Willis Subs In!
- Thread starter Sneak_sneakers
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He's made some mistakes and seemed a bit rushed, but I think that boils down simply to his lack of PT. He's active, making good entry passes, went looking for a put back slam just now. Solid play.
Looked lost on O. Not this huge contributer we can't live without. Other than ppl wanting him to play solely bc he's from KY. Floreal could have contributed the same
Just stop with the Floreal comments lol. The kid looks the same level as the rest of the Gray Platoon when they come in.
Willis seemed nervous stepping out of bounds and getting lost on offense once or twice, but he did nothing to hurt us. Got a rebound or two...drove to the basket....didn't lose his man on defense. Keeping the platoons intact as long as Willis gives minutes that don't get us is better than the 9 man deal and apparently Cal agrees. He didn't put Doninique in the lineup because he was lighting the world on fire.
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Willis seemed nervous stepping out of bounds and getting lost on offense once or twice, but he did nothing to hurt us. Got a rebound or two...drove to the basket....didn't lose his man on defense. Keeping the platoons intact as long as Willis gives minutes that don't get us is better than the 9 man deal and apparently Cal agrees. He didn't put Doninique in the lineup because he was lighting the world on fire.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
This. He played fine, but I think we all see why it will be Hawkins over Willis when Hawkins gets back.
It should be obvious, but that won't stop some from acting like Willis is being done a disservice by not playing.
I don't know if your lack of bball knowledge or just contempt of Willis plays is this stupid remark. Willis feeds the post better than any player of the floor. If he had a few more minutes I believe he would score more, but to say he was not contributing and a no name walk on could do the same is ignorant.
i think PT should go to a guy who does more then just feed the post. i dont get why the bar is soooo low for willis from some people.
I really don't think the KY aspect has anything to do with it, or a small amount to do with it. I think people want to see him play because he is a pretty good, active player. I think many people see him as being between the abilities of the 1st and second squad, but well above that of the walk-ons. On a traditional basketball team he'd be more than talented enough to play a lot of productive minutes. Unfortunately, he plays for a team that is not traditional and has some of the best, if not the best, talent in the nation. Still, people like to see him out there because he is better than being a mop up player. Everyone just wants to rush to say it is because he is from Kentucky, and that's the only reason we care if he is in. That's not the case.
I also don't think you can compare him at all to Floreal and trying to is probably pretty ridiculous. Willis was a 3 star prospect out of high school, a top 25 power forward, and ranked the 115th best prospect in the nation. He is a 6 foot 9 power forward who has just enough mobility to play a bit more of a small forward role, even though he is pretty much a tweener player. Floreal was an unranked 0 star prospect that is an undersized power forward at 6'4". Floreal is a whole lot different talent wise than Willis.
I am not one who has constantly been yelling for Willis to play more and I'm fine with him having the minutes he does, but we don't have to hate (or degrade) on him or posters that support him.
Why disrespect our walk-on? He has a name and the other poster mentioned it. You are no better than the other guy with your personal insults and attacks on our players.
I'm happy Willis is getting some clock today. I think we can win today even if he was a terrible player. He needs the experience, evidenced by his nervousness so far.
To comment on what someone said a few posts ago, Willis has hurt us today. He missed his defensive assignment twice. The last led to a pretty easy dunk. He had the pick and roll guy and tried to fight through the pick.
He is a good kid but he needs to be in more so that he doesn't get so nervous.
To comment on what someone said a few posts ago, Willis has hurt us today. He missed his defensive assignment twice. The last led to a pretty easy dunk. He had the pick and roll guy and tried to fight through the pick.
He is a good kid but he needs to be in more so that he doesn't get so nervous.
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anon_013cn8yrfncx2
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anon_hvdd36eg5u05l
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Well I would hope Cal wouldn't throw a mop up player under the bus...
derek seems like a good player who is a little bit in over his head this year, at this program. That's not really saying much at all- there are a TON of good college basketball players who would see their minutes shrink drastically if they were on this particular team. I think what's really peculiar/intriguing is why he draws so much attention from our fans.
It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I've seen people suggest it's because he's white or because he's from Kentucky. I wouldn't be surprised if that were it, and I also wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the fact that that portion of the fan base sees him as a dead eye shooter, which a tooooon of UK fans have been obsessed with since Pitino. Whatever it is, it's interesting/weird.
Willis didn't look bad out there. He just doesn't have a lot of experience during a game that hasn't been decided yet. He did a few things well and a few not so well. The ultimate thing is he didn't hurt us while in the game. I hope he gets a few more chances this season.
just a blew out a team on the road and folks are up an arms over the 12th freaking man....again....smh
Yeah. Coach Cal was proud of him in the press conference. Every player made mistakes.
Although, Hawkins said it best after the Mizzou game. He said he feels like if he doesn't play well in his opportunities, he won't get a chance again. I doubt that's completely true, but it may be a little more true for Willis, Hawkins, and sometimes Lee, than the other players. Regardless, I'm glad Willis got some run. He is NOT another Jon Hood, and other people think he can't defend. He's not Marcus Lee, but he's not a bad defender.
What's up an arms?
If it was important enough for Coach Cal to make a point to specifically mention Derek... that's good enough for me!
Why do people always want to question him, especially after a big road win to remain undefeated? Just can't understand the motivation for that.. sheesh!
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anon_hvdd36eg5u05l
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only If he gets pt this year to gain some confidence. I didn't think he looked that good out there today, and I'm somebody who really wants him to play.
Well, on one side there's:
1) Before The Game: Oscar Combs made a case that he thought Willis should've played as much as 7 minutes at the end of the Missouri game. Matt Jones then agreed with his point of view.
2) During The Game: Coach Cal puts Derek in the game... in the first half, even. Derek returned to close out the game, also.
3) After The Game: Coach Cal made a point to specifically offer praise for Derek's play.
On the other side there's:
1) Internet post-board-HOFers who knocked the kid and some that injected racism into the debate.
Pretty easy choice for me.
He is active...gets on the boards...he isn't great but doesn't embarrass himself out there....the kid needs to be able to play thru his mistakes like everybody else....Nobody asking him to play 20 minutes but there is certainly no reason he can't be part of one of the platoons when somebody like (Dom) is out
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anon_hvdd36eg5u05l
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I'm not sure quoting Oscar combs and Matt jones is the road you want to go down. They're not any more of a basketball authority than your average fan. And to be fair, Derek was yanked within 2 minutes I believe of getting in in the first half, and returned with what, a minute or two left in the second when we were up by ~25? Just be neutral.
Yeah... and he deserved to be yanked at that point. I'll have to look at the replay, but I think Willis got more than 2 minutes then... but I'm not sure. Regardless, that's just another way for him to get better, having some real on-the-court experience... rather than only suiting up against his teammates.
Fair enough on the Jones and Combs remark, though their take had merit within the CONTEXT of a 45+ blowout... so I'll just stick to the 2 points that involve Coach Cal.
As for being "neutral"... I don't know about that one. But, I'll be level-headed, which is a helluva lot more than can be said for the race-baiters that chimed in on the subject.
Best to you, fellow GBBer.
GO CATS!!!
This post was edited on 1/17 8:04 PM by dezyDeco
Skills vs confidence vs experience.
The player in question certainly has skills. That said he is competing for time with players that have skills as well.
I believe too some players need confidence. That comes from playing, support of the coach and your fellow team members. It's hard to get time to build confidence when even though you are talented, there are some superb talents on your team as well. In this case the coach certainly supported the player, and some quotes from team members seem to indicate support and respect as well.
This particular team is just LOADED with talent and players. Someone even though certainly talented is going to have to be not quite as good, or evaluated as good, as others and thusly may not get much time on the floor THIS YEAR.
What I am impressed with is the way Coach Cal is addressing this wealth of talent....and how the players seem to be on board with the process.
I wish all our players could play as many minutes as they wish...but I'm thankful that coach Cal is doing an excellent job of playing as many players asossible.
The player in question certainly has skills. That said he is competing for time with players that have skills as well.
I believe too some players need confidence. That comes from playing, support of the coach and your fellow team members. It's hard to get time to build confidence when even though you are talented, there are some superb talents on your team as well. In this case the coach certainly supported the player, and some quotes from team members seem to indicate support and respect as well.
This particular team is just LOADED with talent and players. Someone even though certainly talented is going to have to be not quite as good, or evaluated as good, as others and thusly may not get much time on the floor THIS YEAR.
What I am impressed with is the way Coach Cal is addressing this wealth of talent....and how the players seem to be on board with the process.
I wish all our players could play as many minutes as they wish...but I'm thankful that coach Cal is doing an excellent job of playing as many players asossible.