Murray vs Willis

[wobycat]

These two seem to get the most love/hate on the board.

Murray (+)
Creates own shot
Can go off at anytime

Murray (-)
Does not see the floor spacing well
Plays lethargic on defense, but can be lock down if he wants

Willis (+)
Decent roll player
Can shoot, sees the floor well

Willis (-)
Over exaggerates on rebounding
Does not get in an athletic position on defense, lurches over. (Not fair to judge him on Simmons)

Bottom line, both will drive fans crazy, but both are going to be relied on. Get behind the players.

 

[Mojocat]

I'm not sure about that. My sense from Cal is he wants to play Willis because he likes him and wants to give him a chance - but he's quickly running out of patience. If you don't/can't defend, and don't rebound, and your offensive game is limited to 3s......that's a bad equation.

I suspect the Willis experiment might be drawing to a close. Of course, it may be that there's no viable alternative - he may continue to get minutes because there's not a better answer. We'll see.....

 

[trinity45]

I'm not sure about that. My sense from Cal is he wants to play Willis because he likes him and wants to give him a chance - but he's quickly running out of patience. If you don't/can't defend, and don't rebound, and your offensive game is limited to 3s......that's a bad equation.

I suspect the Willis experiment might be drawing to a close. Of course, it may be that there's no viable alternative - he may continue to get minutes because there's not a better answer. We'll see.....

From what I saw against LSU I would not say anyone on the team can play defense,

 

[Icecoldbrewdoggy]

These two seem to get the most love/hate on the board.

Murray (+)
Creates own shot
Can go off at anytime

Murray (-)
Does not see the floor spacing well
Plays lethargic on defense, but can be lock down if he wants

Willis (+)
Decent roll player
Can shoot, sees the floor well

Willis (-)
Over exaggerates on rebounding
Does not get in an athletic position on defense, lurches over. (Not fair to judge him on Simmons)

Bottom line, both will drive fans crazy, but both are going to be relied on. Get behind the players.

I'm not so sure that Murray could even lock down his own house.

 

[docholiday51]

What drives me up the wall about Willis is that he is good for at least 1 blown lay-up or easy put back per game(usually at a critical time)

Murray is a good scorer, he is all about Murray he gives the impression sometimes that he has little interest in the team or winning or losing. He is the best option we have to keep us in the game so the "get mine" attitude works fine with this group.

Several others seem to want to find a place to hide when the chips are down. I feel bad for Skal,he is so out of place at this level

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Willis needs to play some. We are gonna need his scoring off the bench next year as a senior. We may start 5 frosh but we need some experienced players off the bench in Matthews, Willis and Hawkins. We SHOULD have more guys back than those in the rotation but idk if the top 6 are gonna screw UK over or not when most are clearly not ready to leave.

 

[brianpoe]

Willis needs to play some. We are gonna need his scoring off the bench next year as a senior. We may start 5 frosh but we need some experienced players off the bench in Matthews, Willis and Hawkins. We SHOULD have more guys back than those in the rotation but idk if the top 6 are gonna screw UK over or not when most are clearly not ready to leave.

If UK wants Bolden some of them leaving will not screw UK over in the least. We need some spots opened up.

 

[UK90]

From what I saw against LSU I would not say anyone on the team can play defense,

Ulis, Briscoe and Hawkins are all excellent perimeter defenders.

But beyond that ...well, you have a point. Our interior defense is just pathetic this year.

 

[sluggercatfan]

From what I saw against LSU I would not say anyone on the team can play defense,

This... if it was because of defense then nobody on this team but Briscoe, Ulis , Hawkins, Lee would get to play... Briscoe should get less minutes because he is so bad on as an offensive player... maybe the worst of any guard that has ever played at UK

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

We need to add ROLL player to the ongoing list of board sayings....

fast paste
problem a probably
roll player

 

[ManitouDan]

dead horse that been beat to death already .

 

[weused2luvhim2]

I'm not sure about that. My sense from Cal is he wants to play Willis because he likes him and wants to give him a chance - but he's quickly running out of patience. If you don't/can't defend, and don't rebound, and your offensive game is limited to 3s......that's a bad equation.

I suspect the Willis experiment might be drawing to a close. Of course, it may be that there's no viable alternative - he may continue to get minutes because there's not a better answer. We'll see.....

What if your offense is limited to layups? I mean we've got a guy that can only hit layups. Not a free throw not a 3. Nobody on this team other than Ulis is playing well. Sure Murray is leading the team in scoring. He's shooting a ton. Not a high percentage either.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

I would hardly call the Willis PT an experiment. Getting yanked after every miscue certainly doesn't qualify imo.

 

[TwoHalfsTillBeer]

I think if they get Bolden and Skal stays then some will transfer. No way we can keep all these players. I could see Briscoe transferring too with the guard we have coming in. Gonna be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out that is for sure!

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Neither are the problem. Anyone who thinks they are the main issue with this team isn't looking past stat lines and playing time.

Skal and Poythress are the current issue. Not Murray, Not Briscoe, Not Willis.

 

[RondoBaller21]

Wi

Neither are the problem. Anyone who thinks they are the main issue with this team isn't looking past stat lines and playing time.

Skal and Poythress are the current issue. Not Murray, Not Briscoe, Not Willis.

Willis is actually part of the problem. UK's problem is the frontcourt and willis is part of that.

 

[jrpross]

As always, I will fully support this team until the end. I love everyone of our players. But I have more love/frustration with these guys done any team I can remember for a while. Murray scores like a madman when he wants to, but he can be ridiculously out of control at times. Alex, when he plays like a man, can be the best player on the court but when he doesn't, he can be more of a detriment. Briscoe is built like an ox and can drive to the lane wonderfully, but his shot couldn't be any worse if he had one arm and cerebral palsy. About the only player that is always steady to me is Tyler. I wish everyone on the team had his mindset.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Wi

Willis is actually part of the problem. UK's problem is the frontcourt and willis is part of that.

I can't..

How is he part of the problem, exactly? He gets no play to improve. And the second he does, he gets yanked for any minuscule mistake. So not only does he see a double standard, but he's constantly thinking that any tiny little mistake will cost him playing time.

People wonder why bench players like Willis aren't improving.. there's your answer.

So again, our problem isn't with guys making mistakes. Our problem is with Skal and Poythress who, for lack of better wording, look like they've checked out.

THAT, is INEXCUSEABLE. Mistakes are excusable. Shaken confidence as a freshman is excusable. Poor shooting is excusable. These are mishaps. The team and players can work on that.

But you can't really fix a poor attitude. No one else but yourself can fix that. And it's exponentially more difficult than fixing a defensive mistake.

 

[logiUK]

There is no question that Murray and Briscoe are superior talents to Willis. But at the same time you have to see that both Murray and Briscoe make some pretty boneheaded plays at times. Whether it be charging into 4 players to try and get a layup, dribbling with no where to go, and just bad shot selection.

Willis doesn't have the talent to do that, but he seems to have a much better understanding of who he is as a player and staying within himself.

Outside of foul trouble, there's really little reason why Willis should see more than 20 minutes of action per game (50% of the game). BUT, I do believe Willis has earned the right to be part of the rotation. He should know that he's going to get regular minutes in every game and not have to worry about messing up and having to sit on the bench because of those mess ups.

Willis's greatest mess ups is that he's just slower than a lot of players. That's why he's probably never going to get starter's minutes. But to be used as backup player, giving a starter a few minutes of rest on the bench, he's more than capable of that. I don't think that just because he misses a shot that he should be taken out of the game.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

BUT, I do believe Willis has earned the right to be part of the rotation. He should know that he's going to get regular minutes in every game and not have to worry about messing up and having to sit on the bench because of those mess ups..

I'm missing how we got from A to C. Cal has yet to show Willis that he CAN make a mistake. So why should Willis play with confidence that this won't happen.

A has to happen for C to happen.

 

[MKGMVP]

No rim protector = defensive problems

 

[logiUK]

So again, our problem isn't with guys making mistakes. Our problem is with Skal and Poythress who, for lack of better wording, look like they've checked out.

Agreed. Willis ideally would be the primary backup for Poythress. There's no doubt in my mind that Poythress is a superior talent to Willis, but he's just not playing like it right now. Ideally, Poythress would play like he did last season before the injury and Willis would spot him for about 10 minutes per game. Sure, you lose some talent with Willis in there instead of Poythress, but you also keep Poythress fresher for the entirety of the minutes he's in there.

But when Poythress isn't playing up to his potential, that shoots that whole idea.

 

[docholiday51]

Poythress doesn't have the cast around him that he did last year, he is a garbage basket, spectacular clean up guy at the rim at this level.

 

[dbem1]

The UK offense looked it's best when Murry, Ulis , and Willis were in the game together. That group got the lead down to four.

 

[Mojocat]

What if your offense is limited to layups? I mean we've got a guy that can only hit layups. Not a free throw not a 3...

IMO, that's selling IB a little short - it's not just that he "can only hit a layup". That dude is nearly miraculous in his ability to get to the rim (the "city game" that Greenberg loves to talk about). If you doubt that, then you have to explain how he was so highly rated as a guard who can't shoot a jump shot or a free throw. Problem is......when we have games like last night, without defensive intensity, so no fast breaks, and everything is up to our half court offense, and the other side knows they only have to guard Murray and Ulis, and everyone else just packs the lane. And then, I don't care how miraculous you might be at snaking to the rim, you won't get there in that kind of game. Fortunately, to this point, most of our games haven't looked like that, just 3 of them...

The UK offense looked it's best when Murry, Ulis , and Willis were in the game together. That group got the lead down to four.

I'd caution everyone against making judgments based on last night and how bad we looked. We've looked good a few games, OK a few games, and bad in 3 games. Those 3 are no more indicative of how good we are, what combinations should play, who's good at what, etc., than the other 12 are.....

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

What if your offense is limited to layups? I mean we've got a guy that can only hit layups. Not a free throw not a 3. Nobody on this team other than Ulis is playing well. Sure Murray is leading the team in scoring. He's shooting a ton. Not a high percentage either.

Do what???

Insert the Cal gif looking at Randle

He was 9/17 shooting he's the best shooter on the team.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

But at the same time you have to see that both Murray and Briscoe make some pretty boneheaded plays at times. Whether it be charging into 4 players to try and get a layup, dribbling with no where to go, and just bad shot selection.

Do you realize that they are told to do this by Cal?? Cal even said last night after the game (when the radio guy said somethig about him yelling at Murray to drive it) that he has been harping on Murray to drive it more into the lane and he's getting their.

So you think the kids are stupid for driving it into the lane amongst the trees and they are doing exactly what they are coached to do.

 

[logiUK]

I think it's pretty stupid to drive to the basket when there isn't a lane and just get the ball stripped and turn it over or put up a stupid looking shot.

I don't care if that's what the coach tells you to do or not. Doesn't change the fact that it's stupid. But I guess this is more indicative of the "wasn't my fault!!! I did what the coach told me" train of thought.

Seriously, you don't watch the games and see Murray and Briscoe making plays where you scream WHY!?! I'm not trying to belittle what they do, but they do make boneheaded plays that may not cost the game, but they do cost possessions.