I Regret to Inform You That This Post Is About Williams College
A collection of items, including Rafael Stone's D3 Moment
Houston Rockets GM Rafael Stone
Against my best wishes, I’m writing about Williams College.
As an Amherst grad, I’m supposed to hate Williams and everything/everyone who has ever or will ever associate with the college. Unfortunately I just can’t muster enough animus to properly do so. Even worse, I actually really like some Williams folks. There were the two kind and intelligent Ephs (Williams’ mascot, named for Williams College benefactor Ephraim Williams, for those of you who are asking themselves what the hell an Eph is) who worked at the same place I did for a few years. Then there’s one of my childhood friends, a Williams grad, who teamed up with a few other Williams alums to form a truly excellent band, Darlingside, whose live shows are pure magic. And of course there are the handful of former Williams basketball players I’ve gotten to know over the last 15 years, one of whom I was able to anonymously roast in Pipeline to the Pros, thanks to a fantastic story from Will Hardy and Duncan Robinson’s college coach, Mike Maker.
First bit of Williams-related news: the college featured Pipeline on their “Williams Bookshelf” page and in their athletics alumni newsletter. As someone who was rejected by Williams during the admissions process, this is a major win.
Next bit of Williams-related news: the Houston Rockets just extended the contract of their GM Rafael Stone, a Williams alum. Stone’s journey from D3 point guard corporate lawyer to NBA general counsel to NBA GM is featured in Pipeline’s final chapter. His “quintessential D3 moment” wasn’t in any of our previous articles, but it’s definitely worth sharing.
Stone started off his answer by playing the usual notes:
“I had so much fun playing. I was definitely not ready to stop playing [after high school] so the chance to continue to do it was really fun. I remember like, maybe a game, but my best memories are hanging out with my teammates, the locker room, all that stuff.”
Then the Rockets lead executive told one of the best “quintessential moment” stories we heard about a unique pregame experience during a road game at Middlebury College.
“There was about a 15 foot walk from the van to the gym. There were two awesome things about it, a) it was completely and totally iced over. So I was basically ice skating to get into the gym. I think I fell four times. And I don’t think I’d ever been any place that cold in my life. I was miserable. And then, b) this is my D3 moment part of it, the car that parked next to us, it’s one of the [Middlebury] assistant coaches, and then two referees. So they were carpooling. I was like, ‘This is going to be a long night.’ That’s my D3 moment. I don’t remember who was driving but I remember being like, ‘Wait, that dude is decked out in team gear. I’ve seen him before. Isn’t he one of their coaches?’ And then right behind him, the two referees. I was like, ‘This is bullshit.’”
An assistant coach carpooling to the game with a couple of refs? Yeah, that’s a D3 experience.
And finally, I was recently reminded of this 2023 story about Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy, another Williams grad. In the article, Hardy talks about how, following an emotional win against the Golden State Warriors, he looked up at his friend in the crowd (a Bay Area native) and started talking some junk. Only Hardy forgot that, as an NBA head coach, that might mean security would take some interest in his friend. I won’t spoil the entire article, but the part that the piece fails to mention is that Hardy’s friend in question also happened to be a former Amherst basketball player. Nice to see that rivalry get some run in the NBA.
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A reminder on a few items:
If you enjoyed Pipeline to the Pros, please spread the word! And a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads goes a long way.
As a lover of independent book stores, I’d love to push some sales towards indies if possible. So we’re going to do a giveaway, which I’ll announce on Twitter later, but give this audience a head start. Anybody who emails me (bkaplan09+book@gmail.com) a Pipeline to the Pros receipt from an indie bookstore and their mailing address will get an official Pipeline bookmark, as well as a 90s-00s basketball card from my collection. If you don’t have a favorite local indie to order from, I would recommend 57th Street Books in Chicago.