'17 NY SG Keith Williams (Commit)

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I would have to agree here to a certain extent. Our "high priority" guys have done pretty well over the years. It looks to me like he can fill a role from day one...especially because he can defend...but he's got serviceable skills on O. He will offer us a slasher that we don't have in KJ. He will be fun to watch on the break. Polish up his ball skills and shooting touch and in a couple years he could be a real gem. His game reminds me a little of Morman only with better shooting touch and ball skills. Very physical and athletic. Bearcat prototype only a little better on offense than some of our past guys.

Fits the system well. I really like Williams from that standpoint.

Cronin has done a great job on the wing lately getting 2 offensive juggernauts, a shooter, and an all purpose guy with lock down defender written all over him. We've got all the tools we need for a long time on the wing.

Agree with you WH. Coach is building a very nice team that has the ability to contend this year and going forward. Mick has done a great job of building this team not only for this season but the next few. Without the ability to attract one and doner's, he has found a way to still build good teams that have the potential in some instances to be very good teams. I won't say great until he wins a title.

 

[L-T]

I truly hope that our number 1 target was not a 3-star player.

 

[#BearcatNation]

I truly hope that our number 1 target was not a 3-star player.

Think it (originally) was Trevon Duval.

 

[L-T]

Agree with you WH. Coach is building a very nice team that has the ability to contend this year and going forward. Mick has done a great job of building this team not only for this season but the next few. Without the ability to attract one and doner's, he has found a way to still build good teams that have the potential in some instances to be very good teams. I won't say great until he wins a title.

Waite, what are we contending for? Last year we were 4th or 5th place in a weak league with an experienced veteran roster. We were one-and-done in our conference tournament and in the NCAA. We've been one-and-done in the NCAA three of the last four years. We pale in comparison to X and we can't seem to beat them. I wouldn't say a great job has been done building this team in light of recent results. Whatever happens in the future is still to be determined and history has not shown that something great is being built. We're still getting primarily 3-star players and we only have history to go by and history hasn't shown anything special happening with these types of players.

A few years back, a person very close to the program told me about watching David Nyarsuk's highlight video and he laughed describing how Nyarsuk looked like Kareem Abdul Jabbar in that highlight video. He got here and turned out to be nothing close to his highlight video. Keith Williams looks impressive in his highlight video as well. Maybe the video turns out to be a true representation of his skill, but I think you have to be at least a little leary when talking about any of Cronin's recruits. After all, it is only a "highlight" video.....no lowlights are shown.

I am generally happy about the signing of Keith Williams. I think this year's team has the potential to be special, just like I felt last year's team had the potential to be special. Until Cronin finally produces something special, I'm a skeptic. I don't understand your statement above when you say "Without the ability to attract one-and-doners". Are you saying that Mick personally doesn't have the ability to get that done? Or, are you saying the program doesn't have the ability to get it done?

To be honest, I do somewhat share your enthusiasm about the future. If this year's team get's it done, the momentum could take over and the bar could rise. However, even though that is my internal hope, I will continue to outwardly remain off the Cronin bandwagon until he gets it done. It's much easier to deal with the disappointments when you're somewhat expecting them to occur. Again, I like the signing of Keith Williams and I really like the "fuller" roster of players and the positive points some have made about why that is a plus.

 

[JasonS]

I would have to agree here to a certain extent. Our "high priority" guys have done pretty well over the years. It looks to me like he can fill a role from day one...especially because he can defend...but he's got serviceable skills on O. He will offer us a slasher that we don't have in KJ. He will be fun to watch on the break. Polish up his ball skills and shooting touch and in a couple years he could be a real gem. His game reminds me a little of Morman only with better shooting touch and ball skills. Very physical and athletic. Bearcat prototype only a little better on offense than some of our past guys.

Fits the system well. I really like Williams from that standpoint.

Cronin has done a great job on the wing lately getting 2 offensive juggernauts, a shooter, and an all purpose guy with lock down defender written all over him. We've got all the tools we need for a long time on the wing.

I think back to the teams in the late 90s and early 2000s when I was a student and pretty much all of those teams had a long, lock down wing defender type who was enough of a threat on offense to open things up for other guys. Those were some of the best teams we have had in the last 30 plus years. Guys like Pete Mickael, Ruben Patterson, Immanuel McIlroy, etc. come to mind. If Keith Williams can be that, a guy that is a lock down wing defender and can score 10 ppg, I'd take that in a heartbeat. If he turns out to be more than that, we will all be very, very happy.

 

[JasonS]

I truly hope that our number 1 target was not a 3-star player.

Sean Kilpatrick was a 3-star player. He had a nice career here. Pay more attention to a player's skill-set and how it fits with this team than whether a scouting service has determined the kid is a 3-star versus a 4-star. Some of these services have seen these guys play as much as you or I have. There have been plenty of 5 star guys across the country that don't have great careers too. Would I like to land a couple 5 star players, sure. If it doesn't happen, that doesn't mean we don't have guys that can become as talented (or more so) than 5 star guys in a couple years. You are looking for instant impact, I get it. You are more likely to see that from a 5 star player. I'm looking at the 4 year impact. I'll take a guy like SK that dominated his Junior and Senior years and be plenty happy about it.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I think back to the teams in the late 90s and early 2000s when I was a student and pretty much all of those teams had a long, lock down wing defender type who was enough of a threat on offense to open things up for other guys. Those were some of the best teams we have had in the last 30 plus years. Guys like Pete Mickael, Ruben Patterson, Immanuel McIlroy, etc. come to mind. If Keith Williams can be that, a guy that is a lock down wing defender and can score 10 ppg, I'd take that in a heartbeat. If he turns out to be more than that, we will all be very, very happy.

Good comps. It does seem like Williams has a high floor.

 

[JasonS]

No big man who's ever played for Cronin has even sniffed the NBA. The track record suggests that Nsoseme won't either. I'm extremely skeptical that he is some hidden gem. Seems like a defensive backup at best, especially with the more we hear about Brooks.

I don't disagree but this also coincides with the NBA moving away from big centers and power forwards and going more outside with stretch 4s. You don't see many back to the basket players being drafted anymore. You either see guys that can handle the ball and shoot on the perimeter or, a guy that is uber athletic and is a defensive player and shot blocker. Those skills are harder to teach and, if the player has those already, they are highly recruited guys that usually end up going to the UK, KU and Dukes of the world. The college game is a guard oriented game and those are the players you really need to win. The NBA is starting to follow suit as well.

 

[L-T]

Sean Kilpatrick was a 3-star player. He had a nice career here. Pay more attention to a player's skill-set and how it fits with this team than whether a scouting service has determined the kid is a 3-star versus a 4-star. Some of these services have seen these guys play as much as you or I have. There have been plenty of 5 star guys across the country that don't have great careers too. Would I like to land a couple 5 star players, sure. If it doesn't happen, that doesn't mean we don't have guys that can become as talented (or more so) than 5 star guys in a couple years. You are looking for instant impact, I get it. You are more likely to see that from a 5 star player. I'm looking at the 4 year impact. I'll take a guy like SK that dominated his Junior and Senior years and be plenty happy about it.

Jason, I agree with your assessment of SK's senior season, which was his "5th" season in the program. I do not agree about his domination in his Jr. year (4th in program). He only shot 39% overall and only 30% from three. The team finished 9th in the Big East with a .500 record, lost in the 2nd round of the BE tourney and in the 1st round of the NCAA, after getting a 10-seed. We know he shot a lot. That is why his PPG was higher, but I wouldn't call it domination., in what should have been his senior season, had he not red-shirted.

I do not follow recruiting very closely, so I am generalizing about 3-star recruits. And, I realize that some 5-stars are busts too. However, based on 10 years of pretty much solely 3-star recruits, my generalization is based on a lot of actual results, which is a better basis than just an observation with nothing to back it up. I know you follow recruiting closer and I trust your enthusiasm about Keith Williams and hope you are spot on in your observations.

 

[JasonS]

Jacob, I agree with your assessment of SK's senior season, which was his "5th" season in the program. I do not agree about his domination in his Jr. year (4th in program). He only shot 39% overall and only 30% from three. The team finished 9th in the Big East with a .500 record, lost in the 2nd round of the BE tourney and in the 1st round of the NCAA, after getting a 10-seed. We know he shot a lot. That is why his PPG was higher, but I wouldn't call it domination., in what should have been his senior season, had he not red-shirted.

I do not follow recruiting very closely, so I am generalizing about 3-star recruits. And, I realize that some 5-stars are busts too. However, based on 10 years of pretty much solely 3-star recruits, my generalization is based on a lot of actual results, which is a better basis than just an observation with nothing to back it up. I know you follow recruiting closer and I trust your enthusiasm about Keith Williams and hope you are spot on in your observations.

My only further comment on SK is that you don't become a 2,000 point scorer with one good season.

I do think Williams has the tools to be a very good player at UC. I think he could contribute his freshman year much the way Jacob Evans did and the way we expect Cumberland to this year. I also think he will come in with a chip on his shoulder and, it sounds like, a work ethic that rivals SK when he was here. We will find out how good he can be but I have been high on Keith Williams for a while now and obviously, the coaching staff is as well.

 

[L-T]

My only further comment on SK is that you don't become a 2,000 point scorer with one good season.

I do think Williams has the tools to be a very good player at UC. I think he could contribute his freshman year much the way Jacob Evans did and the way we expect Cumberland to this year. I also think he will come in with a chip on his shoulder and, it sounds like, a work ethic that rivals SK when he was here. We will find out how good he can be but I have been high on Keith Williams for a while now and obviously, the coaching staff is as well.

Again, I think he played like a 3-star player for his first 4 years in the program, and ascended to more of a 4 or 5 star player his 5th and final season. At that point he was almost 25 years old and had been around an extra year. I am not knocking SK. He was one of my all-time favorites, more because of some great intangibles, than because of being dominant on the basketball floor. We have all acknowledged that he was a "volume" shooter, which is obviously why he could amass 2000 points over his career. I would have liked him a lot more if his percentages had been better and if his performances had empowered his teams to some special seasons. That really didn't happen.

I'll trust your assessment of Keith Williams and hope the he becomes anything close to SK, or even surpasses his level of excellence.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Waite, what are we contending for? Last year we were 4th or 5th place in a weak league with an experienced veteran roster. We were one-and-done in our conference tournament and in the NCAA. We've been one-and-done in the NCAA three of the last four years. We pale in comparison to X and we can't seem to beat them. I wouldn't say a great job has been done building this team in light of recent results. Whatever happens in the future is still to be determined and history has not shown that something great is being built. We're still getting primarily 3-star players and we only have history to go by and history hasn't shown anything special happening with these types of players.

A few years back, a person very close to the program told me about watching David Nyarsuk's highlight video and he laughed describing how Nyarsuk looked like Kareem Abdul Jabbar in that highlight video. He got here and turned out to be nothing close to his highlight video. Keith Williams looks impressive in his highlight video as well. Maybe the video turns out to be a true representation of his skill, but I think you have to be at least a little leary when talking about any of Cronin's recruits. After all, it is only a "highlight" video.....no lowlights are shown.

I am generally happy about the signing of Keith Williams. I think this year's team has the potential to be special, just like I felt last year's team had the potential to be special. Until Cronin finally produces something special, I'm a skeptic. I don't understand your statement above when you say "Without the ability to attract one-and-doners". Are you saying that Mick personally doesn't have the ability to get that done? Or, are you saying the program doesn't have the ability to get it done?

To be honest, I do somewhat share your enthusiasm about the future. If this year's team get's it done, the momentum could take over and the bar could rise. However, even though that is my internal hope, I will continue to outwardly remain off the Cronin bandwagon until he gets it done. It's much easier to deal with the disappointments when you're somewhat expecting them to occur. Again, I like the signing of Keith Williams and I really like the "fuller" roster of players and the positive points some have made about why that is a plus.

Again one man's junk is another man's treasure. I am truly happy with the product Coach has produced. I want to win more of course but I like what he has built to this point. I am not ready to cut bait and bring in a new coach at this time with the hope of doing better. Especially with all the moving parts in college athletics.

First weak league? If memory serves me the AAC qualified 4 teams to the field of 64 last year We were beaten by a 80 heave by the team that won the conference. As I have pointed out before I like our players. I have very little interest in watching one and doners pass through the Shoe. I enjoy the student athlete. Our current line up has some 4 star recruits in it.

Very excited about this years team. That said we still will be long odds to win the NCAA.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Again, I think he played like a 3-star player for his first 4 years in the program, and ascended to more of a 4 or 5 star player his 5th and final season. At that point he was almost 25 years old and had been around an extra year. I am not knocking SK. He was one of my all-time favorites, more because of some great intangibles, than because of being dominant on the basketball floor. We have all acknowledged that he was a "volume" shooter, which is obviously why he could amass 2000 points over his career. I would have liked him a lot more if his percentages had been better and if his performances had empowered his teams to some special seasons. That really didn't happen.

I'll trust your assessment of Keith Williams and hope the he becomes anything close to SK, or even surpasses his level of excellence.

again very subjective. SK was a 3 star player. He improved every year in the program. I know many 3 stars and some 4 and 5 stars that never made it into the starting line up.

 

[waterhead]

Again, I think he played like a 3-star player for his first 4 years in the program, and ascended to more of a 4 or 5 star player his 5th and final season. At that point he was almost 25 years old and had been around an extra year. I am not knocking SK. He was one of my all-time favorites, more because of some great intangibles, than because of being dominant on the basketball floor. We have all acknowledged that he was a "volume" shooter, which is obviously why he could amass 2000 points over his career. I would have liked him a lot more if his percentages had been better and if his performances had empowered his teams to some special seasons. That really didn't happen.

I'll trust your assessment of Keith Williams and hope the he becomes anything close to SK, or even surpasses his level of excellence.

ascended to 4 or 5 star? he was an all American!!! He was the only scoring option on the team and the other teams were well aware of that. Perhaps if he had some help his % would have been better.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Yeah I'd much rather have a 4 star Quadri Moore or 5 star Jermaine Lawrence....

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Last couple wing players Mick has brought in appear to be great on paper. Jacob Evans, Jarron Cumberland and now Williams and Moore. Only 1 of those guys have registered minutes in an actual college game, but Mick in his interview said he was expecting Jarron to contribute like Evans did last year. That would be HUGE

 

[L-T]

ascended to 4 or 5 star? he was an all American!!! He was the only scoring option on the team and the other teams were well aware of that. Perhaps if he had some help his % would have been better.

As a junior, he had two pretty good seniors...Cashmere Wright and Jaquon Parker helping him. He also had JJ, Shaq, Sanders, Rubles, and Guyn. And he still shot 30%. He also played with Dion Dixon and Yancy Gates for a couple years, and Cashmere for three years. His help wasn't all that bad.

 

[L-T]

Yeah I'd much rather have a 4 star Quadri Moore or 5 star Jermaine Lawrence....

Lol...maybe that is why Mick stays away from 4 and 5-star players. When he does sign some, they usually turn out to be a bust! You can throw Biggie, and Darnell Wilkes, and a few others in there as well. However, let's not give up on Quadri just yet.

 

[JasonS]

As a junior, he had two pretty good seniors...Cashmere Wright and Jaquon Parker helping him. He also had JJ, Shaq, Sanders, Rubles, and Guyn. And he still shot 30%. He also played with Dion Dixon and Yancy Gates for a couple years, and Cashmere for three years. His help wasn't all that bad.

Cash was hurt pretty much that entire senior year. Parker was a glue guy and not a scorer. He was a good defensive player that contributed a little offensively (and that is not a knock - you NEED those players to win games).

JJ was never an offensive threat. Shaq didn't progress as quickly as many would have liked. Sanders, Rubles and Guyn? Those weren't offensive threats either. Seriously, SK didn't have help.

To bring this back to Williams, he is going to be a more explosive Jaquon Parker type who can get after it on the defensive end but score more on the offensive end. A do whatever it takes to win type. I love those kind of players.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Lol...maybe that is why Mick stays away from 4 and 5-star players. When he does sign some, they usually turn out to be a bust! You can throw Biggie, and Darnell Wilkes, and a few others in there as well. However, let's not give up on Quadri just yet.

Quadri was having the best game of his life in the tourney and of course got hurt. His confidence is off the charts. Hopefully he figures it out this year. If he comes off the bench and contributes 5+ points a game, plays better D and rebounds I would be happy. Wonder how his minutes will stack up next to Tre Scott's...