The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Loyalty at Its Finest: Rob Williams
9/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Loyalty, when done right, is a two-way endeavor. In Robert Williams' case, loyalty was done right.
The first step came in March of 2012 when Jerod Haase took over the UAB men's basketball program and brought a new coaching staff to town. At the time, Williams, a 6-foot-4 Greenville, Mississippi native was set to begin his junior season at UAB.
It's always an uneasy time for players when coaching changes occur. Trusting a new staff is often an uneasy task, especially with the fresh pain of losing the staff that brought you to town.
Ask any coach on the staff during Williams' final two years, including Haase, and they quickly tell you that his loyalty to them began quickly and never wavered. He did everything asked of him and perhaps a little more.
He was repaid for that loyalty while searching for a place to learn the coaching business. He called Haase for some advice. Eventually that led to Haase showing the same loyalty by offering Williams a chance to learn while serving as a graduate manager for the UAB men's basketball program.
"It just goes back to the type of people that they are," Williams said. "Some guys probably just say it but some people do it with their actions. This staff - Coach (Rob) Ehsan, Coach Haase, Coach (Jeff) Wulbrun - they were very instrumental to me in my next move after I got done. That's big. That just shows the type of people that they are. That shows what they thought about me as a player, to think I had what it takes to come back and be a part of what they've got going here. I think it is very beneficial to me and I think I can be beneficial to them."
Williams spent five years in the Blazers' program, spending his first as a redshirt. He played in 123 games with 81 starts. While his career was marked more by floor burns, defensive stops and grabbing rebounds away from bigger opponents, he also hit some big shots. His 3-pointer at the buzzer during his sophomore year gave UAB a road win over Rice and he combined for 54 3-pointers over his final two seasons.
When he was through, after collecting his degree in Communication Studies, he tried to find a spot to play. He did a tour through the United States with an Athletes in Action team. He pursued several possibilities to play in foreign countries, turning one down and seeing a couple of others fall through.
"The (UAB) coaches were keeping up with me, even when they had their season going on," Williams said. "They were trying to get me in the right hands."
That turned out to be back where he started his college career. Williams came back to pursue a Master's Degree in Communication Management and a crash course in the life as a college basketball coach.
"The biggest thing, as a graduate manager, is I'm on the court," Williams said. "I can be a part of the practice. I can pass the guys the ball, if the coaches need it I can hop in on defense. If they need me to be a one of the guys on the scout team, I can do that."
Off the floor, he soaks in the knowledge and experience of a veteran coaching staff. He learns by listening and watching and learns by doing what's asked of him. He also lends a unique perspective for both the players and coaches.
"Being the middle guy - the mediator - between the players and the coaches," said Williams, who was played his final season with current UAB players Tosin Mehinti, Denzell Watts and Tyler Madison. "I got a relationship with the players - a few of the guys I actually played with - and I got a relationship with the coaches. I'm trying to help players better understand the coaches and what they're trying to do and relaying the message to the coaches on how the players feel. It's crazy because I just finished in 2014 and guys are calling me `Old Man' and stuff like that. It's just real good to be back."
