"Terrence Williams is proof good things can come from a bad situation.

Williams has picked it up -- really in every category -- after he was banished to the Nets' bench for two games. The rookie sat for a variety of reasons: bad shot selection, missing a team bus, casual defense and bad posts on Twitter.

Now removed from the controversy, Williams can see the positives that came from it."Sitting out those two games and actually watching basketball and working out with Doug [Overton, assistant coach,] helped me a lot because when you get to the NBA, you tend to watch games on the TV more," Williams said before the Nets faced the defensively challenged Raptors last night. "Before, when I was in college, I never watched a game. Being a part of it now and being able to watch it up close, you see things and it really helped me out."

Williams was coasting in the eyes of some. Then the troubles hit, something interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe now just refers to as "old news." Williams is back, playing better and his eyes are on the future, not the past.

Williams shot 16-of-29 (.552) with games of 17 and 18 points in the four since his banishment ended. He shot .340 in his first 20 games before his benching.

"Honestly, I do think [there is] a real willingness to learn," said Vandeweghe, who saw in Williams, toward the beginning, a little search for direction. "We've tried to be, from the beginning, very clear with him. He's a rookie and he's learning. We want him to be full of energy and very aggressive running the floor and if he has the chance, take it to the basket. Then on defense he's got to really help us. Very simple game plan."

The step up concerns his play. There also has been a step up in Williams' attitude. Getting benched can be a tad humbling.

"He's had a clear direction the last week or so and what I've found as a real positive is that he's really accepted that with a willingness of, 'What can I do?' " Vandeweghe said. "And then he's gone out and done it."

Williams readily admits that is the case."