DURHAM - As big shots go, Jay Williams sure has knocked down a bunch of them, like those 3s to help his Duke squad beat Maryland on the road in 2001 in what became known as the Miracle Minute.

But now Williams is shooting shots to win more important victories.

At halftime of Saturday's Western Washington-Duke men's basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Williams received the Donate Life Champion award for his work to raise awareness about the need for people to sign up to become organ donors.

This is the inaugural year of the award, presented on behalf of Donate Life America and Donate Life North Carolina. The honor is being given to select members of the country's athletics community - including basketball legend Michael Jordan - who have inspired others to give what literally is the gift of life through organ donations.

"People in the athletic community have such a capacity to inspire people in our culture, so it means everything to us to have someone like Jay Williams agree to be a spokesman for us," Donate Life North Carolina executive director Sharon Hirsch said.

Williams received the award for advocating the use of the Facebook feature that allows users to indicate in their status whether they are organ donors.

Both Williams' mother and late grandmother struggled with polycystic kidney disease.

Williams' grandmother lost her battle with the disease, but his mother received a life-saving kidney transplant.

"I've been around it since I was a little boy," Williams said.

Williams, a national player of the year at Duke, grew up watching his mom take care of her mom on account of the kidney disease.

Just a few years ago, Williams said his mother told him she wouldn't have put him through a similar ordeal of taking her to dialysis treatments for 10 years.

"Pretty much saying, in a nutshell, she was going to take the kidney failure, and probably pass away," Williams said. "I would have given my mother my kidney, if I could have."

Williams' mother celebrated a portion of her birthday on Saturday at the Duke game with her son.

A registered donor, Williams wants others to get over their apprehensions and sign up, too.

"The only way to actually ease the fear is actually to talk about it," Williams said. "I think there needs to be more awareness about it."

More than 114,000 Americans - 3,500 North Carolinians -- are waiting for life-saving organ transplants right now, according to Donate Life.

Joining the state's donor registry is as simple as visiting DonateLifeNC.org, and those either getting or renewing their driver's licenses can register with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Reach out to Hirsch at hirsch@donatelifenc.org" style="text-decoration: initial; outline: none; cursor: pointer; color: rgb(237, 29, 36);">shirsch@donatelifenc.org or 919-451-7893 for more information.

Williams led Duke to a national title in 2001 and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, but then he severely hurt himself when he crashed his motorcycle in June 2003. He tried to make a comeback to the NBA but couldn't make it work.

Yet basketball, including his current work as an ESPN analyst, still affords Williams quite a platform to encourage folks to help other folks through organ donations.

"That's what I was put here to do -- not play basketball, but to be a part of something bigger and different," Williams said.

Story via John McCann at The Herald-Sun

DURHAM - As big shots go, Jay Williams sure has knocked down a bunch of them, like those 3s to help his Duke squad beat Maryland on the road in 2001 in what became known as the Miracle Minute.

But now Williams is shooting shots to win more important victories.

At halftime of Saturday's Western Washington-Duke men's basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Williams received the Donate Life Champion award for his work to raise awareness about the need for people to sign up to become organ donors.

This is the inaugural year of the award, presented on behalf of Donate Life America and Donate Life North Carolina. The honor is being given to select members of the country's athletics community - including basketball legend Michael Jordan - who have inspired others to give what literally is the gift of life through organ donations.

"People in the athletic community have such a capacity to inspire people in our culture, so it means everything to us to have someone like Jay Williams agree to be a spokesman for us," Donate Life North Carolina executive director Sharon Hirsch said.

Williams received the award for advocating the use of the Facebook feature that allows users to indicate in their status whether they are organ donors.

Both Williams' mother and late grandmother struggled with polycystic kidney disease.

Williams' grandmother lost her battle with the disease, but his mother received a life-saving kidney transplant.

"I've been around it since I was a little boy," Williams said.

Williams, a national player of the year at Duke, grew up watching his mom take care of her mom on account of the kidney disease.

Just a few years ago, Williams said his mother told him she wouldn't have put him through a similar ordeal of taking her to dialysis treatments for 10 years.

"Pretty much saying, in a nutshell, she was going to take the kidney failure, and probably pass away," Williams said. "I would have given my mother my kidney, if I could have."

Williams' mother celebrated a portion of her birthday on Saturday at the Duke game with her son.

A registered donor, Williams wants others to get over their apprehensions and sign up, too.

"The only way to actually ease the fear is actually to talk about it," Williams said. "I think there needs to be more awareness about it."

More than 114,000 Americans - 3,500 North Carolinians -- are waiting for life-saving organ transplants right now, according to Donate Life.

Joining the state's donor registry is as simple as visiting DonateLifeNC.org, and those either getting or renewing their driver's licenses can register with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Reach out to Hirsch at hirsch@donatelifenc.org" style="text-decoration: initial; outline: none; cursor: pointer; color: rgb(237, 29, 36);">shirsch@donatelifenc.org or 919-451-7893 for more information.

Williams led Duke to a national title in 2001 and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, but then he severely hurt himself when he crashed his motorcycle in June 2003. He tried to make a comeback to the NBA but couldn't make it work.

Yet basketball, including his current work as an ESPN analyst, still affords Williams quite a platform to encourage folks to help other folks through organ donations.

"That's what I was put here to do -- not play basketball, but to be a part of something bigger and different," Williams said.

Story via John McCann at The Herald-Sun