HUNTINGTON - Marshall's Adam Williams knows he wants to coach basketball some day.
And he has devised an interesting way to prepare for his future profession.
Williams has created his own Web site, www.hooptips.net, on which he offers his basketball knowledge to coaches and players for free.
"I truly feel I have been really fortunate," said Williams, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard who will be a junior on the Thundering Herd's men's basketball team in the 2008-09 season.
"My dad (Marshall Hall of Fame member Tex Williams) is a great coach. I played for a great coach at Kentucky (Tubby Smith). And I play for a great coach at Marshall (Donnie Jones)."
Williams also mentioned Florida Coach Billy Donovan and New York Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni, who is a former Marshall star and Mullens native.
Jones worked with Donovan for 13 seasons (two at Marshall and 11 at Florida) and helped the Gators win back-to-back national championships in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Jones has spent time with D'Antoni picking his brain for information.
That is why Williams counts Donovan and D'Antoni among his influences, although he has met both only a couple of times.
"Not a lot of people can say they have been influenced by so many great minds," said Williams, whose father was a successful high school, college and professional coach in the Kanawha Valley. "It's like I have been in a coaching clinic my whole life.
"Even though I'm not a coach, I think my information is just as good as anybody else's out there just based on who I have been around. I have a lot of knowledge, and I would like to be able to share that.
"If I can answer the questions people ask me now, then that will prepare me for later on."
Visitors to Williams' Web site are greeted by a blurry photo of him shooting a free throw against East Carolina inside the Cam Henderson Center.
Depending on the page the person is viewing, these words of wisdom are written in white letters in the bottom right corner of the picture:
"If you're not working, someone else is!"
"Time is man's greatest resource to use as he chooses."
"If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail."
The home page provides Williams' mission statement: "The purpose of Hoop Tips is to give basketball instruction through the Internet to people of all ages and skill levels. Whether you are a college athlete or you are trying to make your middle school team, Hoop Tips is the place you need to be to find the workout program that fits your need best."
All players or coaches have to do is send Williams an e-mail (awil...@hooptips.net or awil...@suddenlink.net) asking questions or requesting information.
"So whenever you decide to step your game up to another level, all it takes is one e-mail and you will be on your way," the mission statement concludes.
A bored Williams built the Web site on a whim in March or April.
"I'm not sure which month it was," said Williams, who sat out the 2006-07 season after he transferred from Kentucky. "I just decided I wanted to make a Web site, but I didn't know what to do it on. I figured I know basketball as well as I know anything else. So, I just decided to write about that."
A couple of months passed without Williams getting a single e-mail. Perhaps sparked by a message board post that promoted the Web site, Williams received four Monday and Tuesday.
"I didn't have anybody write me for the longest time," said Williams, who averaged 0.6 points and 0.8 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game in the 2007-08 season.
"You know how big the Internet is. I tried to get it out there. I submitted it to search engines. But it was still a shot in the dark. Maybe it will pick up now."
Williams doesn't make money off the Web site, which he calls a hobby.
"That," he said, "is probably against the (NCAA) rules."
Even if he could profit off of it, he wouldn't.
"If you're charging people for something like that, they don't want to wait three or four days for an answer," said Williams, a former St. Albans High School star who was West Virginia's boys prep player of the year in the 2003-04 season. "They want it in a few hours or by the next day.
"With my schedule, especially when classes and basketball start up, I might not be able to answer my e-mails (that quickly). I just hope I can help people out. It's exciting to think that people look to me for some advice. It makes me feel good about myself."
HUNTINGTON - Marshall's Adam Williams knows he wants to coach basketball some day.
And he has devised an interesting way to prepare for his future profession.
Williams has created his own Web site, www.hooptips.net, on which he offers his basketball knowledge to coaches and players for free.
"I truly feel I have been really fortunate," said Williams, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard who will be a junior on the Thundering Herd's men's basketball team in the 2008-09 season.
"My dad (Marshall Hall of Fame member Tex Williams) is a great coach. I played for a great coach at Kentucky (Tubby Smith). And I play for a great coach at Marshall (Donnie Jones)."
Williams also mentioned Florida Coach Billy Donovan and New York Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni, who is a former Marshall star and Mullens native.
Jones worked with Donovan for 13 seasons (two at Marshall and 11 at Florida) and helped the Gators win back-to-back national championships in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Jones has spent time with D'Antoni picking his brain for information.
That is why Williams counts Donovan and D'Antoni among his influences, although he has met both only a couple of times.
"Not a lot of people can say they have been influenced by so many great minds," said Williams, whose father was a successful high school, college and professional coach in the Kanawha Valley. "It's like I have been in a coaching clinic my whole life.
"Even though I'm not a coach, I think my information is just as good as anybody else's out there just based on who I have been around. I have a lot of knowledge, and I would like to be able to share that.
"If I can answer the questions people ask me now, then that will prepare me for later on."
Visitors to Williams' Web site are greeted by a blurry photo of him shooting a free throw against East Carolina inside the Cam Henderson Center.
Depending on the page the person is viewing, these words of wisdom are written in white letters in the bottom right corner of the picture:
"If you're not working, someone else is!"
"Time is man's greatest resource to use as he chooses."
"If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail."
The home page provides Williams' mission statement: "The purpose of Hoop Tips is to give basketball instruction through the Internet to people of all ages and skill levels. Whether you are a college athlete or you are trying to make your middle school team, Hoop Tips is the place you need to be to find the workout program that fits your need best."
All players or coaches have to do is send Williams an e-mail (awil...@hooptips.net or awil...@suddenlink.net) asking questions or requesting information.
"So whenever you decide to step your game up to another level, all it takes is one e-mail and you will be on your way," the mission statement concludes.
A bored Williams built the Web site on a whim in March or April.
"I'm not sure which month it was," said Williams, who sat out the 2006-07 season after he transferred from Kentucky. "I just decided I wanted to make a Web site, but I didn't know what to do it on. I figured I know basketball as well as I know anything else. So, I just decided to write about that."
A couple of months passed without Williams getting a single e-mail. Perhaps sparked by a message board post that promoted the Web site, Williams received four Monday and Tuesday.
"I didn't have anybody write me for the longest time," said Williams, who averaged 0.6 points and 0.8 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game in the 2007-08 season.
"You know how big the Internet is. I tried to get it out there. I submitted it to search engines. But it was still a shot in the dark. Maybe it will pick up now."
Williams doesn't make money off the Web site, which he calls a hobby.
"That," he said, "is probably against the (NCAA) rules."
Even if he could profit off of it, he wouldn't.
"If you're charging people for something like that, they don't want to wait three or four days for an answer," said Williams, a former St. Albans High School star who was West Virginia's boys prep player of the year in the 2003-04 season. "They want it in a few hours or by the next day.
"With my schedule, especially when classes and basketball start up, I might not be able to answer my e-mails (that quickly). I just hope I can help people out. It's exciting to think that people look to me for some advice. It makes me feel good about myself."
