VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Williams family has hardly had a chance to catch their collective breath.
"It's been nonstop. We went to the Final Four, the Elite Eight, it's been a lot, and of course it's not ending because summer league starts in 12 days," says Alex Williams, sitting next to his wife Margaret, reminiscing on his son's whirlwind 2022.
This chaos despite the Williams' family considerable preparation for this moment. Mark's older sister Elizabeth was the 4th overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft after her own standout career at Duke.
Williams staked his own place in Blue Devil lore during his sophomore season at Duke. The former Norfolk Academy Bulldog won ACC Defensive Player of the Year while playing some of his best basketball during the team's run to the Final Four. He answered nearly every question scouts had after an inconsistent freshman season, so much so that he is regarded as a likely lottery pick. The projections are so positive that Williams is one of the select prospects invited to the draft green room, meaning the league expects him to be done early.
The only question left to answer is what uniform Williams will dawn when the next step in his hectic journey begins.
Well that, and what he'll wear to the notoriously stylish (relative term) NBA Draft.
"He picked out a suit but we won't see it," says Margaret. Alex confirms, "He won't allow anybody to see it. He won't tell us what type it is. We have no clue. He told everybody to just wait and see."
No matter how stunning the final fit, the Williams' family has already had their breath taken away.