Chicago ? Jay Williams is on the road again and this time probably pretty close to Willie Nelson.

“I really am looking forward to being in the same place for a while,” Williams said in a telephone interview Friday morning as he prepared to head for Austin, Texas. “I decided to go to the D-League.”

Call it a minor correction for the one-time Bulls top draft pick, No. 2 overall behind Yao Ming in the 2002 NBA Draft. Williams is continuing his comeback from a June 19, 2003, motorcycle crash by going to the Austin Toros of the NBA’s development league.

“My overall goal is to play, so I’m doing whatever I have to do,” Williams said. “The NBDL is the best thing for me now to get used to the NBA kind of game, the same kind of rules and style of play. You take three years off and you miss that. I need the game reps and a chance to play under a great (former player) like Dennis Johnson.”

A few years ago, Williams was merely hoping to walk again after suffering catastrophic injuries.

He gradually worked his way into playing shape and got a shot this fall with the New Jersey Nets. He was released after a stint in training camp and a few exhibition games. When it was suggested he might go to the NBDL to sharpen his skills, Williams remained steadfast that the NBA was his lone goal.

Williams, 25, once a speedy, explosive guard, waited for another NBA call that never came and said he then considered offers to play in Italy and Russia.

“There were opportunities to make some pretty good money,” Williams said. “My problem is I haven’t played in three years against really good competition day in and day out. With the Nets, a lot of people told me I was looking great in practice, doing phenomenal things. And then I’d go into games and feel I was pressing. I’d be there for four minutes and feel the whole pressure of the world on me to do something. I was wondering, ‘Is this who I am?’ It didn’t work out in my favor.

“I went back (to Duke) and worked with the team and I’m feeling stronger, but the biggest thing is a new sense of confidence. At this level, people don’t realize how important that is to be successful. A lot of time in the preseason I was unsure. There were times I’d do well and times there were lapses and I’d question myself. I expect a lot from myself.”

The Toros are in last place at 0-6. Williams will join the upcoming week and it’s funny how time begins to slip away.

“It’s a great college town, a great environment,” Williams said. “They’re in a hole now, but I can bring energy and keep improving and then move from there.”