Minutes will be the cure for Willis
- Thread starter 23jumpboy
- Start date
Willis arrived on campus MAYBE 190 pounds soaking wet and was 205 by the start of the season. This year he weighed in at the combine at 216 pounds. In a little over a year he's gained somewhere in the ball park of 25 pounds which for someone so young who clearly struggles to gain weight, that's impressive. Couple that with a guy like Wiltjer who, in 3 years, hasn't gained an ounce and looks just like the did as a rookie at BBM.
Willis is working hard I am confident in that. I'd imagine his playing time issues are something else. There were PLENTY of games we had in the bag that he could have gotten in at the 6 or 7 minute mark and instead got in with 70 seconds to play. Could be that Cal wanted the freshman to get as much experience as possible, or it could be a simple lapse on Cal's part (because he's human) but for whatever reason I expect Willis to be a contributor this year at the VERY least in a Vargas type role. Come in, provide 5 fouls while Skal/Poythress are in foul trouble/sick/whatever and snag a few rebounds, block a shot, hit an open jumper, make a key pass.
Derek Willis is currently the 9th man in the rotation.
He better improve dramatically or else he will be a spectator once again.
He better improve dramatically or else he will be a spectator once again.
Why in the world would you "have to" believe that? That statement makes no sense at all.
Willis was a three star recruit who in two years here still has not done anything to even validate that 3 star ranking, yet you think he must be better than "any" 4 star recruit? What a nonsensical statement.
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Have no idea about Willis' work ethic. Hopefully, it is good and getting better.
However, some of the comments made about Willis, like "not athletic", "not that good", "can't guard anyone", "not that skilled", etc. are more than a bit disingenuous. Fact is Willis is a much better athlete, a much better defender, and much more skilled that Kyle Wiltjer, who logged significant minutes in his two years as a Wildcat. And, as I recall, many on this board questioned Wiltjer's work ethic. In addition, when allowed to play significant minutes in scrimmages Willis has shot the ball and rebounded pretty well. (Before it is pointed out, I clearly realize that game performance is not necessarily equivalent to scrimmage performance. But, scrimmages are really the only times we've seen Willis play significant minutes.)
Will Willis be the next Josh Harrellson? Who knows! However, if he proves himself in practice, I have no doubt he has the skills, athleticism, defensive ability, and shooting touch to far exceed Wiltjer's performance as a Wildcat.
However, some of the comments made about Willis, like "not athletic", "not that good", "can't guard anyone", "not that skilled", etc. are more than a bit disingenuous. Fact is Willis is a much better athlete, a much better defender, and much more skilled that Kyle Wiltjer, who logged significant minutes in his two years as a Wildcat. And, as I recall, many on this board questioned Wiltjer's work ethic. In addition, when allowed to play significant minutes in scrimmages Willis has shot the ball and rebounded pretty well. (Before it is pointed out, I clearly realize that game performance is not necessarily equivalent to scrimmage performance. But, scrimmages are really the only times we've seen Willis play significant minutes.)
Will Willis be the next Josh Harrellson? Who knows! However, if he proves himself in practice, I have no doubt he has the skills, athleticism, defensive ability, and shooting touch to far exceed Wiltjer's performance as a Wildcat.
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Dude can really handle the ball and is a creative post passer. Skal and Alex will love him in there with Tyler and Briscoe. All great assist guys who can add offense. Really look forward to watching him contribute.
Yes, he can. And who says Willis doesn't work his butt off? Did Cal say that? He just couldn't play him because he had to get the Twins, WCS, Towns, Lyles, Booker and Dakari their minutes so they could be drafted. I still don't understand though why Willis and Hawkins didn't get more than mop-up, kill-the-clock playing time in games where we were up 30 with 8 minutes to go. The answer must be because of the platoon system, and they weren't included in either platoon.
Very good post. Derrick here is your chance. Now take it and make many on here eat crow!
Gimme a friggin break. We've seen nothing from Willis so far to support throwing out these sweeping assertions as "fact."
Could you please explain to me what evidence makes you believe Willis is "much more skilled" and has "shooting touch to far exceed" Kyle Wiltjer? Especially considering that Willis' shooting percentages so far are actually awful (only 28 percent on threes and 37 percent from the field overall). He certainly has NOT shot the ball better Wiltjer in his limited game time since he's been here, but you're somehow declaring him a better shooter anyways. Why?
And, although I'll admit I haven't seen enough of Willis to fully assess his skill level yet, I do note that the scouts rated Wiltjer a 5 star McD All American, but Willis a mere 3 star who did not even make his class' top 100 list. I'm guessin there must be some reason for the vast disparity in what the scouts saw in these two kids, and that reason probably has something to with differences in their "skill" levels.
And, even as awful as Wiltjer was defensively, I'd point out that Willis still has not proven that he defends any better. The reason I knew Wiltjer could not defend was because I often saw him try to defend elite athletes in crucial game situations and he clearly could not do it. But, for the most part, we really haven't seen Willis even try to do that yet, because in his first two years Cal did not trust him enough to ever put him in those situations.
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These statements are the opposite of facts. They are anti-facts.
Willis is a better athlete than Wiltjer. He is not a better shooter or even post player...possibly a better interior post passer.
Willis looked like he fit in during the bahama games...he has defended well when in (not sure why everyone thinks he is a terrible defender)...he needs to improve his ball handling if he really wants to be effective.
To judge his official shooting percentages is very silly though...80% of his shots have probably been 3 pointers as the shot clock is expiring with less than 30 seconds left in a blow out. We have no idea how he will do when a real game is in question and he is in there.
Willis looked like he fit in during the bahama games...he has defended well when in (not sure why everyone thinks he is a terrible defender)...he needs to improve his ball handling if he really wants to be effective.
To judge his official shooting percentages is very silly though...80% of his shots have probably been 3 pointers as the shot clock is expiring with less than 30 seconds left in a blow out. We have no idea how he will do when a real game is in question and he is in there.
I don't know Willis, I'm sure he's a fine young man. I do feel sorry for him because we have some fans writing checks on his account that are going to be tough to cash. Like the claim he's better than Wiltjer? How's he supposed to make good on that when Wiltjer has played on the national stage at quite a high level and Willis has neither earned nor deserved such accolade. I think it far better to let him make his own name and earn time from his coaches. Such idle and unsubstantial talk doesn't nothing to help him and sets him up for failure. Willis could improve substantially, make a good contribution to the cats and still fall short of this wild banter.
I doubt Willis is as good as some want to make him out to be or as bad as others make him out to be. I believe he has the potential to contribute next year, but he must be willing to work for the opportunity. Time will tell us what kind of player he is and how bad he wants it.
What in Sam hell gave you the impression that he can "really handle the ball"?!?! Seriously?? Also, Willis might go down at the best post passer of all time!
Jason S. (??moderator??) and UK90 try reading my post and, when you quote me, please don't quote me out of context.
What I stated was "However, if he proves himself in practice, I have no doubt he has the skills, athleticism, defensive ability, and shooting touch to far exceed Wiltjer's performance as a Wildcat." Please note I did not state that Willis was a better shooter that Wiltjer. But those of us who actually played the game realize that shooting touch is only one aspect of the game and only one aspect of a player's performance.
Wiltjer, while at UK, was a good, not great, 3-point shooter. (Doran Lamb was a great 3-point shooter.) The rest of Witjer's game was below average to poor. He couldn't (?wouldn't?) consistently run the court, rebound, drive to the basket, post up and finish, or play defense while at UK. As a 5-star (for what stars are worth) and McD All-American he was a huge, and I mean HUGE, dissapointment.
Willis in the few scrimmages (again, I realize scrimmage performance does not equal game performance) in the Bahamas and the Blue-White games showed more defensive ability, athleticism, ball skills (which include passing), and rebounding ability than Wiltjer showed in his entire career at UK. And that's a fact that some of you, who seem to think 5-star automatically means better player, seem unable or unwilling to grasp.
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