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Message: [QUOTE="BlueSkyGLW, post: 4022592, member: 11281"] Really? Three things: 1. [I][B]"The second I put on the French jersey for the first time, it was completely worth it," Williams said. "I'm so close with my mother, and this has been something really cool for me to learn more about her side of the family, since I grew up in the States.[/B] "I am half-French, and to actually spend time in France and see my family there has been awesome. I know my mom and her side of the family have always been proud of me. But now they can say I'm playing for Les Bleues."[/I] This alone would be enough. 2. [I]Williams said she found out about the suspension "basically through social media," and it surprised her, as she thought they had an understanding. "It was extremely shocking, to say the least," Williams said. "It was a complicated situation with me having to miss so many games, but I thought from the get-go there was never an expectation for me to be at [WNBA] training camp."[/I] She was the one who requested the trade. 3. Swiss Army Knife was an accommodation to team first mind set. That attitude remains but with the French team, they have her concentrate on being a 2 guard/wing (if the same role as in Hungary, then a playmaker at that position which led to her first team All-EuroLeague status at the end of the season) [I]But she also appreciates the opportunity with France to focus on shooting guard/wing, where she is most comfortable. That's also what she's done with her overseas team in Hungary. "It's always been my mindset to put the team first; 'OK, where do you need me? I'll be the missing puzzle piece,'" Williams said. "And it's a way to keep a job in the WNBA, because there are so few spots. A way to keep myself useful. "[B]But the thing about playing different positions is that I never really got great at anything, I just got really good at a lot of different things. It has for sure helped me -- I'm not saying it's a bad thing -- but now I'm ready to take the next step in my career."[/B][/I] And so, she says: [I][B]"I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, and going in the direction I've always wanted to go in," Williams said from Tokyo. "I'm giving my all into what I want to give my all into. "I'm finally happy playing basketball again. Really just enjoying myself; basketball is fun for me. And I feel like I'm becoming the player I've always wanted to strive to be."[/B][/I] [B]And now, she finds herself given a path to be greater than she was as a Swiss Army Knife.....under less time pressure (of rushing back to the Sky).....and, for sure, continue working on this path after the Olympics in preparation for the EuroLeague AND the WNBA next season. Too strong an analysis?[/B] (That tinge of regret was likely for the loss of WNBA income, which will now be partially offset by whatever she will earn in France before returning to her Hungarian team.) [/QUOTE]

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