Looking at life after UNC

While Marvin Williams posed for a USA Today photographer Friday afternoon, the former Tar Heel basketball player was greeted by UNC athletic trainer Marc Davis in the Smith Center.

“How are you doing?” Davis asked.

“I’m a model now,” Williams replied with a wry smile.

All kidding aside, he was partially right.

Williams also posed for photos at the 2005 NBA Draft in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday when he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the second overall pick.

The 6-foot-8 forward is the third player in Carolina history to be chosen with the second pick in the first round of the NBA Draft.

It’s likely that Williams will be modeling in more photos once he finishes negotiating an endorsement deal with either Nike, Reebok or Adidas.

Although it’s certain he’ll be earning millions of dollars, he said the money won’t change him as a person.

“My whole life I looked forward to taking care of my family,” he said. “I don’t need three cars and two houses in two different states.”

Melvin Scott, a UNC shooting guard who graduated this year, said Williams exemplified his humble personality by agreeing to become the Tar Heels’ sixth man last season.

“It was the role the coach wanted me to play and I was happy to play it,” Williams said. “Everybody had to sacrifice on the team, and that’s why we were so successful.”

When Williams joked with Davis at the Smith Center that he’s become a model, he was partially right. He’s also become a role model for other aspiring high school athletes.

“College has helped me tremendously as a person and a basketball player,” he said.

Williams earned the ACC Rookie of the Year award by averaging 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds for the 2005 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions.

After speaking with Dominique Wilkins last Wednesday, Williams was selected to the same team that the former NBA All-Star played 11 seasons for in Georgia.

“Everybody knows Atlanta is a big-time city,” Williams said.

The same cannot be said for the Hawks, a team that lost 69 games last season.

However, Williams said he’s excited about playing for one of the NBA’s most youthful teams.

“I think I would fit in pretty good with those guys,” he said. “They’re all my age and like to run and get up and down the floor.”

At a press conference Friday, Williams said he would like to compete with center Shaquille O’Neal in the paint.

“I say that now until he hits me,” he said.

The Hawks are in the Southeast Division with O’Neal and the Miami Heat as part of the Eastern Conference.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.