Know Your R.O.L.E.
What does it take to become one of the most successful role players in NBA history? It begins with a clear understanding of your role. However, as Jerome Williams—one of the greatest role players in NBA history—explains, it goes much deeper. He built his nine-year career around the concept of R.O.L.E.: Relentless. Opportunistic. Leveraging. Everything.
Williams’s basketball journey reads like the dream so many young athletes envision. Upon graduating from Magruder High School in 1992, Williams found himself without a single scholarship offer, a consequence of his relatively modest 6-foot-2 stature—hardly the height that draws the attention of NCAA scouts. However, that summer, a remarkable seven-inch growth spurt propelled him to 6-foot-9, dramatically altering his prospects.
Armed with his newfound height and innate basketball abilities that made him a star at Magruder, Williams enrolled at Montgomery College. Lacking a scholarship and the financial resources to cover tuition, Williams took a job at a local gas station, pumping gas to fund his education—all in pursuit of his academic and athletic aspirations.
When Williams wasn’t in class or working shifts at the gas station, he could be found honing his skills in pickup games at Dr. Carr’s gym, a renowned local spot where future NBA stars like Grant Hill and Walt Williams would frequent. It was there, amidst the fierce competition, that Williams continued to refine his game and word began to spread around town about his talents. “Coach John Thompson heard about me playing there and spontaneously showed up after doing his research.” Williams said, “When I got the chance to play in front of Coach Thompson, he offered me a scholarship on the spot.” And the rest was history. Williams packed his bags up from Montgomery College, headed an hour down south from Montgomery County, Maryland, and made the transfer to become a Georgetown University Hoya.
Under the watchful eye of his legendary coach, Williams absorbed every lesson from each one of Coach Thompson’s practices with unwavering dedication. “There was a lot of being on edge”. Williams explained, “When I say that it was just in terms of the preparation that he was preparing us for. Whether it was for the NBA or just high-level Big East basketball, it was going to be a high-pressure situation. Those that could withstand the pressure of his practices, were going to be the ones who were going to be successful on the court, and that was the scrutiny that we were under.”
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Something clearly clicked during those practices, as Williams made an immediate impact for Coach Thompson and the Hoyas. In just his first five games, he averaged 13 rebounds per game and finished the year as the Hoyas top rebounder. Williams would also go on to start in all 31 games for the Hoyas that season, playing alongside another future NBA icon Allen Iverson.
The experience of sharing the court with Iverson proved invaluable, offering Williams countless lessons on competition, leadership, and perseverance. “Iverson’s passion to play at that stage in his life, with all eyes on him… he had an unfortunate pressure that all of us did not have. Williams recalled. “To have the fortitude to get through the negativity. Being called a convict in other schools that we traveled to is nothing short of mortifying… But to see him fight through all that—it was just amazing that he was still able to come out there and become not only a Big East player his rookie year but then onto the NBA where he became a Hall of Famer.”
As Iverson would go on to become the #1 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft —arguably the greatest draft class of all time—Williams didn’t have to wait long to hear his own name called that night, as the Detroit Pistons selected him with the 26th overall pick. Remarkably, both Iverson and Williams would go down as the final two first-round picks drafted who had played under the legendary Coach Thompson.
When reflecting on the 1996 draft in comparison to the classes of 1984 and 2003, Williams was quick to highlight the significance that the ’96 draft class had over the others. “Those were all great drafts. Obviously, you’ve got LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and others in ’03. And then, of course, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley loading up the ’84 draft. But from top to bottom, the ’96 draft by far got it.”
Williams elaborated, “We had players like Ben Wallace who didn’t even get drafted who became defensive player of the year, and a Hall of Famer. That’s pretty tough! We had Steve Nash, who wasn’t a lottery pick, (become) a 2x MVP. That’s tough! You’ve got Kobe Bryant, the last pick in the lottery, who bona fide went on to the top 5 all-time. That’s tough! Not to mention game-changers like Allen Iverson who changed the culture of the NBA and brought in hip-hop, and a whole slew of other fans… that’s tough! From top to bottom, we had some of the greatest shooters in Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic, not to mention some of the best bigs in Marcus Camby and Jermaine O’Neal and others. We had some great role players like Derek Fisher, myself, Malik Rose… guys who were starters, and good centers like Zydrunas Ilgauskas who had long careers and were franchise players. From top to bottom, we just had the most that you could speak of.”
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As Williams’ fellow members of the ‘96 draft class joined their respective teams and embraced defined roles within their respective organizations, Jerome was compelled to re-evaluate and redefine his own role as the newest Detroit Piston. “As a role player… R.O.L.E. Relentless. Opportunists. Leveraging. Everything. I have the same mentality to this day because the game of basketball is a game of opportunities from taking a shot, to making a pass, to setting a screen, to diving on the floor, getting the rebounds, and boxing out. There are just so many opportunities out there. It’s based on how relentless you can be. How much can you go downhill. How much can you leverage when you don’t have the ball.” Williams explained, “You can only have one person with the ball. Typically, in the NBA and in high-power Big East offenses you can only have three people involved in a play at one time. One guy with the ball, and typically two options. So, there was always going to be one to two people left who had to figure out something to do, and since I was in that type of a role, I could either sit back and wait for somebody to sub me in and do the same thing I was doing, or I could be R.O.L.E. Relentless. Opportunist. Leveraging. Everything.”
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Once Williams fully comprehended what was required to excel at the highest level, he approached his craft with unparalleled dedication and intensity, setting himself apart from everyone else in the league. “I leveraged the crowd. I leveraged the refs. I leveraged my teammates. I leveraged the opposite bench. I leveraged the coaches on the opposite side… It didn’t matter to me. I was leveraging everything, and that is what got me the nickname “The Junkyard Dog,” JYD said. “When I got to the NBA the first thing I did was ‘I had to learn.’ I had to learn from the veterans and sit back and absorb everything they were telling me. The great thing was I had prior knowledge given to me by Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and the late great, my dear friend, Dikembe Mutombo. Those guys poured into me every summer. They made sure I got a chance to see what the NBA looked like before I got to the NBA.”
Long before Williams was receiving guidance from future Hall of Famers and Georgetown alumni, he had been garnering positive reinforcement from other Hall of Famers dating back to his high school days. “Dr. J was the first person who told me I was going to be in the NBA. I will never forget it. He told me that in high school before I ever had a scholarship to Georgetown. So, these are the things that turned me into the ultimate role player and made me accept being just that.”
Coach Thompson played a pivotal role in ensuring that Williams recognized a clear path to success while remaining undistracted by external influences. “People like Coach Thompson let me know I could make a lot of money, but I’m going to have to accept the role. If I listened to people in the street, I don’t know if it would’ve gone the same way. I was talented. I could do other things. But, in terms of where I came from, being nicknamed the Junkyard Dog was my acceptance of being that R.O.L.E. And then recognizing it, and saying it to themselves, this is like a junkyard dog. He’s out there. He’s relentless. He was chained to the bench. Remember that. That’s what they said. The dog was chained to the bench and then they let him loose in the yard. The yard was 94×50 feet, and just think about a dog running around wreaking havoc.”
Stay tuned for Parts II and III, where we will delve further into Jerome’s illustrious NBA career, his profound relationship with the late, iconic Dikembe Mutombo, and his post-basketball endeavors as a philanthropist, community activist, and motivational speaker. We’ll also explore his non-profit initiative, “Shooting for Peace,” along with his forthcoming book, Role Players.