At least he was playing hard and looked like he wanted to be out there. Wish me had more kids like him (with more talent of course)
As bad as Willis is..
- Thread starter JohnnyGreen1975
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He contributed more than Lee, Alex, and Skal combined.
That's why this team stinks..having to play guys like Willis,Mulder,Hawkins,..can't win big with that type talent ..watch next year you will see them be cigar players..
Willis clearly struggles defensively but he produces on offense. This team needs scorers more than defenders imo. This is the first team under Cal that should play zone defense primarily. Other than Ulis we don't have anyone that can stay in front of somebody. Playing a zone would also protect Lee and Alex from getting in foul trouble.
I liked his effort. Guy was hitting the glass harder than Skal, he just had a case of the butter fingers.
Hit some shots & played with effort on D. He's weak in general and he has to defend bigs, not much he can do without help on defense.
I'm cool with him in the rotation. His weakness were just glaring because he was depended on more w/Lee & Poythress in foul trouble.
Hit some shots & played with effort on D. He's weak in general and he has to defend bigs, not much he can do without help on defense.
I'm cool with him in the rotation. His weakness were just glaring because he was depended on more w/Lee & Poythress in foul trouble.
I like Willis on offense, with his three shot he can stretch the floor as a 4. It's his defense. Cal used a time out to take him off the floor after giving three straight layups to Ben Simmons.
IF we played more zone Wilis would definitely play more. His defense was bad tonight, he didnt make any effort to block out Simmons on the put back dunk, that was really bad.
What does he produce on offense other than 3s? He has little mobility with the ball, isn't going to break anyone down off the dribble certainly. He shows no signs of a midrange game. And as others say, he's completely lost on D and is no help on the glass. In short, he's what everyone assumed Mulder is: a 3 point shooter, and not much else.
Willis played with Poy and Lee fouled out. The Jess went from about 8 to 18 with those two out and Willis and Skal in.
Granted Skal is beyond defending. Though I'm still hopeful he gets it together, even if it is more wishful thinking.
Granted Skal is beyond defending. Though I'm still hopeful he gets it together, even if it is more wishful thinking.
Bad night for UK. Too many turnovers. Bad D. Poor shooting. You name it! I don't care how you slice it, the way things went in tonight's game, Willis was a bright spot.
Other than Ulis, and the watch-what-I-can-do-in-2nd-half-Murray, this team doesn't have any real shooters. Right now, I don't see how that'll take the Cats very far.
Other than Ulis, and the watch-what-I-can-do-in-2nd-half-Murray, this team doesn't have any real shooters. Right now, I don't see how that'll take the Cats very far.
These threads do nothing but force people to either pull for him or against him. He is what he is and got a bunch of minutes tonight do to foul trouble. If Kentucky gets into big foul trouble again he'll play extended min's again, if not he won't. That is his role on this team.
I'd start:
Ulis
Murray
Willis
Poy
Lee
and play an aggressive 2-3 zone. Off the bench would be Biscoe, Mulder, Matthews, and Skal. I know Cal is pretty good at this coaching thing but sometimes being a good coach is recognizing when what you like to do ain't working and you do something else. He does that on offense but won't hear of it on defense.
Personally I love man 2 man defense and believe that's the most effective defense you can play but our personelle this year doesn't fit that style. Cal likes to play it so he can flush guys in to a shot blocker but we don't have one this year. LSU, UCLA, and OSU got to the rim at will against us and it's getting Lee and Poy in foul trouble. Cal, don't be stubborn and just change this one time.
Ulis
Murray
Willis
Poy
Lee
and play an aggressive 2-3 zone. Off the bench would be Biscoe, Mulder, Matthews, and Skal. I know Cal is pretty good at this coaching thing but sometimes being a good coach is recognizing when what you like to do ain't working and you do something else. He does that on offense but won't hear of it on defense.
Personally I love man 2 man defense and believe that's the most effective defense you can play but our personelle this year doesn't fit that style. Cal likes to play it so he can flush guys in to a shot blocker but we don't have one this year. LSU, UCLA, and OSU got to the rim at will against us and it's getting Lee and Poy in foul trouble. Cal, don't be stubborn and just change this one time.
He's awful even if he tries. You may as well put me out there. He touched 5 rebounds that someone else got. Trying be damned, he doesn't need extended PT. He got some looks and hesitated. He doesn't do what he's on the floor to do. He didn't even know that he had a man to box out. I'm so tired of this Willis jock sucking. Let it go.
A
anon_013cn8yrfncx2
Guest
Willis would play better if he didn't know he was coming out at any moment. He has become tentative imo. He expects to be counted on to screw up rather than counted on to contribute.
Tough spot to be in. Cal ran some plays for KW, why not do the same for DW (and yes I know that DW doesn't have the offensive skills of Kyle) Just do something to show you have some confidence in him and give him a chance to step up rather than always looking for a chance to yank him. Oh well, when you want to play a short rotation AND ,then when you actually are forced into playing the others they don't have the requisite experience to perform at the level needed in a pinch.
Personally, I'm never unhappy or worried when Willis comes into the game. Not a star by any means but good enough to be on the floor when called upon.
Tough spot to be in. Cal ran some plays for KW, why not do the same for DW (and yes I know that DW doesn't have the offensive skills of Kyle) Just do something to show you have some confidence in him and give him a chance to step up rather than always looking for a chance to yank him. Oh well, when you want to play a short rotation AND ,then when you actually are forced into playing the others they don't have the requisite experience to perform at the level needed in a pinch.
Personally, I'm never unhappy or worried when Willis comes into the game. Not a star by any means but good enough to be on the floor when called upon.
The criticism of his game on D and rebounding is fair ... But if we all applied the same microscope to Skal where in the world would he be ? Behind Hump ? Play guys who give you something positive .. Skal is giving NOTHING .. and Briscoe is not far behind . Posters talk about Briscoe's defense . I see nothing raising to the level that should keep him near the floor . Because he is killing us on O . And on O is where we are really struggling. Zone up and play some players who can score .
Willis didn't give much effort at all his first two years...but good to see him actually putting effort into basketball this season and having some decent games and even a couple of good games when given the chance.
And I am not sure the other guys do not give effort, I think they simply have limitations (like Willis).
And I am not sure the other guys do not give effort, I think they simply have limitations (like Willis).
Spotter34 is dead on with all his post in this thread. Willis will not play in the NBA but he is better than anyone else not named Murray or Ulis.
There is a new statistic that is used called the plus/minus. I would love to see how each player does. I think Willis would look better than Skal or Alex
I disagree Murray is probably the worst any one can get by him just watch how many times he turns his body and gives the offensive guy his hip and gets blown by and scored on.
Willis defense is a 10 point lead to a 16 point lead in the blink of an eye. Solid shooter but needs help in other areas.
Murray is Murray, 2nd best player on the team and a lottery pick.
Murray is Murray, 2nd best player on the team and a lottery pick.
You're basing Willis d on having to guard the #1 player in the country, which no one has checked all year long. Willis is an average college basketball player, that's it. He does some good and does some bad. Murray has no excuse.
Bingo!
Willis is a below par defender but he does plenty else.
12 mpg he is scoring 5.6 pts a game, 2.2 reb, .3 block, .5 ass, .6 steals while shooting 46% and 37%3pt. If he could get 20mpg action that could translate to 9.3 pts, 3.6 reb while giving you a small amount of shot blocking.
The guy who needs to give up minutes is Briscoe...plays 30mpg worth of 10 pts but is shooting so badly...he kills UK on offense. But he is a good defender.
I know Cal doesn't play zone...but dropping Willis and playing so much Briscoe is killing us
Willis at least crashes the boards. Watch when he's in and a shot goes up, he's running to the rim to collect any rebound. Who else is doing that?
Willis's ceiling is no where compared to the other elites (including Briscoe) on the team. But his floor is also high.
Willis doesn't make a lot of mistakes when he's out there, other than just being slow on defense, which isn't really a mistake, it's just a lack of talent (see comment about his ceiling above).
I'm not really barking for Willis to get more playing time. He should get 15 to 20 minutes per game and he had 19 minutes last night. But in terms of bigs that are giving effort, Willis and Lee are the only ones I see that are consistently giving effort.
Willis's ceiling is no where compared to the other elites (including Briscoe) on the team. But his floor is also high.
Willis doesn't make a lot of mistakes when he's out there, other than just being slow on defense, which isn't really a mistake, it's just a lack of talent (see comment about his ceiling above).
I'm not really barking for Willis to get more playing time. He should get 15 to 20 minutes per game and he had 19 minutes last night. But in terms of bigs that are giving effort, Willis and Lee are the only ones I see that are consistently giving effort.
Plus/minus (per 100 possessions):
1 EJ Floreal 12.3
2 Derek Willis 8.2
3 Marcus Lee 8.2
4 Tyler Ulis 7.2
5 Mychal Mulder 5.5
6 Alex Poythress 5.2
7 Jamal Murray 4.7
8 Charles Matthews 4.5
9 Isaiah Briscoe 4.1
10 Dominique Hawkins 4
11 Skal Labissiere 3.9
12 Isaac Humphries -2.5
13 Jonny David -9.2
Win share (per 40 minutes)
1 EJ Floreal 0.349
2 Alex Poythress 0.197
3 Derek Willis 0.194
4 Marcus Lee 0.192
5 Tyler Ulis 0.188
6 Mychal Mulder 0.167
7 Skal Labissiere 0.155
8 Jamal Murray 0.142
9 Dominique Hawkins 0.133
10 Isaiah Briscoe 0.096
11 Charles Matthews 0.085
12 Isaac Humphries 0.052
13 Jonny David -0.036
^^ numbers dont lie . Play the kid and actually encourage him and you might get even more .
Honestly, I don't understand what you're seeing to allow you to say that. As i say above, all he can do, seemingly, is shoot a 3. He's deficient -- usually -- in all other areas.
Like someone else said, I don't like these kinds of conversations, because we end up tearing down a kid.
In the end, doesn't matter what I think, doesn't matter what you think. Apparently, his coach doesn't think he's the 3rd best kid on the team, otherwise, he'd be playing more.....
So I take it you think EJ should be playing more than Willis even?
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kentucky/2016.html
Looks like they use a new version of +/- called BPM. It breaks it down into an offensive and defensive +/-, and then the total overall +/- minus is under the BPM (box plus minus column). BPM here represents how many more points a player scores than an "average" player over 100 possesions.
Looks like by the stats, Willis contribues around 8 points more than any old schlub. He leads the team, tied with Marcus Lee, then Ulis third. It's worth nothing that BPM can go down a bit with extended playing time... Ulis plays damn near every minute. What is looks like by this stat is that Willis and Lee are making a lot of the minutes they are in.
More interesting, Willis is second in True Shooting percentage (Lee leads). TS% basically evens out the overall contribution between 2s and 3s and free throws... i.e. you make a more points shooting 35% on 3s than you do 50% on 2s, and you "miss" a shot but get points on the free throws. Since Lee never takes a 3, that's pretty much moot... but Willis seems to be producing, by the advanced metrics. Willis also shoots 62% of his shots from 3... seems like he could shake it up more.
He leads the team in Win Shares/40 min.
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