Darcel Williams
Forward - Men's Basketball

This year your team has come out on top of a lot of close games, as evidenced by your 5-2 record. What has been the key?
Experience. We’ve been working hard to get to this point, and learned from losing a lot of close games last year. Through experience I think we’ve become better at closing games out and finishing teams off.

Prior to your arrival at UB, you played one season at Eastern Kentucky. Detail that experience.
It was a struggle. It was a new experience, but I view it as a good experience because I was able to learn from it. I was taught how to work hard. There’s no question Kentucky is very different from here, but I’m glad I went through that experience.

Having previously played for coach Reggie Witherspoon, how close are the two of you?
I played with him at Erie Community College – a year that was outstanding from both an individual and a team standpoint. When I heard Coach Witherspoon was hired at UB, I realized it would be a perfect fit. We certainly have a good relationship.

As a graduate of Traditional High School in Buffalo, you’ve now returned home to play basketball where you grew up. How much does that mean to you?
It’s great. My family and friends are right here in Buffalo, and that gives me an excellent feeling. I’m thrilled with my decision to come back. Now my family can come and watch me, as opposed to talking long distance all the time. That was tough, but now I’m back around my family and friends, which is the most important thing.

Having sat out last season as a transfer, but still practicing with the team you were able to get a feel for what was going on. What are the major differences between this year’s team and last year’s?
There are a couple of things. This year’s team works harder in my opinion, and we have a vision. We’re also a more closely-knit bunch, almost like a family. We listen well to the coaching staff, and have the will to win. We want to perform well, to win games and represent this university.

You have moved around a bit, and have played under three different coaches at the college level. How difficult is that on a player?
There is a lot of adjustment. UB is the first school I’ve been at for two years in a row. Every program, and every coach wants something different out of you. A lot of coaches also may not know what you can bring to the table since they have a number of players to deal with, making it more difficult for you. Moving from team-to-team has been tough, but most importantly I feel comfortable with where I’m at now.

Speak about the importance of the quick start, including your team’s win over Akron in the Mid-American Conference opener.
It feels great, and it’s important because there hadn’t been a whole lot of success around here lately. But we haven’t gotten complacent or overconfident. We know exactly what we have to do, and also know how tough our schedule is. The MAC win felt great since we don’t have another conference game until January. That was a big confidence booster.

In the past, UB has struggled on the road. With early wins at Chicago State and Cornell, that trend seems to have been averted. What has enabled your team to overcome the difficulties of playing on the road?
It goes back to experience again. Even from this year, we learned from our road opener in Niagara. In practice we’ve gone over how to maintain leads and how to close teams out, and that has helped tremendously. We also have begun to take care of the ball, and you have to do that in close games, especially on the road.

Do practices vary from what you did in the preseason? What type of activity does your team partake in on a game day?
Prior to the season we worked a considerable amount on conditioning. Not as much of that occurs during our in-season practices. We work just as hard, but less goes on in an effort to keep our bodies from being fatigued.

On a home game day, we will usually eat in the morning as a team. Then we’ll go through a shoot-around, which happens around noon or one o’clock. Following that, we’ll have our pregame meal. We all arrive back about two hours before the game to get ready, and to go shoot again.

What do you feel you add to this team? Describe the type of player you are.
I bring leadership and hard work to the table. I try to do show that all the time – whether it be in the weight room or during a drill at practice. I hope that attitude rubs off. On the court I bring an element of toughness, and I take pride in my ability to get rebounds.

-The “10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.

12/11/2001