FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Four of the five starters on the 2008-9 Hopkins High School boys’ basketball team, that season’s Minnesota state champion, received Division I scholarships. The exception was the 5-foot-11 point guard, who shot a little, passed a lot and relished his responsibility as a defensive stopper.
He would deny the ball. He would harass his man. He would frustrate offenses.
That guard, Marcus Williams, now plays in the N.F.L., where he has the same duties. He approaches his job, as a cornerback on the Jets, as if he were still playing on hardwood.