Mason Williams (the guy some of you said will not play)
- Thread starter Beatle Bum
- Start date
You have to believe that most who post here are pretty big basketball fans in general, and so: (1) wouldn’t mind watching some video of a UK commit to get a feel for how he might play at UK; and (2) can pick up enough to get some feel for how well a player might perform in CBB eventually.
But that often doesn’t seem to happen with posters who always reference recruiting service rankings or projected draft pick positions as to why they’re salivating over a player or as their evidence that a player is either good or not. For a fan base this knowledgeable and invested, that feels incredibly thin. They don’t care to understand the basis of the rankings or draft position projections. They repeatedly see instances where those things have no bearing on a players eventual impact on winning vis-à-vis another player. Still, they never seem to learn and just cling to those things like a mindless chanted mantra.
I don't comprehend a reasonable person watching this kid play and coming away feeling contributing as a solid back up is between loopy and overly optimistic.
He seems very solid as a natural point with room to grow to me.
Respectable handle for his age and experience, good shooter, doesn't stop the ball, willing passer, seems to communicate with his teammates, body developing well.
The falling sky routine seems very overwrought and deeply (perhaps wilfully) pessimistic.
"I'm waiting to see what he brings to the table in real games against tough competition", I can vibe with but the hand wringing and morose negativity comes off as little more attached to reality than some wild eyed child of the sun assuming his father's outcome is his floor.
My eyes see a guy that can contribute decent backup minutes right away that over time potentially could grow into more and more.
He seems very solid as a natural point with room to grow to me.
Respectable handle for his age and experience, good shooter, doesn't stop the ball, willing passer, seems to communicate with his teammates, body developing well.
The falling sky routine seems very overwrought and deeply (perhaps wilfully) pessimistic.
"I'm waiting to see what he brings to the table in real games against tough competition", I can vibe with but the hand wringing and morose negativity comes off as little more attached to reality than some wild eyed child of the sun assuming his father's outcome is his floor.
My eyes see a guy that can contribute decent backup minutes right away that over time potentially could grow into more and more.
Didn't watch the video but just a wild guess is Mason will contribute more than Noah Hawthorne and Potter. Dad's a NBA legend and you can tell he has what it takes. I think this guy will be pretty solid especially year two and three
I am waiting to see:
— how Mal develops in year 2
— how Milan does in Pope’s offense
— how OND’s Europe experience translates
— how Wilkins does against the SEC
— how Zoom improves
— whether Noah finds a niche
— if Potter can earn minutes.
— if Franck stays healthy
— how this team gels and plays defense
— Etc
I am reminded by posters repeatedly that this is summer and discuss these things is what we do
I am also glad that we live in a country where no one has to watch anything they don’t want to watch,
Unless they are captured in a public school. <hopefully we won’t get any Hall Monitor or defensive cuck comments about that last little joke>
Cowboy it's a me thing I have been burnt so many times under the mark stoops era and last years pope team that I prefer to see the product on the field and on the court . You and Beetle are adding more to it than what is actually there . No negativity at all I like our team on paper but I will wait for the product to show itself .
Fair enough Brother.
And I get that. But a lot of that for the fanbase is self inflicted. I remember when we smacked Purdue in the scrimmage last season, it sent most of the base overboard with expectations, which led to blind hatred for Pope when we ended up a very average team once we had a few injuries. I think the club is a top 12-15 team, which should equal to a sweet 16. I think better than that is a success, anything less is a bit of a failure
Some of us have seen 40 or 50 years of pre-season predictions of someone being the next Michael Jordan, only to find out that doesn't always translate to regular season effectiveness.
Let's see how the kid does in the real court before we say he is gonna contribute or not contribute.
Let's see how the kid does in the real court before we say he is gonna contribute or not contribute.
Wasnt he a 4* player? I don't think anyone expects him to kill it this year, but it isn't as if he is some scrub.
Yep. I knew about the last point. Didn’t know about the other two. The last point was pretty much all I needed to hear. Kid is a gamer.
No, I didn’t watch a lot of Perry either. My point is every year media is going to put these guys on a pedestal as unstoppable, surprising, exceeding expectations players. It happens every year. They are not gonna sell you something by saying he stinks.
Mason may turn out to be a Fears type player that exceeds all expectations. This article means nothing though. It’s gonna be fluff to suck you in. Don’t get fooled by the media is all I’m saying. This same article was written last year about our backup guys and will be written next year about them.
Some people hold the view that:
- I hate receiving tea leaves from insiders because they are always wrong
- I hate getting summer practice Intel because the media is biased
^ These are pretty much the only things you’re going to be getting in the summer so why even engage during this part of the year? You already know it isn’t for you.
- I hate receiving tea leaves from insiders because they are always wrong
- I hate getting summer practice Intel because the media is biased
^ These are pretty much the only things you’re going to be getting in the summer so why even engage during this part of the year? You already know it isn’t for you.
The surprising thing is no one is saying Mason is unstoppable or the next Michael Jordan. No one. The link is also not an article, but a podcast where they show clips and discuss potential. I have listened to quite a bit of Ramsey, who evidently is a coach. While he is speaking to UK fans about UK, I don’t see him as a fluff guy.
Some people are not students of the game. They just want to watch the games when played. This board probably is not for them in the off-season. Others like to see the potential of our new players in situations where they played against accepted high level talent.
I would suggest watching a bit before you tell us what it is. Skip the first 4 minutes of so and get a flavor before cautioning people about how it will mislead. And, watch the last 5 or so minutes to see the balance given to the discussion.
You forgot the part about amazing team chemistry. Every year we hear how the guys are bonding off the court and are close knit.
None of that matters until they're in a dog fight and they show if they trust one another. Leaders and roles are defined when there's meaningful competition.
Last summer I heard Trent Noah was the best shooter on the team. I do think Williams will be serviceable this season tho. I'm sure he has the ball handling skills to give guards a breather. Travis Perry on roids is what I'm expecting.
Here are highlights I found of Williams’ team when they beat Prolific Prep:
When SGA came to UK, he was underrated and some thought him a project. We heard he was looking good over the summer. A third of the season in and most fans saw him as a starter. Not every summer report is somehow wildly exaggerated. Without them, we have little to discuss about the team at this time of year.
BTW, the link in the OP is not about summer workouts, although it mentioned them briefly. It’s about looking at Mason’s game and what skills he exhibited his senior year upon which a projection may be made.
While some people exaggerate summer talk, others downplay any kid who did not come to UK with recruiting hype. It cuts both ways.
BTW, the piece of news repeated in This video, if true, that rings hopeful for UK is that Mason says he only started to get serious about basketball a couple of years ago and now has a reputation of being an incredibly hard worker. The first bit of that hints hopefully that Mason’s best basketball is definitely ahead of him. The second related bit is what we want to hear about all of our players as they prepare for the season.
BTW, the link in the OP is not about summer workouts, although it mentioned them briefly. It’s about looking at Mason’s game and what skills he exhibited his senior year upon which a projection may be made.
While some people exaggerate summer talk, others downplay any kid who did not come to UK with recruiting hype. It cuts both ways.
BTW, the piece of news repeated in This video, if true, that rings hopeful for UK is that Mason says he only started to get serious about basketball a couple of years ago and now has a reputation of being an incredibly hard worker. The first bit of that hints hopefully that Mason’s best basketball is definitely ahead of him. The second related bit is what we want to hear about all of our players as they prepare for the season.
I like Ramsey too and appreciate his insights. I wish that Zac dude would shut his pie hole and let Ramsey talk more . I’ve told them that in the comment section.
I think Zack does a pretty good job. He catches a lot of things that I don’t think many would. But I agree — you can’t give Ramsey enough talk time. If it was up to me, I’d replace Matt Jones with him and let him run the whole thing. 99% of fans don’t appreciate how good this guy is.
He also isn’t some “everything is great“ homer kind of guy . He points out negative things and is critical of players and Pope sometimes.
Absolutely. Take for example, Oweh. Ramsey was very outspoken about not loving the way his game operated last year. I disagree with his view on Otega but it just shows he is no shill. He speaks his mind. It’s the same way I try to be also. He’s one of the very best in the business.
Watching M. Williams reminds me of Anthony Epps. "Reminds" just means when I watch him that thought comes to me for some reason. I know folks can cite all kinds of things for why they don't see/feel the comparison, but it's just the proverbial "vibe" I get watching him.
He doesn't have to be as a freshman, but we don't even know where he is at regardless. It's July
Travis perry olayed more than that and williams is 2x the player
Brandon’s good at what he does…but you can’t do that 2HRs/day for 250ish days/yr.
Will see as much as pope rotates I wouldn't be surprised