Great all around game for Willis. If he can grab 7+ boards a game it makes up for most defensive deficiencies. He had some grown man rebounds yesterday that made me do a double take.
willis vindicated...
- Thread starter ulismyman
- Start date
If Derek can maintain that type of energy and hustle it would be great.
However, too many on here use this game as a "I told you so"
No you didnt.
Derek knows, Cal knows, we all know, that his defense has been putrid.
I thought he played much better all the way around.
He is unlucky though - banked 3 pointer, drive to the basket circus shot went in, etc.
But he rebounded and even blocked a shot.
It was great.
However, too many on here use this game as a "I told you so"
No you didnt.
Derek knows, Cal knows, we all know, that his defense has been putrid.
I thought he played much better all the way around.
He is unlucky though - banked 3 pointer, drive to the basket circus shot went in, etc.
But he rebounded and even blocked a shot.
It was great.
Actually he hasn't played enough for anyone to know. My comment about his playing time was aimed at his freshman and sophomore years. He only played a little over 100 minutes his first two years.
There were numerous opportunities for him to get much needed minutes in the blowout games. Of course those minutes were given to those trying to make NBA first rounders. After all that is our goal.
If he had been given more minutes early in his career he would have been more ready to help in future games especially defensive.
I think his shooting and rebounding ability over rides his defensive problems enough now to be playing more. Bottom line is that his talent has been wasted up until now. jmho
I disagree. Willis is an average player who's been getting what he deserves. He played up yesterday but it doesn't erase how bad he's been. His shots are streaky, his defense is bad, and he hasn't been hustling for boards. Why would you want him to play?
I can agree is give him some more time NOW, but we will lose a lot of games with him playing thrifty minutes. He's average
Cant argue his first 2 years Kat, Willis did not work like he should have early on. It was well known by others and he actually admitted it himself.
All this talk about if Willis plays we are in trouble and the opposite sentiment as well, is basically moot. We don't have, nor are we going to have, the inside game on either side of the ball to make a run this year. It's just a fact. Doesn't mean we don't watch, or root for a miracle to happen, but it is something fans need to come to grips with. Not Cal or the players though. They should proceed as if a title is theirs for the taking.
I know he said he didn't work like he should have, but he saw what everyone else saw. He knew the playing time was was going to someone else. That doesn't motivate many players. Playing 39 and 75 minutes in his first two years is next to not playing at all.
He was known for his outside shooting when he was recruited, He could have been used as a spot player, zone buster. 39 minutes in a year is ridiculous for a player with his talent. jmho
Whose time was he going to take, especially last year?
Small sample size but his stats didn't come close to being a zone buster.
Very happy to see his emergence and already looking forward to seeing him grow more for next year.
Yeah, I don't know where any minutes were coming for Willis in 2015. Had Poythress not gotten injured, he would have been victory dance minutes only on that squad.
You
are an
I've posted about 10 times since 2009.
The only thing pathetic is your lack of basketball knowledge and you choosing to act like a 10 year old who can't stand that his favorite player doesn't play more. He had one decent game! Good Lord! I've outplayed players much better than Willis, Damon Flint being one of them. Willis has given up more than he's provided in every game that he has ever played! Teams constantly isolate and abuse him on the defensive end of the court. He only plays hard about 50-70% of the team, and every time that some one gets physical with him, he acts like he's scared to death of contact. This is the exact reason why I haven't posted much here since 2009. It has become an absolute cesspool of emotionally biased people trying to prove to others that their opinions are correct.
Any poster claiming to be better than a UK player is either an idiot or a troll.
You obviously do not read the site enough to make any claim against any poster here, as I have been critical of Willis defense.
People that only come back to gripe and whine are not needed.
You are a little person claiming to be better than D1 players and claiming to know if a kid has heart.
All I know for sure is you have no brains. Go crawl back under your rock.
Cal does not put bench riders in until there is only mop up minutes, he keeps future NBAers in until the very end. How hard are you going to work if you are not going to see the floor? They did not work with Jorts at all until they needed him. Players first means the ones headed to the League, not the rest, they are merely practice players.
Crest...
Isnt Willis' 30 minutes and Skal's benching starting to debunk that theory?
What NBA kid played over someone he shouldnt have?
Maybe I didn't state it correctly, If you are not in the rotation, you don't play, yeah, that's better.
Walk on minutes only.
I never said they should play ahead of the NBA kids, I'm saying when there are minutes available they are not distributed to players like Willis.
You need to watch something other than basketball; something you can understand.
If Marcus, Skal, or Alex had those numbers most of you naysayers would be shouting hellalujahs. When Derek does it, it's like "ah, he's terrible; we can't win with him". Well I can tell you he showed something that some of the others haven't and that's guts.
There have been times, during blowouts, that i have wondered why we couldnt get some other kids clock, but Cal is pretty clear, the teams are just so young that they need as many minutes as possible to get ready for March.
Hard to argue with the results thus far.
Well that's my thought about giving kids some PT too. We've seen with Willis and Jorts that they get pretty rusty just sitting over there and they just might not be ready if you need them due to injury or whatever.
to be fair, guys - for the most part Cal's "NBA" guys were far and away better than the bench guys. You want to win games? Play the best players.
Willis has shown more heart and intensity this year than I've ever seen him to have. By his own admission, he didn't put in the work, or have the attitude necessary. I think he's a good player - not a great one, but good.
I don't think Willis is "vindicated" in any way - but perhaps, because he has worked hard and is trying to do what is asked, and he did what he did against Auburn, I think "validated" is a better word.
I am really hoping he can be this year's Jorts - we need that. But it's up to him how long his validation lasts.
Willis has shown more heart and intensity this year than I've ever seen him to have. By his own admission, he didn't put in the work, or have the attitude necessary. I think he's a good player - not a great one, but good.
I don't think Willis is "vindicated" in any way - but perhaps, because he has worked hard and is trying to do what is asked, and he did what he did against Auburn, I think "validated" is a better word.
I am really hoping he can be this year's Jorts - we need that. But it's up to him how long his validation lasts.
Its @ulismyman so it doesnt really count, we only expect 1 out of 5 posts to be accurate and somewhat a contribution to the site..
Gonna start a thread bashing Cal now? Might go multiple pages.
Let's use a little logic. Best players almost always are the ones that go to the NBA. Cal plays the players that go to the NBA. >>>>>> Cal plays the best players.
Your blabbering about Cal catering to the NBA candidates is the same as saying he plays the best players. And you are complaining about that?
Since the only perfect man died 2000 yrs ago and Cal is our basketball coach and this is a discussion forum, I guess not. Doesn't mean that Cal has not done an outstanding job, doesn't mean we want him replaced, doesn't mean anything....its just a discussion board.
If you don't like to read posts questioning some of the things Cal does, put me on ignore, Cal does several things that I don't agree with and I will mention them whenever the subject comes up.
If all that we are going to do is say yea cats, go big blue, etc etc., there is not much reason to log on
