Giving Credit Where It's Due: Derek Willis Edition

[MWes11]

The kid has been impressive early. Will certainly play a role on this team. His improvement has been extremely noticeable. He doesn't seem to be a huge defensive liability anymore. I know we have played weak competition, but I like what I see. This next sentence might sound crazy but I'll give it a go. I honestly think it is a possibility that he could get drafted when his UK career is over.

 

[kyboy1998]

I would like to see him in the rotation. He's long and skilled. Could be good if we go big at the sf spot.

 

[WildMoon]

i think it's pretty obvious Coach Cal plans to play him.

He's solidly #7 in the rotation. He seems a little passive at times, but other than that he looks great. We can critique every player, so this is not bad.

 

[jarms24]

 

[SmyrnaCatFan]

It seemed to me he was really working on shot/pass blocking and rebounding and let shooting take a back seat.

 

[Big Foot 275]

He played his ass off. That's why Cal kept him in the game. Played decent defense .
The last stat line I saw was 6 points and 6 rebounds. Had a couple blocks and deflections. He actually passed on a couple of shots he should have taken.
Weak comp but his effort is much better.
He's got a legitimate chance to.be a rotation player so we'll see.

 

[ccukuk]

I had a return at Batteries Plus. Still waiting on my credit

 

[RondoBaller21]

We shall see against the good teams. Hope he proves me wrong.

 

[Stonewall12]

He is playing really well and with confidence.

 

[FlCATFan]

I'll admit a prejudice for home grown talent; but......never underestimate Cal's ability to develop talent.

 

[WildMoon]

I'm sure Hawkins is itching to play as well. I'm interested in seeing him play. That dude is athletic as hell.

 

[tank2009]

Awesome pass to murray for dunk....kid can definitely play. If padgett can play nba dont see why willis couldnt with 2 more years to develop

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

This team is going to run run run and run teams ragged.
Willis will fit in to that scheme.
The last thing the NCAA should have done with this UK was shorten the shot clock to 30sec.
Willis and Matthews will both get 15-20 min a game.
My how we are deep.

 

[buckkiller]

He is solid and did what he had to do in a team game. He has skillz. The pass he made to Murray not many can make. He will be a key role player to this years team.

 

[KyFord]

He will definitely be in the rotation this year and we need him to be, he had a really nice game tonight.

 

[westerncat]

Glad to see Willis playing and having fun now. He has improved a lot over the summer. Passed up some open shots, has a nice shot & would like to see him take them when open plus has improved on defense. Will help this team this year.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

Willis led team in assists with 5, tied for 2nd in boards with 9 and had 6 pts 2 steals and 2 blocks in but 21 min.
Bullitt the Blue Sky by UK:

http://m.youtube.com/results?q=bullet the blue sky&sm=1

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

The kid has been impressive early. Will certainly play a role on this team. His improvement has been extremely noticeable. He doesn't seem to be a huge defensive liability anymore. I know we have played weak competition, but I like what I see. This next sentence might sound crazy but I'll give it a go. I honestly think it is a possibility that he could get drafted when his UK career is over.

As I've said on here numerous times, Cal said Willis will have a long NBA career.

 

[Smashcat]

As I've said on here numerous times, Cal said Willis will have a long NBA career.

Bret Bearup said it long before Cal.
Willis was the most efficient player on the floor tonight with 0 TOs, 5 assists and 9 rebounds. And on top of it he looks like he spent more time, WAY more time, in the weight room than any of our other bigs.

 

[Brando Mac]

I've always thought that Willis unfairly got a preemptive "bad defender and poor athlete" rap because of Wiltjer. Tall white guy that has a reputation as a 3 point shooter... must be slow, can't play defense, and spend his days dreaming of a magical land where every team only runs the picket fence and Gene Hackman roams the sidelines.

Now while his defense has been far from perfect during his time here, I've never thought that he looked anywhere near as bad on that side of the ball as Wiltjer always did or as some people on here liked to make it out to be. He's shown a surprisingly good amount of athleticism and flashes of potential, the biggest things holding him back have been great talent in front of him, as well as his work ethic and whether he was willing to show the fight and do some of the gritty things necessary in order for him to earn a spot on the floor. He's starting to show that he will and that he's more than just "token 3 point gunner off the bench", and I hope he keeps it going, it'd be great if we could get some quality minutes from him this season, not just mop up minutes.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

Bret Bearup said it long before Cal.
Willis was the most efficient player on the floor tonight with 0 TOs, 5 assists and 9 rebounds. And on top of it he looks like he spent more time, WAY more time, in the weight room than any of our other bigs.

He did? Didn't know that. Must have been before Willis got to UK.

 

[musrat59]

Confidence is a big factor in Basketball not only for Willis but also for Coach Cal to have confidence in him.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

I'm sure Hawkins is itching to play as well. I'm interested in seeing him play. That dude is athletic as hell.

You will be waiting a while on that. In case you didn't notice we have a log jam at the guard position. We have a guy who can actually shoot who barely got any run the last game. It's gonna be Ulis, Briscoe, Murray and Matthews at the 1,2, and 3, with Willis getting some at the 3 as well, at least based on the exhibition games.

 

[chevyman 50]

..He is really looking good and can shoot the 3..

 

[lennyd250cat]

When he transfers to Gonzaga he will be the preseason #1 player in the country.

 

[runt#69]

Just getting going this morning and was thinking about the game last night. I started to make a post about Willis, but then kept my early reading of the board going and saw this thread. Long thought short - glad it's up here with great comments that completely echo mine.

Of all the players I was looking forward to seeing play and develop this year, Willis has just risen into a BIG surprise for me, and a player I am really impressed with. If he keeps his play like last night up, I genuinely do think he will get a LOT of minutes.

As for being drafted and a pro? Well, I also agree we need to see how he is against much better competition and if he can consistently delivered, but that young man has the look like he's worked on his game like a madman. Great physique, displayed a GREAT attitude, look unselfish, made some fine plays, executed, and after I was watching him closer, was doing all the little things most people don't notice, but he was doing those things well too.

Damn I'm happy for that young fella', I hope we see a lot more of him and he can keep up the great work. Coach Cal also should get a lot of credit for riding him and staying on him and getting him to come along. Coach Cal deserves every bit a HOF coach, this is just such an exciting time to be a UK basketball fan.

Thanks to all your guys posts in the thread too, a lot of posters I love to read and all insightful posts. It really must be true - great minds think alike !

 

[Bkocats]

Willis knows he has the opportunity he didn't have last year - or, even really, the year before. It's obvious he's hit the weight room and has worked on aspects of his game that were lacking before. Always thought he was better than we had seen - and excited for him that he gets his chance.

That being said - I want to see how he does against tougher competition. Sure looks good so far, though.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

dude is taking Mulder's minutes. He'll get 5-8 mpg this year.

Why hate on Willis?
If Willis continues stuffing the stat box he will take minutes from not only Mulder but Hump, Matthews, Lee and Briscoe.
Wake up and smell the Roses.

 

[Play some D]

I agree Wilt. If we're in a close game today, I think Cal would feel more confident with Willis in the game at crunch time than Brisco. The dude played a solid game last night.

 

[Kycatspaws]

He certainly seems much improved. Hopefully he keeps that up and earns some playing time.

 

[IL Wildcat]

I know we all have our biases and opinions. Some, it seems, want Willis to play only because he's a home grown Kentucky kid. Others seem to want him to sit for almost the same reason. It's like the Kentucky kid can't break through or be any good because he's played only garbage minutes so far.

So let's put whatever bias we may have aside for a minute. Look at Willis today and he's not the skinny, awkward kid he was when he walked in that door. He's nearly 6-10 but he moves like a guard. He shoots it well from 3. He's tenacious on defense and has good instincts. He can finish well at the rim and on the break. And his passing is very solid, as evidenced by the length of the court dime to Murray last night.

If we had a recruit who just walked in this year who was 6-10 220 and had the same skill set as Willis this year, we'd all be giddy. So I say that's how we should treat him.

Truth is, Willis has played great so far. He may fall apart the first sign of a 5 star opponent, but I don't think he will. He has seen more talent and played against more talent in his 2 seasons than anyone else playing college basketball this season. He's not going to be intimidated, in my opinion. So I say give him his shot. Calipari is going to give him that shot and I think Willis is going to be in the rotation.

 

[Teachable Moe]

Awesome pass to murray for dunk....kid can definitely play. If padgett can play nba dont see why willis couldnt with 2 more years to develop

That pass was the best by a UK guy since that no-look, fast break pass by Ulis. Might even be better since it had to be thrown so exactly over distance and through opponents. (The KSt players weren't tall enough but I bet they're the fastest team we play all year.)

 

[CatsIndy2010]

Willis is getting rebounds, and shooting the 3! Glad he is on our team.

 

[Stonewall12]

Mulder will not play unless teams zone us.

 

[Aike]

He's playing well enough to be the 7th man. The good news for Cal is that the 8th man is playing well enough to keep Willis on his toes if he wants to stay on the court.

Honestly, the same could be said for Lee. Even though he's starting right now, I view him as the 6th man. He will have to keep his focus up to stay there.

 

[poppycat]

.

Truth is, Willis has played great so far. He may fall apart the first sign of a 5 star opponent, but I don't think he will. He has seen more talent and played against more talent in his 2 seasons than anyone else playing college basketball this season. He's not going to be intimidated, in my opinion. So I say give him his shot. Calipari is going to give him that shot and I think Willis is going to be in the rotation.

Willis is getting it done against 5* competition in practice already or he wouldn't be getting game clock.

 

[Chuckinden]

Cal has said his goal is to get the players in the pros. He knows he only has two years to work on that with Willis. We will just have to see if Willis gets time as we move toward better competition.

 

[Bodvar Bjarki]

I think especially early on in the season Willis plays because... he deserves to. With the young guys gelling Willis provides some stability and is out there making good decisions with the ball while still looking to be aggressive.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

I know we all have our biases and opinions. Some, it seems, want Willis to play only because he's a home grown Kentucky kid. Others seem to want him to sit for almost the same reason. It's like the Kentucky kid can't break through or be any good because he's played only garbage minutes so far.

So let's put whatever bias we may have aside for a minute. Look at Willis today and he's not the skinny, awkward kid he was when he walked in that door. He's nearly 6-10 but he moves like a guard. He shoots it well from 3. He's tenacious on defense and has good instincts. He can finish well at the rim and on the break. And his passing is very solid, as evidenced by the length of the court dime to Murray last night.

If we had a recruit who just walked in this year who was 6-10 220 and had the same skill set as Willis this year, we'd all be giddy. So I say that's how we should treat him.

Truth is, Willis has played great so far. He may fall apart the first sign of a 5 star opponent, but I don't think he will. He has seen more talent and played against more talent in his 2 seasons than anyone else playing college basketball this season. He's not going to be intimidated, in my opinion. So I say give him his shot. Calipari is going to give him that shot and I think Willis is going to be in the rotation.

I was raised in Bullitt Co. Where Willis played HS ball but I dare say IL that your post may be the best I have ever read on here.

 

[Bodvar Bjarki]

On an even brighter note, thank God we don't have to read any more Jon Hood threads.