Photo by Adam Brimer
The Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team have three freshman this year, including Kamiko Williams.
When Kamiko Williams listens to Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, she's bound to hear her father's voice .
Vincent Williams is a master sergeant in the U.S. Army. According to his daughter, a Lady Vols 5-foot-11 freshman guard, Sgt. Williams is all about discipline, manners and punctuality.
Sounds like ideal preparation for a UT tour of duty.
"I was taught to say, 'yes, ma'am, no ma'am.' That was a given,'' Kamiko said. "If I didn't, he'd pop me on the back of my head and say 'What'd you say?' I meant 'yes ma'am' not 'yeah' I'd apologize.
"If I missed an appointment or I was late for something, he'd get on me, like I was one of his soldiers. That's how strict he was on me."
Kamiko sometimes had a hard time distinguishing between tough love and her father just being tough. A phone call this summer, however, was telling.
"I finally told him thank you,'' said Kamiko, who lived in Germany for 14 years before finishing high school in Clarksville, Tenn. "It took me about 18 years to do it. Now I understand after being here.
"So I called him up and told him 'thank you.' I appreciate everything he's done."
And what was the master sargeant's response?
"On the phone he had to be all hard and tough,'' Kamiko said. "But my mom told me that he wanted to tear up. I've never seen my daddy cry. It would've been the joy of my life."
Q: Let's give your mom (Angelita) equal time, what's been her influence?
A: "I have a character like my mom. She's strict on manners, too, because of the way she grew up. But she's always telling me to be who I am, be honest, don't change for nobody ... If you don't like me for who I am, I'm not going to change for you. I'm Kamiko."
Q: All of this discipline and yet you seem totally care-free, how do you explain it?
A: "My mom. It kind of balances out. My dad was strict, strict, strict and my mom, she let me be who I am and do what I want to do."
Q: Did you move around a lot?
A: "I moved four or five times in Germany.
Q: So what are your memories of Germany?
A: "Germany is beautiful. It's peaceful. I love it. Oh, love it. That would be a great retirement place. Like on Sunday, you can't cut grass on Sundays. Can't disturb the peace. That's how peaceful it is. And it's very clean."
Q: When you're living on a military base, are you really living in Germany?
A: "It's kind of like living in the states because there are so many Americans there and everything on post is what you would find here. It's like Wal Mart is our commissary, you know what I mean? Our PX is like the mall."
Q: Talk about your love of dancing and music?
A: "My mom says, 'you can't do anything without music, can you?' That's the truth. When I clean, gotta have music. When I'm sleeping, gotta have music playing. When I'm reading books, I have to have music playing. I have to."
Q: You listen to music when you're sleeping?
A: "I do. It puts me to sleep. Then I wake up and I start jamming, brushing my teeth. I'm serious.
"My mom told me I need to major in some type of music production. I don't think that I would want to make music. I just like listening to it."
Q: What's your favorite song again?
A: " 'Swag Surfin.' Oh that gets me pumped up. Or 'You're a Jerk' from New Boyz."
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Comments » 14
PITBOSS009 writes:
MIKO KEEP UP DA GOOD WORK.LISTEN & PRAT.HARD & U WILL DO FINE!!!!!
LadyVolFanForever writes:
If you want to be the best basketball player you can be, you came to the right place. Hard work and determination will pay off under Coach Summitt.
Can't wait to see you progress through your 4 years here. Bring on the season !
meredydotcom writes:
Sergeant is not spelled sargeant. It's sergeant. Yikes!
utfan00 writes:
We need the entire crew to be tough. There will be tough competition out there this year. Look who you are up against 6'8 Brittney Griner(Baylor) and 6'8 Pascale West(Auburn). Let's go
Lady Vols!!!!!!
mississippi writes:
dont forget Candybilt's 6'9 Kayci Ferriss
utfan00 writes:
I wondering does Coach Summitt has plan for the ladies vols when it's time to play Baylor,Vandy, and Auburn. If our post players Cain, Brewer, and Dupree haven't got their game in order, they might as well hang it up again this year. I hopes
she has the 3 point shooters ready. Stricklen should be on the wing and not playing as a point guard.
utfan00 writes:
This season is going to be interesting this year.Three college teams with 6'8 and 6'9 women players. UCONN HUSKIES might be sent home too.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Agreed. You see that a lot with preachers' kids. However, it seems that Kamiko's background was pretty balanced. If she internalized that work ethic and willingness to be coached, she could be very successful. She doesn't seem to resent the way she was reared. As an Army vet who served in Germany, believe me when I say there were PLENTY of ways she could have gotten in trouble there if she were so inclined, but I don't see that in her. I think she will do fine here.
BigRMan writes:
If Kamiko has had military upbringing, she will be at home with the type of discipline imparted by Coach Summitt as part & parcel of the UT program. She should be a natural as a leader!
chargervol writes:
Everybody will not have 6'8 and taller post players. One player does not make a team. I can remember Ralph Sampson, he was 7'4, never won a championship. Manute Bol was 7'6, never won a championship. Hakeem Olajuwan never won a championship until he was in the NBA. It is nice to have an inside presence, but, it takes more than that to make a team. I would rather have quickness than heighth. But, you can't coach either. I think Pat Summit will work as hard as ever after the way they finished the season last year. Everybody will be chasing the UConn huskies, they are defending champions and they still have mia moore. Very seldom that the player of the year is not either a Vol or a Husky. GO VOLS!!!!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Good girl.
Was my next-door neighbor for over a year. Hard to beat playing H-O-R-S-E.
Has potential for sure.
utfan00 writes:
Lady Vols will need to be tough this year. LIKE I SAID TOO MANY 6'8 -6'9 WILL BE COMPETING AGAINST THEM.
reachkim00 writes:
It dosen't matter if we have players that are 4'2" or 6'10"... we ALWAYS have a target on our backs. Bottom line is our ladies just need to focus, practice hard, throw away the past, look toward the future and come out with an 'I dare you to cross me' attitude. Height don't always matter, but heart and a desire to win does. Shannon Bobbitt proved that!
GO LADY VOLS!!!! Kick butt and take names.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
The main question about this team is whether in fact they HAVE that hard-nosed, cold-eyed, killer instinct that always characterized the best Lady Vol teams. That was certainly not the aura they emanated last year. Williams and Spani may have it, but it is tough to have to rely on freshmen as team spine-stiffeners.
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