Gus 'The Wizard' Williams returns

He was known for his wizardry with a basketball and his defiant holdout during the prime of his career, and fondly remembered for his role in bringing Seattle its only major sports championship.

Gus Williams, one of the greatest guards in Sonics history, spent years eluding defenders before pulling off one last stunt in Seattle, a disappearing act that spanned two decades. In his wake, he left behind his team, his fans and his second city.

And now he has re-emerged. Whatever differences separated him and the Sonics are in the past.

They've rekindled their relationship and will forge a permanent bond at halftime of tonight's game against Denver, when Williams raises his No. 1 jersey into the KeyArena rafters, joining those that belong to Lenny Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Fred Brown and Nate McMillan.

The time away has been good to Williams, who at 50 looks as if he could suit up and score 20 points. His transcendent smile is radiant and his eyes tend to sparkle whenever he talks about the good old days.

The city has changed in more ways than he has. Williams' memories are of a place legendary columnist Emmett Watson penned as "Lesser Seattle."

"Bellevue has a skyline and they have traffic jams here," he said yesterday while taking a few minutes out of a busy schedule this week that included breakfast benefits, charity events and reuniting with members of the 1979 championship team.

"It's a great city, it is, but it was a better city. It was the best-kept secret, but now they found out about it and it grew. I come out two or three times a year. Each time I come out, they make me feel like it's home."

Williams may have spent six of his 11 seasons in Seattle, but his home has always been Mount Vernon, N.Y., a city of about 70,000 bordering the north end of New York City. It's where he grew up and still resides, a businessman with a variety of interests.

It was in Mount Vernon that he met many of the 30 people who will crowd onto the court tonight.

He calls them "my entourage." Williams is never alone these days.

"What good is it to have some great accomplishment if you don't have people around you that you love and that love you?" Williams asked. "It just doesn't work. You can win something, and if you share it with those people, it's a special moment. Wherever I go, they are going to go and have a good time with me."

Without them, Williams claims he would never have left Mount Vernon.

The matriarch of the clan is his mother, Rosanna Williams. She grew up in Savannah, Ga., and after her husband died when Gus Williams was 6, she raised her six children on a maid's salary.

"She's my favorite girl," Williams said. "One and only. My mom became mom and dad, friend and everything. ... We never wanted for anything. We had food. We had clothes on our back. She taught us right from wrong. But also we had a close-knit neighborhood. If you went across the street and did something, my friend's mother would set you straight."

Williams found father figures in men such as Clinton Young Jr., a local politician who has known Williams for 30 years.

"Throughout the various stages of his life there's been one common denominator, and that is that he's a very determined individual," Young said. "Gus won't tell you that he got cut his first time going out for basketball. He won't tell you that.

"But he loved the game so much, he continued. The playground was right across the street from their house, and he would shovel the snow and shoot as a 10th grader. He shoveled the snow and developed that famous jump shot."

Williams didn't play high-school basketball as a ninth and 10th grader. During his junior year, he played on the JV team before blossoming as a senior.

"He only really played that one year," said Carolyn Walters, who taught math at Mount Vernon High. "I stayed on him like I stayed on all of the boys. He needed a little more attention than some of the others, though."

Walters was there when Williams decided to attend USC and spurn nearby St. John's.

"I think he went out there and fell in love with the place," she said. "He knew he could always come home."

As Williams' stature on the court grew, his influence in the community grew as well, especially to the boys and girls in Mount Vernon who began idolizing him.

"As a youngster I was coming through the Boys and Girls Club and I looked up to Gus," said Rickie E. Stanley, 41. "Now 30 years later, we're like the best of friends. I don't know many guys in my shoes, where they looked up to someone and then they get to hang out with them. I used to be the ball boy in high school. I watched Gus and went to him for advice. I had a little bit of game and he just kept encouraging me. ... I went to school on a full scholarship and played basketball."

Stanley, now an assistant principal at William H. Holmes Elementary School in Mount Vernon, has a saying about his city.

"It's a special place filled with special people," he said. "None are more special than Gus. You guys out here, you've seen the best that we have to offer. You're lucky."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

Gus Williams

Pos.: Guard.

Height: 6-2. Weight: 175.

College: USC.

High school: Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Age: 50, born Oct. 10, 1953.

Nickname: The Wizard.

Noteworthy: Williams was signed as a free agent before the 1977-78 season. He led the Sonics in scoring each of his first three years with the team. In his second season, the Sonics won the NBA title. After his third year, Williams sat out the season in a contract dispute. He returned to play three more seasons for the Sonics, then was traded to Washington after the 1984 season.

Statistics:

Team	G	FG	FT	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG
Sonics	477	.475	.766	20.3	3.0	6.0	2.3
Career	825	.461	.756	17.1	2.7	5.6	2.0

Retiring sorts
Gus Williams will become the fifth Sonics player to have his jersey retired (the Sonics also have retired the microphone of longtime announcer Bob Blackburn).
No.	Player	Date retired	Sonics history
19	Lenny Wilkens	Oct. 19, 1979	Four seasons (19.5 ppg); later coached team to NBA title
32	Fred Brown	Nov. 6, 1986	Played all 13 NBA seasons for Sonics; captain of title team
43	Jack Sikma	Nov. 21, 1992	Missed just 23 games in nine seasons; center for '79 champs
10	Nate McMillan	March 24, 1999	Sonics coach was a defensive standout in 12 seasons
1	Gus Williams	Today	Averaged 20.3 points in six seasons, 26.6 in '79 playoffs