dominance to Durham that Elizabeth did. Behind a conference-best 110 swats, Mark enacted one of the most dominant displays of interior mastery in recent memory, averaging 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and a fifth-best in the nation 2.8 blocks per game, while shooting 72 percent from the floor. Things weren’t always peaches and cream as a Blue Devil, however, as Elizabeth remembers Mark embracing the struggles of fighting for playing time on a stacked roster as a freshman. She was tactical in her advice, trusting the teachings of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff, but also providing insight into how his vulnerability with the program could yield the
52 SL AMONLINE.COM
results he was looking for. “Sometimes it takes a little bit of time and a little bit of getting through the dirt. And I think even having conversations with him, seeing his mindset change his sophomore year, and being more consistent and trusting that his work was paying off, I think that’s what was cool to see,” Elizabeth says. At 28 (Elizabeth) and 20 (Mark), the eight-year age gap that once separated their interests has since fostered more mature, impactful conversations about the situations the two now find themselves in. “I can ask her about a bunch of stuff that applies to her now that I haven’t really experienced yet,” says Mark.
One constant, however, has never faded: the siblings’ love for snatching the ball out of the air in the blink of an eye. Considered one of the best post players to ever play in the Bull City, Elizabeth—the 2015 National Defensive Player of the Year—was drafted fourth overall in the WNBA Draft that same year. While the siblings struggled to find their footing in the first year within their respective spaces, the Williams family isn’t one to lull around in any predicament they find themselves in. Months before her sophomore season, Elizabeth was dealt to the Atlanta Dream, where she began her resurgence—ranking sixth in the W with 41 blocks, averaging a career-best 11.9
