I like the talent I see in Williams. I was really giving him high praise early on in the year. I don't mind giving praise or critique. There were some face palm moments in the game IMO...but I think he will start to figure it out next year. I think it might be a little late in the game this year...but I am rooting for him.
The Uconn shot was awesome! I think he just needs to play his role this year and stop pressing. That probably means just spot minutes and doing all the little things. Take the no brainer opportunities...simplify it.
I agree.
Its tough for some kids coming from a team where your are the man to being a small piece of the puzzle. Sometimes it takes them a year to adjust. 18, away from home and not being the star are not little things to overcome.
He has the ability to be a lock down defender and he can run on the break as well as anyone. He's going to have some sick dunks before it's all over for him.
Trevor does what is asked. He takes smart shots and works his tail off in the game. He provides a boost of energy. I am not saying Williams should emulate Moore but if he wants to get in the game he needs to stop focusing on getting points right now.
Cronin did praise him for offensive rebounds last night...so that's a start!
Agree!! I think the game is coming to Moore a bit easier then Williams at this time.The problem is that their games are so much different. At his heart, Moore is a shooter. He has shown some good driving ability lately, but the kid wants to come out and stroke 3's. That doesn't change all that much from high school to college. An open shot is an open shot. Williams is having to learn that that he isn't taller than the centers on the other team and can't just drive at will. He is going to figure it out, but it will take him longer to adjust than Moore.
I know you can't actually play this way but I almost wish Williams wasn't allowed to shoot during garbage time. Play PG and go 5 game minutes without shooting. He might start to see the game another way.
Was sitting courtside last night. It's amazing how different a game looks down there. You see and hear things you don't normally get to. Our defense is seriously legit. No UCF isn't stellar, but we seriously gave them nothing uncontested that first half outside of a couple well worked three pointers they passed around to find an open man. And we all know that was brick city. Play got a little sloppy the last ten minutes, but we got some good minutes out of backups. Nsoseme looked good in his minutes. Moore had a great game. Williams, I agree, looked selfish as the game wore on. I was less than ten feet from him on some of the play down the stretch and his body language seemed like he is frustrated. He's used to being able to do certain things with the ball and he simply hasn't adjusted to this level and defenses stopping that. It was good to see him get some free minutes to do his thing and get stopped so he can learn what not to do going forward if that makes sense.
What I am curious about is how good are we REALLY on D? We have been blowing out some teams and therefore we don't keep the hammer down all the time. We have let some teams score on us in the final minutes with backups in the game. Our bench is solid on D but I really think our starters (outside of Washington maybe) are also our best defenders. Brooks and Scott are good. Williams and Moore are good. But our best offensive and defensive players really seem to be our starters right now. They all know where to be and the breakdowns on D seem to be fewer when they are in.
I agree and am curious too how our defense translates at this point if you needed 40 minutes of sustained effort and vs. a quality opponent. I will say I think Washington's defense is much improved. I don't notice him leaving his man as much and not recovering. Last year he was a liability on defense. This year I think he's an asset. Interesting thing when you sit so close is you can really see and hear the players calling out plays and more so who to guard, etc. You really get a feel for how quick the game really is and how players communicate what to do on the fly. This team didn't give an inch in the first half on D. (I was on the home side of court). Every shot inside the arc seemed to be double teamed and contested. And every open player was accounted for on a possible kick out with the exception of one play I remember where they had two guys on the same wing and it led to a wide open corner three. To beat this defense you have to pass the ball plenty and you have to hit shots or just put your head down and attack the rim every time. They did that in the second half and had some success because they got to the stripe. I think good teams will do more of this going forward. But we have great and smart shot blockers when you do attack the basket. Nothing is easy.
I agree and am curious too how our defense translates at this point if you needed 40 minutes of sustained effort and vs. a quality opponent. I will say I think Washington's defense is much improved. I don't notice him leaving his man as much and not recovering. Last year he was a liability on defense. This year I think he's an asset. Interesting thing when you sit so close is you can really see and hear the players calling out plays and more so who to guard, etc. You really get a feel for how quick the game really is and how players communicate what to do on the fly. This team didn't give an inch in the first half on D. (I was on the home side of court). Every shot inside the arc seemed to be double teamed and contested. And every open player was accounted for on a possible kick out with the exception of one play I remember where they had two guys on the same wing and it led to a wide open corner three. To beat this defense you have to pass the ball plenty and you have to hit shots or just put your head down and attack the rim every time. They did that in the second half and had some success because they got to the stripe. I think good teams will do more of this going forward. But we have great and smart shot blockers when you do attack the basket. Nothing is easy.
I agree, Washington has been much better on defense this year, especially the last few games. He's been all over the place on both sides of the ball. Just when people started to say he was the one contributing the least, he really stepped up.
He's also making better decisions on Offense. Too bad he's going to red shirt.
Maybe... maybe not. Who knows. If he does...I called it first.
Yah...so what
Keep on looking like an idiot and trashing threads aren’t you a mod a supposed to set an example?
He's also making better decisions on Offense. Too bad he's going to red shirt.
Maybe... maybe not. Who knows. If he does...I called it first.
Yah...so what