Sunday Q&A: Wolves guard Mo Williams

Veteran point guard Mo Williams made his first start for the Wolves on Wednesday, settling down a team that had been struggling in the absence of Ricky Rubio with a 14-point, 13-assist performance in a victory over the Knicks. It's the type of game Williams, 31, has delivered many times in an NBA career that started in 2003. On Thursday, the Star Tribune's Michael Rand caught up with Williams on a number of subjects:

Q I saw your social media posts recently (Twitter: @mowilliams) about a clothing line. When did you get interested in that?

A I have an academy, the Mo Williams Academy (themowilliamsacademy.com), and we have a clothing line off of that that's called Raphael Maurice, which is my middle name first and my first name as the second name. … It's more for my academy, just for the people that are involved and want to be involved. It's a form of unity.

Q I saw one of the T-shirts you were wearing as part of that clothing line, and it says, "Blood of an underdog, heart of a champion." What does that signify to you?

A That mentality just comes from me. I've always been an underdog my whole life, and I have the heart of a champion. It was a good quote to make a T-shirt out of.

Q The underdog status — is that your whole life or is it more your NBA career, as a second-round pick?

A Probably more so when I got to the NBA. It kind of started. In high school, I was always, you know, the best player — McDonald's All-American, got all the accolades. Even in college [at Alabama], to a certain extent. But yeah, that's been my 12 years in the NBA.

A I've learned something from each and every one of them. I'm a coach at heart, and I've learned from every coach I've been a part of. Every system I've been a part of, I've taken something from.

Q You're very early in your Wolves career. Where are the Timberwolves right now in terms of stages of development?

A We have youth, but we also have veterans. Obviously you have to be blessed with health, and when we get healthy you'll be able to get a good sense of who we are.

Q You might not know this, but the Vikings used to have a running back about a decade ago named Moe Williams, who ran for 1,800 career yards here, but he spelled his name with an "e" at the end. What do you have to do to be the greatest Mo Williams in Minnesota sports history?

A Yeah, I remember that. … I just try to be the best Mo Williams I can be. I don't try to compete with nobody else. I just try to be me, and hopefully that me is good enough for fans to accept.