By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The soft, high-arcing shot was honed during long, solitary sessions on the playground near his home in Houston. Field Williams would play there as a kid, participating in pickup games all afternoon and into the night.

He always made it a point to arrive at the park early in the morning so he could work on his shot before the court became crowded and the games began, already displaying the seeds of a work ethic that has made him into one of the best 3-point shooters in the history of the University of Cincinnati basketball program.

"It was just a matter of repetition," said Williams, "shooting every day, just going to the park by yourself and just shooting, just like practice."

The 6-4 senior guard ranks fourth on UC's career 3-point shooting list with 196 and has a chance to finish second behind Darnell Burton (306). His 39.1 percent 3-point accuracy is second only to Burton's 39.4. Williams, who will lead the 12th ranked Bearcats (8-0) against Elon (4-6) at 7:35 today at Fifth Third Arena, has come a long way from the summer day in 2000 when he arrived at UC as a quiet freshman.

He would spend that first year at UC sitting on the bench watching Steve Logan, Lenny Stokes and Kenny Satterfield.

"They took me under their wings and showed me what to do," Williams said.

One thing they didn't have to show Williams was how to work at his game. From that first day, he has given everything he has.

"You're talking about somebody that's come through a hard situation," said UC associate head coach Dan Peters. "People say if a guy doesn't make it you've got to look at his environment, but here's a guy who did make it in spite of his environment."

Williams' determination has helped him overcome the weaknesses in his game and brought him out of his shell.

Tony Bobbitt and James White are more colorful and media-friendly. Jason Maxiell is more physically imposing and puts up better numbers. But Williams, who's averaging 13.4 points per game and making 44 percent of his 3-point attempts, has quietly become a leader on the team.

"I'm the only four-year person on the team," Williams said. "I have to lead everybody. It's not all about talking. It's your actions. You don't have to talk all the time to lead somebody, but if I have to, I'll do it."

Williams is an example of what's supposed to happen when a kid goes away to college to play athletics, both on the court and off.

As a freshman, he wasn't a very good ballhandler and was a terrible defensive player. Now, he's often assigned to the opposition's best perimeter player.

"Field has improved as much as anybody has here," said UC coach Bob Huggins.

Williams needs just three credit hours to earn his degree in social sciences. He expects to graduate at the end of winter quarter.

"He's a great role model to the other guys," Peters said. "People make it because they want to make it. They want to put forth the effort and sacrifice."

How Williams stacks up

UC's career 3-point field goal leaders:

Darnell Burton	306
LaZelle Durden	260
Steve Logan	258
Field Williams	196
Damon Flint	177

UC's career leaders in 3-point field goal percentage

Darnell Burton	.394
Field Williams	.391
LaZelle Durden	.385
Steve Logan	.378
Nick Van Exel	.358

Cincinnati vs. Elon

Tipoff: 7:35 p.m. today, Fifth Third Arena (13,176).

Records: UC (8-0), Elon (4-6).

Radio: WLW-AM (700).

TV: None.

Series: First game.

Line: UC by 31

CINCINNATI

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Armein Kirkland	So.	6-8	7.5
Jason Maxiell	Jr.	6-7	15.1
Kareem Johnson	Sr.	6-7	4.8
Field Williams	Sr.	6-3	13.4
Nick Williams	Jr.	6-4	7.4

Coach: Bob Huggins (357-112, 15th season; 525-184 overall).

ELON

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Chris Chalko	Fr.	6-8	4.3
Jackson Atoyebi	Jr.	6-6	13.3
Ryan Jones	Fr.	6-3	2.4
Scottie Rice	So.	6-4	11.6
Steven Harvin	Jr.	6-1	9.6

Coach: Ernie Nestor (4-6, first season; 72-87 overall).