Since the Sonics are now playing in some city I can’t even name, we weren’t planning the annual ‘Marvin Williams is back in town’ story this year for Bremerton High’s NBA product. Marvin and the Hawks still make a trip to Portland this month, but playing a team in the next state isn’t quite the same as far as homecomings go, and neither is our travel budget these days.
To the rescue, the Bremerton High athletic department. They’ll retire Williams’ jersey next Thursday, Feb. 12, at halftime of the boys game against Port Townsend. He’ll also visit kids at his elementary school, Armin Jahr, and Mountain View Middle School. And we’ll get our chance to write about the local star coming home and catch up on his progress (he had 23 points and 10 boards last night against Minnesota and Atlanta is 28-20, to give you an idea how that’s going).
I’m sure Nathan Joyce will have more about the ceremony over at the Prep Beat and in next weekend’s Sun, since he’s covered Williams the past few years. The closest I’ve come to interviewing Marvin was last summer, when I took the ball into the lane, where the power forward was playing defense, during a noon ball game at the YMCA. His answer to my question, so to speak, was “no.”
— David Nelson
