So, what are they?
Punishing runs. They begin on one side of a gym and end on the other. And 17 comes from the number of times guys must run across the court (widthwise, not lengthwise) back and forth in exactly 1 minute.
(Actually, the sessions are merely called 17s, at least at PET. But Sweaty 17's sounds better, right?)
"If you don't finish a 17 in 1 minute, you have to do another," Williams said. "And then another. I wound up doing thousands. If you're not in great shape, there's no way you can do those in a minute."
Williams offered those comments, among others, shortly after PET trimmed visiting Communications Tech, 68-63, in a Public A game. He was standing in the southeast corner of South Philly's EOM Athletic Association facility, not far from where a leaky roof had forced student manager Andre Worthen to wipe wet spots at least 100 times.
Williams finished with 17 points, the same number of rebounds and nine blocked shots. Even better, his tongue never hit the floor.
"Last year," he said, "I never would have played well in a [fast-paced] game like this. Conditioning, that's the main area where I've improved.
"I worked out three times a week all summer in this place. With no air conditioning. I always did the 17s. We always had lots of water, but even then, I'd get cramps. I'd get so tired. It was crazy.
"I did a lot of conditioning stuff with my AAU team, too. That stuff's never fun, but if you want to get better, there are things you have to do. It's all about working hard. Trying to become as good as you can be."
