The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1433691
40 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2021 throw for a four-point play] in the second half that started the [Michigan] run when Buffalo was making their run. My favorite play was the in-traffic rebounds. "That's toughness, and that's Terrance Williams II. He's built on toughness." John Wooden famously said, "Sports don't build character; they reveal it." That may not be accurate for every single athlete, but it's most definitely true with Williams. The Michigan-Buffalo game was a chippy one, and Williams was right in the middle of the chirping. Serving as the Wolverines' enforcer, he didn't back down and, along with a Buffalo player, was called for a technical foul during a dead ball. He will always go to battle for his team, a hard-nosed approach he first de- veloped in Clinton, Md. "It's just where I come from, to be honest — the area I come from and how I was raised by my dad," he explained. "When somebody talks trash to you, you just can't let them talk trash to you like that, disrespecting you. So I had to talk back to the Buffalo people, because you're not about to come into my court in Ann Arbor and disrespect me. That's not going to happen. "That toughness and grit comes from my dad as well. I always had to go against bigger people because I did play the five in high school. I did play some five in middle school because I was always the biggest person. Banging with bigger people, that really helped me gain the aspect of how to guard taller people, how to manage my leverage. Even though I'm smaller, just bodying up, boxing out, getting my nose in there." Terrance Williams Sr. is the 6-7, 230-pounder's biggest role model. A D.C. Metro Bus driver, Terrance Sr. wakes up at 2 a.m. and doesn't get off work until the early afternoon. On the weekends, he serves as R&B singer Ginuwine's tour manager. "He drives in D.C., some of the tough- est neighborhoods in D.C," Williams said of his father, a Norfolk, Va., native. "He's seen a lot of stuff growing up. The area he's from, you've got to have toughness growing up. He wasn't always the tallest and strongest person, but he talked a lot of times about how they used to bully him, so you have to be tough and strong, just not let that happen. "He always brings that on me, just don't let anybody ever out-tough you. Wherever you're at in life — whether it's on the court or off the court — don't ever let anybody out-tough you." Seeing the way his dad has worked throughout the course of his life inspires Williams, fueling him to put in the extra time and motivating him enough to be comfortable in an empty gym. "I just see him working hard, so it's just like, 'Why can't I do it?'" Williams explained. "If he's getting up that early, trying to provide for my family — me, my sister, my mom — it's like, 'Why can't I go get some shots up or why can't I go get some extra work in before or after prac- tice? Why can't I go lift with Sandman when I'm tired?' "Stuff like that, I keep that in the back of my mind, because I know he's grinding hard. I've got to grind hard, just like him." Williams' disposition comes from his background, then is shown on the bas- ketball court. He's tough, gritty, smart and unselfish, willing to do anything to succeed. His skills are improving, too. His ability to play multiple positions has already been a big positive for the Maize and Blue this season. He's played anywhere from shooting guard to small forward, and switched onto anyone from a point guard to a center on defense. "When we were fortunate enough to recruit Terrance, people would say, 'What position is he go- ing to play? I think he's too small for this and maybe he doesn't have enough ball skills for that,'" M a r te l l i re m e m - bered. "And I just kept thinking, 'Yeah, but all this kid has ever done is win.' "He's a winning basketball player, so the versatility with the mind that Juwan brings to the offensive end of the floor and the defensive end of the floor with [assistant] Saddi Washington, we would figure that out." In the season-opening 88-76 win over Buffalo, Williams notched career highs in points (15), rebounds (seven), minutes (29), field goals attempted (seven) and made (five), and three- pointers attempted (three) and made (two). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Williams "I'm going to continue to do what's best for the team — no mat- ter the situation, no matter the role I play. Some days, the shot may not fall, but I'm going to continue to play defense; I'm go- ing to continue to rebound. I'm trying to put it all together — of course — but I'm going to do whatever I can to win."