Wake. Eat. Play basketball. sleep.
That was the life of Will Conroy this past summer.
Not a day went by that he didn’t find a game,
Four, five, six hours a day he’d be on a court somewhere.
Sometimes on a playground, sometimes in a gym.
Matching his skills against top collegians from the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC and … the NBA.
Yes, the play-for-pay league. “Lots of pros,” Conroy said.
That’s the way it is on big-city courts in the summertime. The amateurs and the pros go at it nose-to-nose.
Let’s see what you have, kid. Show me your best.
That’s the way it was for Conroy, the University of Washington senior point guard.
Pitting his game up against big-timers in Seattle. In Chicago. In New York.
He skipped across the country looking for games. They weren’t hard to find.
His buddy, Jamal Crawford, knew where to find them in Chicago and New York.
Crawford, the ex-Rainier Beach star, played for the Bulls before being traded to the Knicks during the offseason.
They played pickup games. Show up at the park or the gym and choose up sides. “Either you get picked,” Conroy said, “or you’ll be sitting.”
Chicago was his favorite place. “If you’re a real hoop player, it’s like heaven,” he said.
He never knew who he’d be facing. Sometimes there was a Will Bynum from Georgia Tech, an all-Final Four selection last season. Or a Shannon Brown from Michigan State, a Big Ten All-Freshman honoree. From the Millionaires League, he might get Antoine Walker of the Atlanta Hawks or Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns. And, of course, there was always his friend from their Seattle high school days, Crawford.
Conroy went looking for games in all the right places because he knew that was the only way he was going to get better. To play against the best of the best from the toughest conferences in the country. On playground courts where you have to be tough to survive.
“Sometimes,” Conroy said, “when I didn’t think it was sufficient competition, I’d make sure me and Jamal were on separate teams.”
Sometimes pretenders, not contenders, showed up. One time it was R&B singer R. Kelly of “I Believe I Can Fly” fame. Conroy doesn’t believe Kelly can play basketball, though.
“He’s the ultimate ball hog,” Conroy scoffed. “He never passed the ball. And all his security guys were setting screens for him. It was ridiculous.”
Conroy never had trouble finding a game in his hometown. Sometimes Crawford would call Ray Allen and have him “bring some of his (SuperSonic) boys down.” And, day or night, there were always some of Conroy’s Husky teammates rarin’ to play.
Did he do nothing but play basketball? “That’s it,” Conroy replied. “It’s repetitive.”
And did it help his game? “You can pick up some bad habits,” he admitted. “You accept the bad with the good. I definitely improved. I was getting people the ball in scoring position.”
Which is a big part of his game with the Huskies. They have five returning players who averaged double figures in scoring, including Conroy. For the Huskies to win the Pac-10 and go further in the NCAA Tournament than they did last season when they were ousted in the first round, they’ll have to get everyone involved again.
They also have to remember that they’re playing for the present and not the future, that this is “we” time, not “me” time. “A lot of us want to play at the next level,” Conroy said, alluding to the NBA. “The main thing is we want to win and make history. That other stuff will take care of itself.”
Conroy didn’t show much when he came to the UW out of Garfield High School three years ago. But with some good coaching and a desire to learn, he’s improved dramatically the past two years, making himself a threat both as a scorer (12.3 points per game last season) and a passer (4.5 assists per game).
Coach Lorenzo Romar also gives him kudos for his spiritedness. “Nate Robinson, Bobby Jones and Will Conroy are serious competitors,” Romar said, “and they’re tough and when you’ve got a few guys like that on the team, it carries over to the other guys.”
That was a trademark of the Huskies last season. After they finally learned how to play together, they became a tough-minded crew that felt as if they were going to win every time they stepped on the court, and they almost did, running and gunning to 14 victories in their final 18 games.
“There’s a different confidence level when we come on the floor now,” Conroy said. “Not only us, but the way the other teams come out.”
Opponents aren’t nearly as cocksure as they used to be. They know they’re facing 40 minutes of catch-us-if-you-can basketball. They know these Huskies have to be taken seriously.
“It’s even better that we have targets on our backs,” Conroy said. “We love that. That makes it fun for all of us.”
If there’s no challenge, what’s the sense of playing, of devoting every summer day to basketball on some playground near or far, of seeking out the best players you can find on which to test your skills.
Several years ago, when Conroy was a freshman in high school, his friend Jamal Crawford, who was three years older, would sleep over at Conroy’s house.
They shared the same room and one night Crawford started to needle Conroy, saying he was going to take him to school on the basketball court.
Put your money where your mouth is, Conroy said.
They settled on a $50 bet for one game.
It was close to midnight, and Conroy borrowed his mother’s car, and he and Crawford drove to a nearby park.
“It was pitch black,” Conroy remembered, “so we shined the car’s lights on the court.
“We ended up playing to 15 and he beat me 15-11. Ever since then, as I’ve gotten taller, the battles have gotten better.”
For Will Conroy, the biggest battles of his career are about to begin.
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