This is the third in a three-part series on Jazz point guard - from his childhod days as a wrestler in Texas, to nearly winning an NCAA championship at Illinois, to becoming floor general of the Utah Jazz and perhaps landing a contract worth as much as $90 million.

The most striking thing about Deron Williams' recent press conference officially announcing his making the U.S. Olympic basketball team was the humility he showed in that moment.

"It's an honor for me to represent my country," he said. "I'm thrilled to death."

Those words didn't flow forth at the end of a disingenuous blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah kind of prepared statement. He seemed truly moved by the privilege, as though it really meant something to him.

"It does," he says.

There are times when Williams puts the con in confident, when he comes across as surly and bothered and petulant - "Sometimes, I am a jackass," he admits - and others when he's about as deep and thoughtful and engaging as an NBA player ever gets.

On the verge of signing a maxed-out contract extension with the Jazz that could pay the 24-year-old upwards of $100 million, Williams remains tethered to a modest upbringing that hammered into him a full measure of perspective.

"I grew up with no money," he says.

And while the second-team All-NBA point guard now stands on the brink of real fame and fortune, he's managed to convince himself that delivering on the court is what matters, that humility is still important, that he's not really that big a deal.

"Hey," he says, "I've walked through a hotel lobby with Kobe, with LeBron."

He's had his name mispronounced - Yo, T-Mac! - his entire life.

"Deron Williams is going to be a household name after this series."

Those were Charles Barkley's words, spouted to his TNT audience after Game 1 of the Jazz-Warriors second-round playoff series in 2007. Williams had 31 points and eight assists in that Western semifinals opener, which was just one example of the point guard's prowess at the end of his second season.

That campaign had been a coming up and out for Williams, especially the playoffs, during which he averaged 19 points and nine assists in the Jazz's surprising run to the Western Conference finals.

Reins, man

The whole thing had been facilitated by Jerry Sloan's willingness to turn the club over to Williams, allowing him to steer the Jazz's offensive sets as he saw fit, a nod by the coach that not even John Stockton had wanted.

After a rocky rookie season with Sloan, Williams took whatever he could get this time around. And he got a lot, despite the Jazz's acquisition of veteran Derek Fisher, who Williams was determined to edge for playing time: "I knew I had to beat him out," he says.

So, he did, playing 37 minutes a game, getting 16 points and 10 assists, and, more significantly, leading the Jazz to a Midwest Division title before marching them through three playoff series.

"I took it to another level in the playoffs," Williams says. "I figured out how to bring it every night. If I'm aggressive, I could do that. It was a great learning experience for me - tough games, big wins, hard losses, it all adds up. You've got to pay attention and learn your lessons."

That's what 2006-07 turned into for Williams: an elongated study session on fulfilling his potential. The season started strong for the Jazz, who went 12-1 out of the gate, and finished with 51 wins, heading into their first playoff appearance in four years. That extended playoff showing, like Barkley suggested, gave a national audience its first long look at Williams.

His competitive drive and leadership became obvious in his clutch performances and, when the Jazz lost to the Spurs in the conference finals, a broad spectrum of fans got a glimpse of Williams' fire when he publicly drilled a few teammates who he said had been planning summer vacations while there were still playoff games to win.

That thought was abhorrent to Williams, and he let everybody know it.

He says now it might have been wiser to handle that matter privately, but all the players around the new Jazz leader discovered for themselves what his expectations were and are. He became the Jazz's undisputed boss, a no-B.S. point man with plenty of street cred, willing to play hurt, willing to speak out, willing to show the way. He had matured - as a player and a man.

"I want to win," he says. "But that doesn't just happen."

Sloan loves that stuff. That's exactly why, after their difficult start, the player and coach have embraced one another.

"He has tremendous talent," the coach said, following a huge win in the Houston series this postseason. "I don't know where this team would be without him."

Says Williams: "I get along with [Sloan] great now. I think he's a great coach. He brings a lot to the table. He's a lot like me."

'It's about winning'

In 2007-08, when the point guard raised his averages to 19 and 10 in the regular season and 22 and 10 in the playoffs, Williams observed that his team needs to "win on the road." He singled out the top players on the Jazz, saying they, in particular, have to get tougher and more consistent away from EnergySolutions Arena.

"You've got to have your stars play great on the road," he says. "I feel like I was that way. [But] we definitely have more confidence at home."

As for the way this past Jazz season ended, Williams says this: "The Lakers were a better team."

In recent weeks, he's been talking with Kevin O'Connor about how the Jazz can improve. "We need an athletic big man," he says. "We need a shot-blocker."

Williams is giving input on personnel matters, although he acknowledges that others in the organization might be more informed than he is. Still, he has ideas, and appreciates the chance to be heard. He's fully aware that he has become the foundation for the Jazz's future, and is fine with it, as long as the club continues to build a contender.

"It's about winning," he says, again.

He will decide soon whether to sign a three-year, four-year, or five-year extension with the Jazz, and will be paid max money in any case. Williams recently bought a new house, and, unlike most of his teammates, lives in Salt Lake City year-round.

"I like it here," he says. "It's peaceful, the weather's good. I like to golf. It's unbearable to golf [in the summer] in Dallas. My wife loves it here. It's not like there's nothing to do."

Regarding the details of his coming deal, Williams says: ". . . as a player, you want to see the direction the franchise is going. If we're on the verge of winning a championship, I have no problem staying here my whole career."

It's up to the Jazz, then, to keep their foundation in place by continuing to put up sound walls around him. He'll bear his load here, if they bear theirs.

"I just want to be the best," he says. "I want us to get better."

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com.