Willis - an honest assessment

[UKWildcats#8]

He played fine yesterday, but if Hawkins is 100% Tuesday he will be the guy back in the lineups and platooning IMO.

Where was the OP's breakdown of Hawkins game from Tuesday? I did not see a detailed account of it. In fact, give us one OP or I'm going to have to question your motives a bit.

 

[San Diego Cat]

I think the jury is still out on whether or not Willis will ever be a significant contributor.

He is a deadeye shooter and has some athleticism, but the light hasn't come on for him yet.

He was out of position a number of times on defense yesterday. He turned the ball over. His shot was off.

When he gets in the game, it seems to me that he presses and that ultimately leads to some unforced errors.

Hopefully its a combination of nerves and a lack of experience that's keeping him from advancing as a player and he works through those issues. I think the physical tools are likely there.

 

[OHIO COLONEL]

How many of our posters who run down Willis, or any other player, for coming in and making a mistake or some mistakes....lose a rebound...lose contact with a player on defense....miss a shot (even a 2 footer)....have been 18, 19, or 20 years of age and playing in front of 10,000 to 25,000 people? Do you know what it's like? Just saying.

 

[truebluewildcat_rivals34254]

He would be getting decent minutes for a lot of teams...would start for some as well...

Important to realize with guys like Willis that it is okay for them to be what they are...and it is also important to not look at them and expect what we have come to expect out of the 20 pros Cal has had here...

Derek Willis is a typical 4 year program type of player...and that is great...just being a sophomore, and not a first round draft pick, we need to be patient...he may not develop into his full potential and start excelling in whatever his role is until mid season next year depending on who stays, who goes, and who Cal brings in...or he may not fully bloom until his senior year...

I think it is also important to realize what he is not and want he will not be...

Like I previously mentioned...he is not a first round draft pick...he is not a lock down defender or shot blocker...he's not going to put his back to the basket and hold down the post for extended periods of time...he is not an extremely versatile athlete that can fly up and down the court and play multiple positions...

He is a solid player with a nice stroke, some good range, and decent potential to be a reliable shooter...and at a lot of programs that is fine and enough to get minutes...here at UK, it is hard for someone with a specific skill set to get on the floor when there are 10 pro players who are all tall, long, and can play multiple positions...

In a nutshell he is your typical role player...some games he'll play a bigger role than others...and it may take him until his senior year to fully develop and flourish in his role...

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Originally posted by UK90:

Originally posted by San Diego Cat:

He is a deadeye shooter and has some athleticism, but the light hasn't come on for him yet.

He was out of position a number of times on defense yesterday. He turned the ball over. His shot was off.

See, this is yet another example of how posters here overstate his game. We have posters that call him a "deadeye shooter" despite the fact that his career shooting percentages barely scrape 30 percent from 3s and only 38 percent from the field overall.

Can you name me any other player with such poor career shooting percentages that our fans would call "a deadeye shooter"? There are none ....well ....at least not since Jon Hood left.

Andrew Harrison is a dead eye shooter as well by the Willis standard IMO.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

BostonCat, just wondering if you remember the 2013 NIT season? We didn't have enough players to run full practices and couldn't threaten a kids PT because of lack of depth.

Even if willis never gets much PT it doesn't mean he isn't a valuable member of the team. If all he does is make the other Forwards work hard in practice to get better it makes him a valuable member.

Not everyone can be a starter or play major minutes. Doesn't mean they aren't important to the team.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Poetax]

Originally posted by UK90:

Originally posted by Prime MF:

The good: He grabbed two rebounds, including taking one away from his own man.

Willis had only one rebound, not two. But he did commit two turnovers, two personal fouls and missed both of his shot attempts.

I swear, some of our fans have such a low bar for player's of Derek's "demographic" background. If they do ANYTHING good, even if it's just one thing in the middle of several bad things, they get threads started about how well they played.
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I'm not sure where your anger is coming from because someone wanted to say that a UK SUB, played and blended pretty well for not getting many minutes this year. Prime didn't say he should start, just that he came in and didn't hurt us which was a factual statement. Like with Wiltjer, I'm not sure why some of our fans want to show a dislike for some of our players. They are all Wildcats, some are just better then others.

 

[LowCountryCat]

A lot of egg on a lot of faces now. Some of you even said he should transfer.

 

[Poetax]

I think Willis has potential, but I don't really expect him to seriously contribute for another year or two.

To be fair what we have seen of him is very limited, but what do you expect for the 12th man.

^ Champagne Problems.

Well he is a junior so hopefully it comes for him this year.

 

[Xception]

I wanna like my own post .

 

[Buck Creek Cat]

Willis could have done last season what he is doing right now if he had been giving the chance. And by chance I don't mean putting him in the game and then jerking him back out at the first missed shot or turnover. He was never allowed to stay in enough games long enough to gain any confidence.

 

[Ukbrassowtipin]

My assessment: why are people obsessing and assessing willis all the time and only him..yeah I get it, he's the white kid from KY. I want to see him do well and will cheer for him, but he is of no more importance to me than any other person on the roster. They are a team..the best ones for the particular situation will be on the floor, if that includes willis..awesome, if it doesn't I don't care.

 

[Ukbrassowtipin]

Willis could have done last season what he is doing right now if he had been giving the chance. And by chance I don't mean putting him in the game and then jerking him back out at the first missed shot or turnover. He was never allowed to stay in enough games long enough to gain any confidence.

Lol, we won 38 in a row last yr...I think our sub patterns were fine.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

My assessment: why are people obsessing and assessing willis all the time and only him..yeah I get it, he's the white kid from KY. I want to see him do well and will cheer for him, but he is of no more importance to me than any other person on the roster. They are a team..the best ones for the particular situation will be on the floor, if that includes willis..awesome, if it doesn't I don't care.

What? There are far more threads about other players than Willis.

 

[LowCountryCat]

My assessment: why are people obsessing and assessing willis all the time and only him..yeah I get it, he's the white kid from KY.

You don't get it, that's not at all why I posted this thread.

 

[jrpross_rivals]

My assessment: why are people obsessing and assessing willis all the time and only him..yeah I get it, he's the white kid from KY. I want to see him do well and will cheer for him, but he is of no more importance to me than any other person on the roster. They are a team..the best ones for the particular situation will be on the floor, if that includes willis..awesome, if it doesn't I don't care.

Maybe they're excited because he's come out of nowhere and been a major contributor for the first time since he's been here? Maybe?

 

[BBUK_anon]

My two cents. Willis had a body transformation from last season. With that comes confidence. Ask any soldier what happened when you finished basic training and were in shape (some for the first time in their lives) You gain confidence. He tripped some switch in his body to gain aggressiveness too. (A little dose of confidence can do that.) With that came more playing time. He is making Cal play him. Cal has no choice.... I am excited for the kid. I hope he parlays that into an NBA contract. I think it will. If Jorts can do it Willis can do it.

Jump on board UK faithful. Enjoy these kids success. It really is fun.

 

[Bkocats]

My two cents. Willis had a body transformation from last season. With that comes confidence. Ask any soldier what happened when you finished basic training and were in shape (some for the first time in their lives) You gain confidence. He tripped some switch in his body to gain aggressiveness too. (A little dose of confidence can do that.) With that came more playing time. He is making Cal play him. Cal has no choice.... I am excited for the kid. I hope he parlays that into an NBA contract. I think it will. If Jorts can do it Willis can do it.

Jump on board UK faithful. Enjoy these kids success. It really is fun.

most excellent post, sir.

His mindset changed first - he realized he HAD to put in the work, he HAD to care -and so he did.

 

[ORCAT]

My two cents. Willis had a body transformation from last season. With that comes confidence. Ask any soldier what happened when you finished basic training and were in shape (some for the first time in their lives) You gain confidence. He tripped some switch in his body to gain aggressiveness too. (A little dose of confidence can do that.) With that came more playing time. He is making Cal play him. Cal has no choice.... I am excited for the kid. I hope he parlays that into an NBA contract. I think it will. If Jorts can do it Willis can do it.

Jump on board UK faithful. Enjoy these kids success. It really is fun.

Excellent post and really sums up well how Willis is doing right now and how he got to improve. The kid is doing great so far and all UK fans should get on board, as you say, and support him. He has made substantial progress on the defensive end which is what I'm most impressed about him. He is working his butt off and has become a solid team player as well. Hope it continues for him and he will have a shot at an NBA career, even if just a journeyman type of role.

 

[LowCountryCat]

Willis could be a rich man's Jeff Hornacek

 

[.S&C.]

Honestly, Willis is looking better, but he's got to get better and not take plays off. He's behind some talent right now, but cal wants him to play as anyone should be able to tell. He's just got to focus play to play.

 

[Poetax]

My assessment: why are people obsessing and assessing willis all the time and only him..yeah I get it, he's the white kid from KY. I want to see him do well and will cheer for him, but he is of no more importance to me than any other person on the roster. They are a team..the best ones for the particular situation will be on the floor, if that includes willis..awesome, if it doesn't I don't care.

When Ravi Moss came off the bench I was always a big fan of his. But it wasn't because he was a black kid from Kentucky, it was because another player that wasn't a 5 star one and done, was helping the team win. I think you need to rethink why fans like to see bench players do well.

 

[Randy Bob]

.I thank WIllis has really been playing well, looks like Cal thanks so to he is giving him several min. the guy can shoot the 3 he is 6 9 , he has not really played any the last couple yrs I thank he will keep getting better..

 

[BBUK_anon]

.I thank WIllis has really been playing well, looks like Cal thanks so to he is giving him several min. the guy can shoot the 3 he is 6 9 , he has not really played any the last couple yrs I thank he will keep getting better..

I'm a thanking yah...

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

If he were a great talent we've have been talking about him all along though come to think of it seems like we've have been anyway. That doesn't mean he can't be a very good player, and that's what he's done. So far. I like it, but the real test will be can he continue to do it when the level of competition steps up. I'm certainly pulling for him. It's a nice story, and the more player's we have who can contribute the better.