Jim Petersen played eight years in the NBA for three teams as a third-round pick by Houston in 1984. After several years on the Minnesota Lynx’s bench, first as an assistant coach, then associate head coach, the St. Louis Park native has been a full-time radio and television analyst, considered one of the best in the business.
But Petersen disclosed to me last week that if it wasn’t for the late Jimmy Williams, who died on August 19 at age 77, he might not have been a solid NBA player.
“I wasn’t a great college player. I was solid, and I had a good senior year,” admitted Peterson, downplaying his Minnesota career (1980-84). He never started a game but played in 96 games and finished with 540 points, 359 rebounds, 98 assists, 28 steals, and 73 blocks.
As a pro, Petersen scored 3,397 points and grabbed 2,354 rebounds. At Houston, he mostly backed up Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson—his best season was 1986-87 (11.3 PPG, 6.8 rebounds), played in all 82 games, started 56, and played in the NBA Finals that season as well.
Petersen retired as a player at age 30 in 1992.
“But Jimmy told me one time we were working out in the summertime before my senior year,” continued Petersen. “He told me, ‘You’re a pro if you could just get out of your own way and believe in yourself.’ He said, ‘You can play in the NBA.’”
Petersen remembers questioning his coach saying that, but Williams stood firm on his advice, which ultimately became a reality.
“He helped me believe in myself,” said Petersen of Williams. “There are a lot of people that help you get to the pros along the way, and Jimmy Williams was one of those guys for me.”
Williams was renowned as an excellent recruiter; however, some things often get overlooked or underestimated about Williams.
First, he was an excellent player development coach. Petersen pointed out, “Think about all the great players that he coached at Minnesota—that was the greatest group of big men that came through [Minnesota] from Jim Brewer, Ron Behagen, Kevin McHale, Mychal Thompson, Mike Olberding, Randy Breuer, myself, John Shasky—all the players that made it to the pros back at that time.
“Jimmy Williams coached every one of them. He taught us to be tough. He put us in the drill work and he demanded toughness out of all of us.
“He was a confidence builder,” noted Petersen on Williams, who recruited him out of St. Louis Park High School, where he was named Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball in 1980 and was this state’s first McDonald’s All-American.
Peterson said he was one of three reasons why he chose Minnesota.
One, Mychal Thompson: “He was my hero growing up. I wore number #43 in the NBA because of Mychal.”
Two, Julius “Jules” Perit, then Williams Arena PA: “I like the way that he used to announce [the players] before I got here. When I played in the state tournament, he said my name. To have your name said by Jules Perit was a real big thing.”
And three, Jimmy Williams: “He was the greatest college recruiter that I met during my time being recruited. My mom absolutely adored Jimmy. Every time Jimmy saw my mom, he treated her like a queen, and she just loved him.
The second overlooked fact is that Williams was the first Black head coach in Minnesota men’s basketball history when he was named interim coach in 1986. He left after Clem Haskins was hired that same year, becoming the first Big Ten school to have consecutive Black head coaches in league history.
Still, the majority of Williams’ coaching career, which began after he finished his college playing career in 1969, was as an assistant coach. This included 15 years under Bill Musselman and Jim Dutcher at Minnesota and several other schools, along with two seasons in the NBA (2000-2002) with the Timberwolves.
“Charles, assistant coaches are psychologists,” explained Petersen. “Jimmy was really great at that. He knew how to talk to guys, and he knew how to get them motivated, and he knew they could feel like they were 10 feet tall.
“And that’s what Jimmy did for me. Jimmy made me feel like I was 10 feet tall,” he stressed. Petersen kept in touch with Williams over the years. But in recent months, Williams’s health was failing him. Kevin Wilson, who was a Gopher assistant coach along with Williams, kept him abreast.
“We’ve been expecting this. I’ve been talking to Kevin about this for probably the last six months,” so when Petersen got the news of Williams’s death, ”It wasn’t a matter of when it was going to happen. So I wasn’t that surprised,” said Petersen sadly.
Finally, the former Gopher, NBA player and top broadcast analyst paid his final tribute to Williams.
“He was just a leader of men,” concluded Petersen. “Jimmy Williams was one of the five most important men in my life and had a big impact on me as a young man. He was a great one.”