Pelican players, Thunder Pay Tribute, Mourn Ingrid Williams
Kevin Durant, Thunder star blinked back tears in an emotional morning shoot around interview as he spoke on the loss of Ingrid Williams, the wife of Monty Williams, an assistant coach who died later a Tuesday evening car crash. Durant said, “Just love Coach Monty so much, man”. “I feel for him, man. It’s somebody we all love.”
Tuesday night, Ingrid Williams, 44, was involved in a crash. Oklahoma City police Captain, Paco Valderrama said, an oncoming car hit her SUV just outside of downtown by crossing the center line. Valderrama said the driver was evident dead at the scene.
Ingrid Williams with three of her five children was traveling at the time of the crash, the Oklahoman reported. One of the children has been discharged from the hospital and “the other two are banged up but expected to be OK”, Valderrama told the newspaper.
New Orleans hired Monty Williams in 2010 to his first and only head-coaching job and fired after the previous season. Anthony Davis, Pelicans star said in a tweet: “Completely devastated as Ingrid Williams was the second mother to me when I got to NOLA. My thoughts & prayers are with Monty & the family.”
Alvin Gentry, Pelicans first-year coach said, “It was really difficult for our guys to get through it because he (Monty Williams) has had such an impact on the players, and she had even more of an impact, maybe, with the mothering that she did for most of the guys and the type of person that she was,”. “She wanted everybody to feel like they had a home away from home.”