Snellville, Ga., where he played at South Gwinnett High School.
He was a four-time All-State selection there and was named Georgia’s "Mr. Basketball" in both his junior and senior years, racking up eye-popping totals of 3,338 points, 768 rebounds, 650 assists and 355 steals during his career.
As a senior, Williams averaged 27.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, leading South Gwinnett to a 28-3 record and winning the 2005 Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, an honor bestowed on the nation’s top high school player. He also was named to the 2005 McDonald’s All-American East Team.
One of the last players to enter the NBA before league commissioner David Stern instituted a minimum-age requirement on the league’s draft, Williams came to the Sixers raw from South Gwinnett.
Like Iverson, the 6-foot-2 Williams came into the league at a young age.
However, their early career paths could not have been more divergent.
While Iverson was named Rookie of the Year in his first season with the team, Williams played sparingly as a rookie for the Sixers in 2005-06, averaging just 1.9 points and .3 assists over 30 games.
He spent some time in that first season playing for the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League.
Last year, after Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets, Williams finally cracked coach Maurice Cheeks’ full-time rotation.
Williams scored 10 or more points eight times in 2006-07, seven of which came over the final 19 games of the season.
During that 19-game stretch, Williams averaged 7.9 points (45.5 percent shooting), 3.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds, while committing just 17 turnovers in 18.6 minutes per game.
Perhaps more promising was that over his final 36 games of the season, the young point guard had an outstanding 89 assists to 31 turnovers (a 2.87 ratio).
This season, Williams has begun to show why Sixers GM Billy King decided to take him those years ago when it seemed to make such little sense.
At a time when the Sixers are in need of scoring from wherever they can get it — Andre Iguodala leads the team with an 18.2 points-per-game average — Williams has shown flashes of brilliance.
So far, the highlight of his young career came on Nov. 9, when Williams scored 19 of his career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter of a 105-103 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Williams hit a three-pointer with 55.2 seconds remaining that pulled the Sixers to within two at 98-96.
When the Raptors came right back with a clutch three-pointer of their own to take a 101-96 advantage, Williams hit a three-pointer and was fouled on the next possession.
He connected on the free throw for a four-point play, cutting Toronto’s lead to 101-100 with 21.4 seconds left.
"I was watching some old high-school tape of myself and I noticed I was going to the basket," Williams said. "I just tried to do that in this game and take what was open."
Two free throws by Toronto gave the Raptors a 103-100 lead before Williams had the opportunity for another three-point play, scoring with 15.2 seconds left. He missed the free throw and the Sixers lost the game, but that fourth quarter was a revelation.
If Williams can continue to play as he did in that old high school tape, the Sixers will be a step closer to once again being a competitive team in the Eastern Conference. ••
Ryan Smith can be reached at 215-354-3114 or smithry@phillynews.com