The former Duke Blue Devil went No. 15 overall and enters the NBA with a pro hoops pedigree and his eyes on a new truck.
Wearing a Duke blue suit and a chain bearing his initials and 757, the area code of his native Virginia Beach, Mark Williams was very much repping where he came from on the NBA Draft red carpet last Thursday in Brooklyn. Prior to being drafted 15th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, the big man discussed when he first thought he could make the NBA, advice from his sister and eight-year WNBA veteran Elizabeth, and more.
What he would be doing if not for basketball:
“I’d be a commentator for CBS or TNT for March Madness and obviously ESPN. Can’t go wrong. “
A song that would describe his feeling on the red carpet on Draft Day:
“‘Rollercoastin’ by Roddy Richh.”
What he’s doing with his first $1 million
“I want to buy a truck. A custom truck, custom pickup. I really love trucks, so definitely one of those.”
When he first thought he could make the NBA:
“It was always a dream of mine since I was like five years old. That was the first time I started playing basketball, but I think it became more of a reality in high school, like my freshman and sophomore year, just going up against everybody in AAU and high school.”
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What he learned from his sister Elizabeth, a post player for the Washington Mystics:
“I learned a lot. To this day, she’s still a resource for me. I can ask her anything. She’s huge for me. For tonight, she just told me to enjoy it. You only get it once, so just have fun while you’re there and it’ll all be great.”
If he could only invest in one company:
“Right now, I don’t want to be a risk-taker, so I’d probably go with Amazon. Safe bet. And then maybe later on, doing more research, I’ll get into something else. “
If he could dunk on one NBA player, whom would it be?
“LeBron.”
