Doogie: Don't sleep on Payton Willis

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BleedGopher

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On his latest Scoops Podcast, Doogie talks about Payton Willis:

- "I've heard a bunch of good things about Payton Willis, the Vanderbilt transfer. He can really fill it up, he's a really good shooter. A lot of people focus on Marcus Carr, but don't sleep on Payton Willis. I've had a couple of people that would absolutely know and they said 'don't forget about Willis.'"

https://www.podcastone.com/the-scoop

Go Gophers!!
 

Crap. That means he'll be a dud. Why couldn't you just rip on him instead, Doogie? Damn...
 


I remember when sources who knew and watched practice swore Davonte Fitzgerald was the best player on the team but wasn't able to play in the games.
 

fmlizard said:
I remember when sources who knew and watched practice swore Davonte Fitzgerald was the best player on the team but wasn't able to play in the games.
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He may have been before he blew out his knee a second time. He didn’t have any lift, and largely lost his quickness with that second surgery. And, he only had that one year.

Curry had that look this year, lost his first, quick step and no lift. That can come back with rehab, but he obviously was not the same athlete he was his freshman year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


Ozzy&Ray said:
He may have been before he blew out his knee a second time. He didn’t have any lift, and largely lost his quickness with that second surgery. And, he only had that one year.

Curry had that look this year, lost his first, quick step and no lift. That can come back with rehab, but he obviously was not the same athlete he was his freshman year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Yup, Fitz got injured again
 

if willis can give us 15-20 minutes a game and can add some shooting and length that would be huge for this team....if Coffey does indeed not come back we need Willis to be an important piece. He will basically be the old time vet in the backcourt for us.
 

Looking at his game log from his sophomore year, there are a couple standouts:

15 points in 29 minutes in a win against a good Mississippi State team. He hit 5/9 three pointers, with no turnovers, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

10 points in 28 minutes in a loss against a good Florida team. He hit 3/4 three pointers, with no turnovers, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Looks like he disappeared in some other games. He will be a 4th year player for us and hopefully show some improvement. He will at the least be a major upgrade from Brock Stull.
 

eker0016 said:
Looking at his game log from his sophomore year, there are a couple standouts:

15 points in 29 minutes in a win against a good Mississippi State team. He hit 5/9 three pointers, with no turnovers, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

10 points in 28 minutes in a loss against a good Florida team. He hit 3/4 three pointers, with no turnovers, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Looks like he disappeared in some other games. He will be a 4th year player for us and hopefully show some improvement. He will at the least be a major upgrade from Brock Stull.
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That’s really good news if he surprises. I looking at a loaded, deep team next year if Coffey comes back and we get a transfer big man( especially one that has range) if we get sherfield, with Carr, kalashaur, Willis, Williams all competing for guard minutes that kind of competition can only lead to better play. Add Coffey some guard minutes and we are super deep.I’d prefer Coffey go to the 3(but be able to exploit the lane better if we can open the floor with multiple outside shooters) - we could actually put 4 guards that can shoot on the floor with Oturo (ala Wisconsin with Happ last year)
 



2016-17 | Freshman Season (Vanderbilt):
Played in all 35 games and started 12 • averaged 17.5 minutes per game • averaged 5.2 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game • scored a career-high 17 points against Butler in Las Vegas • tallied double digits in four other games in his freshman season • made first career start vs. Santa Clara and dished out career-high eight assists vs. Broncos • tallied eight points in homecoming win at Arkansas • also scored eight points at Kentucky and eight points in win over Florida at SEC Tournament • grabbed a career-high five rebounds in three games (vs. Auburn, at Alabama, and vs. Florida in SEC Tournament).


High School:
Attended Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas, averaged 15.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while also shooting 44.7% from three in his junior season and was honored as an all-conference and all-state selection as a sophomore and junior • Willis was ranked as the second-ranked player in the state of Arkansas, the 22nd-best point guard in the country by 247sports.com, and ranked as the 119th-best player in the nation by Rivals.com.

____________________

He should be a nice addition. We need another guy who can handle the ball and can knock it down from outside.
 

Default Doogie: Don't sleep on Payton Willis



Use a mattress.
 

Willis doesn't have Carr's explosiveness but if he can shoot the three that would make a huge difference, that would soften the blow if Coffey doesn't come back.
 




fmlizard said:
I remember when sources who knew and watched practice swore Davonte Fitzgerald was the best player on the team but wasn't able to play in the games.
Click to expand...

I was at a couple practices when he was healthy and he was no doubt the most athletic and one of the best players on the team. Its a shame we never got to see the real Fitzgerald in a Gopher uniform, woulda been a fan favorite.
 






For some fans, the player they haven't seen is always going to be the difference-maker. Just like how the backup Quarterback should be starting.

There were people on this board who thought Stull was going to help the Gophers with his outside shooting. Reality proved to be something different.

I have no idea how good Carr or Willis is - or what type of contribution they will make to the Gophers next year.

I'm weird that way - I wait to actually watch someone play, and then I form an opinion about how well they played.

Hey - Willis could turn out to be a great addition. Or, he could turn into next year's version of Stull - only (hopefully) with a lower body fat %. Same thing with Carr. Carr might step right in and be the starting PG and a team leader. That would be great. But excuse me if I want to wait and see the guy play before proclaiming him as the key to the season.

I will be the first to admit that Gabe K and Oturu actually contributed more to the team this season than I was expecting. Gabe had a rep as a shooter, but he turned out to be a really solid defender. I wasn't expecting that. Oturu showed more mobility and a better mid-range shot than I expected.

So players can surprise you in a positive fashion - or surprise you in a negative fashion. That's the fun of sports - watching it play out as the season develops.
 

I hope none of us are sleeping on a Peyton Willis.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
For some fans, the player they haven't seen is always going to be the difference-maker. Just like how the backup Quarterback should be starting.

There were people on this board who thought Stull was going to help the Gophers with his outside shooting. Reality proved to be something different.

I have no idea how good Carr or Willis is - or what type of contribution they will make to the Gophers next year.

I'm weird that way - I wait to actually watch someone play, and then I form an opinion about how well they played.

Hey - Willis could turn out to be a great addition. Or, he could turn into next year's version of Stull - only (hopefully) with a lower body fat %. Same thing with Carr. Carr might step right in and be the starting PG and a team leader. That would be great. But excuse me if I want to wait and see the guy play before proclaiming him as the key to the season.

I will be the first to admit that Gabe K and Oturu actually contributed more to the team this season than I was expecting. Gabe had a rep as a shooter, but he turned out to be a really solid defender. I wasn't expecting that. Oturu showed more mobility and a better mid-range shot than I expected.

So players can surprise you in a positive fashion - or surprise you in a negative fashion. That's the fun of sports - watching it play out as the season develops.
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The other fun parts about sports is speculating about it. :)
 


Doogie talking to Rip Van Winkle again? [emoji41]
 

I expected Oturu to come in and contribute like he did immediately. I also expect him to really assert himself and we will be talking about his draft status in a year. Gabe though surprised me and was much better as a freshman than I expected. That was great.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
For some fans, the player they haven't seen is always going to be the difference-maker. Just like how the backup Quarterback should be starting.

There were people on this board who thought Stull was going to help the Gophers with his outside shooting. Reality proved to be something different.

I have no idea how good Carr or Willis is - or what type of contribution they will make to the Gophers next year.

I'm weird that way - I wait to actually watch someone play, and then I form an opinion about how well they played.

Hey - Willis could turn out to be a great addition. Or, he could turn into next year's version of Stull - only (hopefully) with a lower body fat %. Same thing with Carr. Carr might step right in and be the starting PG and a team leader. That would be great. But excuse me if I want to wait and see the guy play before proclaiming him as the key to the season.

I will be the first to admit that Gabe K and Oturu actually contributed more to the team this season than I was expecting. Gabe had a rep as a shooter, but he turned out to be a really solid defender. I wasn't expecting that. Oturu showed more mobility and a better mid-range shot than I expected.

So players can surprise you in a positive fashion - or surprise you in a negative fashion. That's the fun of sports - watching it play out as the season develops.
Click to expand...

I think the biggest difference on the Willis front is he’s been in the program for a full season prior to seeing the floor. That’s a huge advantage over a grad transfer especially a late arriving one like Stull. The overall expectation for Willis seems to be that he’s a serviceable backup and anything more is icing on the cake. Which is something we haven’t had probably since Mason’s freshman year.

It’s a wait and see game for every newcomer but the fun of offseason discussion is speculating. It’d be a looooong offseason if we didn’t.
 

GopherNuts said:
I think the biggest difference on the Willis front is he’s been in the program for a full season prior to seeing the floor. That’s a huge advantage over a grad transfer especially a late arriving one like Stull. The overall expectation for Willis seems to be that he’s a serviceable backup and anything more is icing on the cake. Which is something we haven’t had probably since Mason’s freshman year.

It’s a wait and see game for every newcomer but the fun of offseason discussion is speculating. It’d be a looooong offseason if we didn’t.
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Good point he had the entire year to practice and learn the system. I hope he really contributes.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
For some fans, the player they haven't seen is always going to be the difference-maker. Just like how the backup Quarterback should be starting.

There were people on this board who thought Stull was going to help the Gophers with his outside shooting. Reality proved to be something different.

I have no idea how good Carr or Willis is - or what type of contribution they will make to the Gophers next year.

I'm weird that way - I wait to actually watch someone play, and then I form an opinion about how well they played.

Hey - Willis could turn out to be a great addition. Or, he could turn into next year's version of Stull - only (hopefully) with a lower body fat %. Same thing with Carr. Carr might step right in and be the starting PG and a team leader. That would be great. But excuse me if I want to wait and see the guy play before proclaiming him as the key to the season.

I will be the first to admit that Gabe K and Oturu actually contributed more to the team this season than I was expecting. Gabe had a rep as a shooter, but he turned out to be a really solid defender. I wasn't expecting that. Oturu showed more mobility and a better mid-range shot than I expected.

So players can surprise you in a positive fashion - or surprise you in a negative fashion. That's the fun of sports - watching it play out as the season develops.
Click to expand...

People thought Stull would help the Gophers because we had previously struck gold on Springs from the same team and league. They put up similar numbers, so there was at least data to drive some optimism. But I think you're pretty far off-base trying to correlate Stull with either Willis or Carr here.

But if I wanted to counter your point with an actual sit-out transfer, I could say people thought Stockman was going to be a waste of roster spot coming into this year and were very down on him. But then he exceeded all of our expectations and was actually quite impactful in a number of important games (and definitely should have been getting more minutes throughout the year).

Or Reggie Lynch was expected to be a good defensive player coming from Illinois State. Lynch, however, ended up being one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten and was a huge force in the middle. When Lynch was suspended, it was an important part of the implosion of that year's team and we never recovered.

As far as Davonte Fitzgerald (because surely someone will bring him up), he was said to be one of the best players on the team in practice his sit-out year. But then he had a second horrific knee injury and was never the same.

So...based on that (actual) sit-out transfer data, I'd speculate that we can expect positive impacts from both Carr and Willis this coming year. The only sit-out transfer in recent years that we do NOT have hard game data integrity for is Fitzgerald because nobody outside the program saw what he looked like previous to that 2nd knee blowout.
 

WriterGoph said:
People thought Stull would help the Gophers because we had previously struck gold on Springs from the same team and league. They put up similar numbers, so there was at least data to drive some optimism. But I think you're pretty far off-base trying to correlate Stull with either Willis or Carr here.

But if I wanted to counter your point with an actual sit-out transfer, I could say people thought Stockman was going to be a waste of roster spot coming into this year and were very down on him. But then he exceeded all of our expectations and was actually quite impactful in a number of important games (and definitely should have been getting more minutes throughout the year).

Or Reggie Lynch was expected to be a good defensive player coming from Illinois State. Lynch, however, ended up being one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten and was a huge force in the middle. When Lynch was suspended, it was an important part of the implosion of that year's team and we never recovered.

As far as Davonte Fitzgerald (because surely someone will bring him up), he was said to be one of the best players on the team in practice his sit-out year. But then he had a second horrific knee injury and was never the same.

So...based on that (actual) sit-out transfer data, I'd speculate that we can expect positive impacts from both Carr and Willis this coming year. The only sit-out transfer in recent years that we do NOT have hard game data integrity for is Fitzgerald because nobody outside the program saw what he looked like previous to that 2nd knee blowout.
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Good write-up. Zach Lofton was another sit out transfer. He ended up playing 3 college seasons at 4 different schools (kicked off Gophers), so he sounds like a head case. Averaged 20.1 PPG at NMSU last year, making 2.6 3PG. He put up 29 points in a loss to Clemson in the NCAA tournament. He definitely would have helped the Gophers.
 

eker0016 said:
Good write-up. Zach Lofton was another sit out transfer. He ended up playing 3 college seasons at 4 different schools (kicked off Gophers), so he sounds like a head case. Averaged 20.1 PPG at NMSU last year, making 2.6 3PG. He put up 29 points in a loss to Clemson in the NCAA tournament. He definitely would have helped the Gophers.
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We wouldn't have gotten the NMSU version of Lofton. Had he not been kicked off the team, he would have graduated in 2017.
 

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