Calling the Shots

Utah Jazz assistant coach Mike Williams ’17, MS ’18, is helping call the shots for the NBA team and often going one-on-one with the players.

In addition to contributing to game strategy, Williams is assigned to two, sometimes three, players. He studies their in-game performance film to structure their individual workouts within an overall action improvement plan. “I meet regularly with each player through the season to adjust the plan as needed,” he says. “You’re really tied to each guy. We genuinely want to help the players achieve their goals while also making sure that how they play is aligned with the team’s goals."

Both sets of responsibilities are an extension of what he learned in the MS in Business and Management program at Smith, he says. “The [Smith] experience was a high-level deep dive into leadership best practices.” It gave him, he says, “a new foundation, an added dimension” to his undergraduate work in multiplatform journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, as well as his roles as a manager and grad assistant with the Terps men’s basketball team.  The latter, he says, included an “extra memorable” 27-win, 2015-16 season, culminating in a Sweet 16 finish in the NCAA tournament. 

The Washington, D.C., native joined the Jazz after coaching the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go from 2021-23. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach and in player development roles with the Washington Wizards from 2019 to 22. He first entered the NBA as a Portland Trail Blazers player development intern.

Williams says with the NBA, he has become an offensive strategy specialist—“creating plays, schemes and concepts that fit our personnel.” This includes sometimes “going down a rabbit hole—on a tangent—to explore an obscure concept that may give the team a new edge on offense.” And perhaps like a business-class assignment, he says, “you make it a project—fleshing it out and presenting it to the head coach.”