Dropped in the middle of the Nevada desert this summer, Williams has made the most of his time in USA Basketball's incubator. His education only will continue after being named Monday night to the final 12-man roster for the FIBA Americas championship.
The 10-team tournament opens tonight and runs through Sept. 2 in Las Vegas, sending its two semifinal winners to Beijing for the Olympics. For all its recent embarrassments, the U.S. is 26-0 all-time in the Americas qualifier.
And Williams is in a spot that any 23-year-old point guard would envy, learning the tricks of the trade from Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups while deciding whether the put the ball in the hands of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony.
"It's been great for me," Williams said in a phone interview Tuesday. "There's been a lot of competition, a lot of competing out here."
By playing this summer, Williams also might have an inside track on being selected to next summer's Olympic team, where the U.S. will be out to avenge disappointments at the 2004 Olympics and 2006 world championships.
"I think it's good - it's one step towards it," Williams said, adding, "I just want to have an impact on this team whether it's playing five minutes or 30 minutes. I want to play well when I'm given the opportunity, do the little things, be a good teammate on the bench, cheer."
Williams said the U.S.'s goal was to win the gold medal and "go after" teams from start to finish. That doesn't mean Williams is familiar with the names and faces he will be seeing on other teams, especially in the preliminary round.
"Not really," Williams said. "We know a little about the guys that have NBA players, Argentina, Brazil. But we're definitely going to be prepared. The coaches have been watching a lot of film, doing a lot of scouting."
For the record, the U.S. will play Venezuela, the Virgin Islands, Canada and Brazil in the preliminary round. It would then move into a second round of pool play, followed by the semifinals and final.
Williams is the only second-year NBA player to make the final roster. In announcing its roster, USA Basketball noted that the average age of this team is 26.16, compared with 24.50 at last year's world championships.
But Williams is no newcomer to the international game - with its pop-a-shot three-point arc, trapezoid lane, zone defenses and 10-minute quarters - having played for two junior USA Basketball teams.
He said the game was more physical, and the U.S. stocked up on big guards, himself included, as a result. The U.S. also kept two shooters, Mike Miller and Michael Redd, to ensure a reliable three-point threat against zone defenses.
Williams, meanwhile, has heard opinions from all sides about the Jazz's run to the Western Conference finals. Eight of his U.S. teammates happen to be former All-Stars.
"A lot of guys tell me we're a good team," Williams said. "A lot of guys tell me we're not going to beat them next year. 'Melo says they're going to the Western Conference finals, not us."
With the Jazz nearly playing into June, Williams was asked if he was getting enough of a break from basketball. He reported to Vegas in July for a USA Basketball mini-camp and returned last Wednesday for training camp before the tournament.
He said he took a month off, which always was his plan, and would have been working out hard this time of year regardless. An injury could happen just as easily running five-on-five at home as it could playing in the Americas tournament.
"Everyone says, 'You don't want to get hurt, you don't want to get hurt,' " Williams said. "If you're going to get hurt, you don't want it to be playing against people maybe you don't want to be playing against. You want to go against the top players in the world."
