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What's my name? Pistons forward will not be overlooked much longer
By Marty Burns, Sports Illustrated DETROIT -- Pistons forward Jerome Williams was walking off the practice court at the Palace of Auburn Hills Friday when he was handed one of those quickie 2000-01 NBA preview annuals on sale at newstands. As several teammates looked on, Williams casually flipped through the guide until he came across his own short biography, on page 77. There, next to a description of Williams that read in part "extremely underrated" was a smiling headshot of ... Loy Vaught. "Hey, that's Loy!" forward Jud Buechler said with a howl. "Oh, man, that's cold," added point guard Chucky Atkins. Williams, a good-natured sort, couldn't help but laugh. Especially since Vaught is not even in Pistons camp while he awaits an almost certain trade to Dallas. "Man, that's about the worst thing you can do to a brother," he said with a chuckle. Williams might not have to worry about such slights much longer. The 6-foot-9 Georgetown product, who averaged 8.4 points and 9.6 rebounds a year ago, is expected to replace the traded Christian Laettner as Detroit's starting power forward. From the look of Williams' sinewy upper body, he appears ready for the challenge. His jump shot also looks solid. At the end of Friday's practice, he spent some 10 minutes shooting jumpers with teammate John Wallace, going station to station and knocking down 15-footers with regularity. "I'm ready to be a starter," said Williams, who was one of the better Sixth Men this past year. "I'm really looking forward to this opportunity." If he succeeds, he won't have to worry about being confused with Vaught.
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