Nice Willis article

[BigBlueFanGA]

Willis has all the tools. Cal said he thought Willis would have a long career in the NBA. Willis just has to play with the heart and determination that is required at this level. The only thing holding Willis back is Willis. If you think he doesn't have the skill set, ask Cal why he said Willis would play in the league.

 

[Stonewall12]

I look forward to Willis playing double digit mins next year. If he can be our Darius miller... That would be great. I agree with the idea that says he needs confidence.

 

[GOING FOR #9]

Willis was a 3 star recruit. What he has going for him is the fact he has been able to practice with and against the best of the best. That would bump him up

 

[BlueRunner11]

I thought he looked very solid in the Bahamas. Athletic, shot well, ran the floor well, rebounded and defended decently from what I remember. He has the tools, just needs to get to work.

 

[Mike_Edwards]

Willis needs to focus on the defensive end and let the game come to him on the other end. I do not doubt for a second he can contribute offensively but there are two ends of the floor. I am cheering for him to breakout. He certainly has the opportunity. His opportunity is the one reason losing out on the other small forwards didn't bother me. I am looking forward to seeing what he can bring---Indy

 

[ok-cats-computer]

That was a good read. Thanks for posting it OP. Derek has a golden opportunity waiting for him next season. I'm going to enjoy watching him take advantage of the opportunity. He has the skill to contribute and help us make a deep run in March.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

Willis was a 3 star recruit. What he has going for him is the fact he has been able to practice with and against the best of the best. That would bump him up

Actually, the 247 composite had him rated at .908, which is a 4 star. Even in the services who had him listed as a 3 star, he was barely outside of 4. He has skills. I don't know if he'll ever polish them though. For his sake, I hope he does.

 

[BoulderCat]

It's all up to him. I do think this coming year may be his best chance to get some meaningful minutes, and contribute more than he has. I'm hoping he does. The more guys we have who work hard and play well, the better the team will be.

 

[Tannerdad]

Well let's be fair here, hoss. He was pretty accurate in the Bahamas, when he was forced to play. It was pretty often that he would go in during garbage time and hit the first 3 that he shot as well.

Well...he was 3 for 14 on three pointers there so I would not call that accurate but I thought he did other things well.

He shot 27% from 3 all year but he was shooting it at the end of games when he wasn't passing to the scrubs for their shots to please the fans in blowouts.

I am rooting for him, but it is up to him now. There is opportunity for minutes and I hope he takes advantage of it.

 

[Bluegrassking]

I think he needs to be more tenacious. Seems soft and mopey/going through the motions to me and maybe to eager to jack 3's making himself one dimensional at 6'9.

Is he a good shooter? Maybe but that is an unproven thing now. He does seem to have a nice handle for his height and is really strong with passing into the post based off a small sample.

The big problem to me is who can he reliably defend? He just doesn't seem quick enough to check the big guards who end up playing the 3 in college and isn't strong enough to do anything with 4's and 5's with some of them being quicker and faster than he is too but some of that might be bridged with a more tough minded effort.