No, his greatest consistency, was inconsistency and in the biggest game, he was a no show.. He had games against far inferior competition that he might have looked it, but the work ethic and passion to take his game to the next level was not there. In 3 yrs he never developed any offensive game and I just couldn't understand why everyone was so hyped on him. IMO KAT was way more deserving. Willie said his mind was made up last year that he would leave this yr, would have left last had he not gotten hurt.
Should Willie have been an All American
- Thread starter BBBLazing
- Start date
I think Willie is going to surprise some people when he starts playing as a pro. I think the pros will develop that offensive game and encourage him to use it. Willie played within Cal's system and he played very well within that system. He sacrificed personal stats for the greater needs of the team. Some of the things Cal had him doing hurt his overall personal stats but benefited the team.
Willie was never an offensive go to guy in Cal's system. The coaching staff never developed his offensive skills or gave him the offensive reps to develop those skills because there were always other players already there with those skills. Cal looks at it like a player is only going to be there a year so he needs to showcase their best talents. Willie's best talent is he is an athletic freak who plays outstanding defense. Who knew he would stay 3 years.
People are constantly bringing up his scoring when they criticize him, but he was always an offensive after thought in Cal's system. He was probably the 5th option. You can't develop offensive skills if you don't get reps in competition. Willie probably averaged around 5 shots a game during his career, the majority lobs and put backs. He has shown flashes of offensive post moves and even an outside jumper (33% past 12 feet this year) but due to circumstances, he was given very little opportunity to put them into use.
Having him play on the perimeter, constantly switching, kept him out of position and hurt his defensive rebounding numbers. However, Cal's system produced 38 wins so it's hard to argue with that.
This post was edited on 4/11 4:29 PM by JCTNKAT
Willie was never an offensive go to guy in Cal's system. The coaching staff never developed his offensive skills or gave him the offensive reps to develop those skills because there were always other players already there with those skills. Cal looks at it like a player is only going to be there a year so he needs to showcase their best talents. Willie's best talent is he is an athletic freak who plays outstanding defense. Who knew he would stay 3 years.
People are constantly bringing up his scoring when they criticize him, but he was always an offensive after thought in Cal's system. He was probably the 5th option. You can't develop offensive skills if you don't get reps in competition. Willie probably averaged around 5 shots a game during his career, the majority lobs and put backs. He has shown flashes of offensive post moves and even an outside jumper (33% past 12 feet this year) but due to circumstances, he was given very little opportunity to put them into use.
Having him play on the perimeter, constantly switching, kept him out of position and hurt his defensive rebounding numbers. However, Cal's system produced 38 wins so it's hard to argue with that.
This post was edited on 4/11 4:29 PM by JCTNKAT
WCS isn't going to surprise anyone. No one is questioning WCS skills. We all know the athletic freak of nature he is. However, to this point, he simply hasn't consistently shown that the game means nearly as much to him as it should. If I was an NBA scout, I would have serious concerns about his level of motivation after he signs his first guaranteed contract. NBA coaches don't have enough time to play motivational games with players that are not self motivated.
