Marvin Williams hasn't been able to fully indulge in his usual summer escape from the NBA.

Williams spoke with AJC Hawks beat writer Sekou Smith Friday about all that and more.

Q: This has to have been the craziest summer yet for you as a Hawk, watching guys come and go and all the other stuff play out the way it has. How have you spent the bulk of your time?

A: You know me, the past few summers I've gone back to school, so to speak. Being here [in Chapel Hill] is kind of like my refuge. I've done pretty well in school.

Q: What about your game? What new wrinkles have you added for your fourth season?

A: As always I'm just trying to get better. I've been shooting a ton of 3s [3-pointers]. I've definitely been working on the 3-ball. And I've put on a lot of weight, too. I'm up to about 245 with seven percent body fat. I'm as big and strong as I've ever been. I'm finally starting to fill out my frame, and it feels good.

Q: You barely shot any 3-pointers last season, was that by design?

A: I shot them my rookie year, but I didn't shoot many last year, maybe 10 or so. Five or six of those were from half court, too. But I feel like that's something I can add to my game that will make me more of a threat. A lot of people feel I can shoot that shot. It's something I've got to continue working on to get better.

Q: The jump in weight seems pretty significant. Are you worried at all about carrying that much more weight and maintaining your speed and quickness?

A: I was 233 last year, but I actually feel like I'm moving a lot better. I've been running sprints on the track, and my times are better than they've ever been. I think a lot of it is just natural maturation. It's like my dad always said, I was so young when I came into the league. It was just a matter of time before my body developed. I just turned 22 two months ago, man. Everybody has to go through this.

Q: Speaking of going through it, how tough is it to see one of your best friends [Josh Childress] leave the team for Greece?

A: It's crazy. Words can't explain the friendship I've built with him the past few years. It's tough first and foremost for our team. We signed Mo Evans from Orlando, and that's a great get, he's a guy that's going to do a lot of good things for us. But from a personal standpoint, [Childress] was the guy that showed me what the league was all about when I got here. It's a blow to see him leave.

Q: Did you at least get the news before it broke?

A: When I heard he was going to Greece I thought he was going to hang out. I was actually in Switzerland myself at the time. So I was in the airport in New York eating and the news came across the scroll on ESPN that he was going to Greece. I was like, what the [expletive] is going on. ... All I can say is I was stunned.

Q: The guys drafted before and after you have gotten lucrative contract extensions already. Where do things stand with you right now and the Hawks?

A: It's not even on my mind. I saw where [Andrew] Bogut, Chris [Paul] and Deron [Williams] all got those extensions. They worked hard for that. And I'm happy for them. But from a personal standpoint I haven't concerned myself with that right now at all. I love Atlanta. And I'll let God take care of everything else.

Q: Does Billy Knight's departure make it seem like everything has started anew, like this team is undergoing yet another rebuilding process?

A: In a way it does. And I'm sure we'll have a few more bumps in the road during the process. We've [got] some new things added to the mix, some new elements. At the same time, I'm not going to do anything out of my element going forward.

Q: This summer can't be what you expected when you guys left Boston that night after Game 7. Surely, you thought things would go differently, right?

A: Absolutely. And that's the thing, everybody was talking about next season. The way we went out in Boston was not the way we wanted to finish. But we gave it everything we had. And after it was all said and done, everybody was talking about next year, next year. The entire city of Atlanta was looking forward to next year. Again, it would be tough to lose those two big pieces that really put together your team. I just hope [management] matches the offer to Josh.