Rodney’s struggles

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katze019

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Is Smith trying to motivate Rodney or is he really that down on him? He has gushed all over Joe and Andre, praised Welch and Austin and good things about almost every player except Rodney. Offensive liability, trouble grasping defensive concepts, ouch.

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Smith admitted last week that no player on his roster has had a harder transition to college basketball than Rodney Williams.
He played center in high school and was frequently the most athletic player on the floor. He now plays small forward and has struggled with his outside jump shot since joining the Gophers as well as grasping team defensive concepts.

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Smith said junior forward Rodney Williams has plenty of work to do to ensure a spot in the starting lineup.

"I think Rodney, he's battling it out with some people," Smith said. "He's got to earn some things that he's got to get done. … The proof is in his shooting. He's got to improve in that area, because if he doesn't, it could be a liability. And he's got to pick it up in the defensive end."
 

I think if we could do on-the-fly substitutions, Rodney would be much more valuable.
 

I have a feeling Rodney will be returning for his senior season. If he doesn't then I think he could be making a giant mistake, because I'm not sure he could make a European team and he now has a kid to provide for. He really needs to start developing an all around game.
 

My son was the best soccer goalie in 1st/2nd grade league last year. He got his ass handed to him in the 3rd/4th grade league this year.
 

Many players through the years just never seemed to meet their potential. Dan Coleman comes to mind, or Mo Hargrow.

But Williams is a strange case, I really feel it is not due to any lack of effort, talent or desire. Let's pray he is changing his shot mechanics, I can't speak with authority but I have never liked the look of his shot. Hoffarber was able to change his shot and got better, but he was already very good.

I think we all are waiting for the preverbial light bulb to go on for this kid. It might never happen. If it does, watch out!
 


In my opinion, Tubby has been playing Rodney more than his play deserved the last couple of years because he hoped the extra run would be beneficial in years 3 and 4 when he finally put it all together. Given that he is more or less the exact same player he was 2 years ago, with only subtle improvements seen in limited areas, I think Tubby is starting to give up on him and realizing that his basketball playing ability is never going to catch up to his athleticism. He is the Rashede Hageman of the basketball team, except Rashede is actually getting better.
 

Rodney's God given athletic ability has gotten him this far. He does not have great basketball skills and it doesn't appear that he works very hard to develop them. His body looks very similar to the way it did when he was a freshman. It is hard to believe he has taken weight training very seriously. If you look at Chris Halvorson last year vs this year, he has gained a lot of strength. If you look at Rodney, you don't notice any signficant change. Most players are able to improve their shooting with repitition, Rodney's shot has not improved much, if at all. If Rodney does have NBA aspirations, he better begin working on his game immediately, because athleticim alone isn't going to get him an NBA roster spot.
 

Tubby recruited Rodney due to local pressure. Rodney has played the way Tubby knew, way back when. Now that Tubby has recruited guys that are better than Rodney, Rodney is toast. He is a legend in his own mind.
 

The one thing that shocked me was hearing that it wasn't until this off-season where Rodney stopped using his left thumb to help with shooting the ball. This should have been addressed from day one on campus, not going into year 3. Realistically this change should have been forced upon him in High School, obviously a bad habit he developed as a kid and was never able to shake it. I also heard that he was watching the ball as it was going through the air after his release rather than focusing on the rim like a normal shooter. I'm really hoping to see a strong improvement from him this year, but I have a feeling it's going to be much of the same old Rodney.
 



You're making a ton of assumptions here. You have no idea of what a player does when you aren't watching him in the game.

CDH27 said:
Rodney's God given athletic ability has gotten him this far. He does not have great basketball skills and it doesn't appear that he works very hard to develop them. His body looks very similar to the way it did when he was a freshman. It is hard to believe he has taken weight training very seriously. If you look at Chris Halvorson last year vs this year, he has gained a lot of strength. If you look at Rodney, you don't notice any signficant change. Most players are able to improve their shooting with repitition, Rodney's shot has not improved much, if at all. If Rodney does have NBA aspirations, he better begin working on his game immediately, because athleticim alone isn't going to get him an NBA roster spot.
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Since you're rarely negative about players I assume this is sarcastic?

Dr.Don said:
Tubby recruited Rodney due to local pressure. Rodney has played the way Tubby knew, way back when. Now that Tubby has recruited guys that are better than Rodney, Rodney is toast. He is a legend in his own mind.
Click to expand...
 

I think all the emphasis on his shooting is misplaced. With his athleticism, and body control, he needs to be working on his low post and slashing game. All he needs is two dribble moves to the hole, and the kid can finish very well. If he worked hard on his rebounding, defense, and his slashing, he'd be fine. For all of the talk about his shot, I think he'll always be a streaky shooter. However, effort on these areas could help him be a very explosive offensive weapon for us in the half-court, where we need him most.
 




Dr.Don said:
Tubby recruited Rodney due to local pressure. Rodney has played the way Tubby knew, way back when. Now that Tubby has recruited guys that are better than Rodney, Rodney is toast. He is a legend in his own mind.
Click to expand...

Is this a joke? I really can't tell.
 

I agree with most of this, but we haven't actually seen Rodney play this year. We've also learned that Tubby's comments about players must be taken with a huge grain of a salt.

dpodoll68 said:
In my opinion, Tubby has been playing Rodney more than his play deserved the last couple of years because he hoped the extra run would be beneficial in years 3 and 4 when he finally put it all together. Given that he is more or less the exact same player he was 2 years ago, with only subtle improvements seen in limited areas, I think Tubby is starting to give up on him and realizing that his basketball playing ability is never going to catch up to his athleticism. He is the Rashede Hageman of the basketball team, except Rashede is actually getting better.
Click to expand...
 



jmag21 said:
I think all the emphasis on his shooting is misplaced. With his athleticism, and body control, he needs to be working on his low post and slashing game. All he needs is two dribble moves to the hole, and the kid can finish very well. If he worked hard on his rebounding, defense, and his slashing, he'd be fine. For all of the talk about his shot, I think he'll always be a streaky shooter. However, effort on these areas could help him be a very explosive offensive weapon for us in the half-court, where we need him most.
Click to expand...

Rodney weighs maybe 200 lbs soaking wet. He's not equipped for any sort of low post game. Nor does he have the strength to drive the ball through traffic. I doubt it has anything to do with him not working hard enough. He's good in open spaces. He's not so good when there are bodies between him and the hole.
 


You're making a ton of assumptions here. You have no idea of what a player does when you aren't watching him in the game.
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I have heard many people that are close to the Gopher program make comments about Rodney's lack of work ethic. What part of Rodney's game have you seen improvement in since his arrival on campus?
 

Gold Vision said:
+1. The kid was a sophomore last year. Most people on this board wanted him to be redshirted his true freshman year.
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That is what I thought last year too but if I don't see a big improvement this year I think it may be time he just rides the pine. I would expect he would be the third to fifth leading scorer on the team this year and if not then I think he probably will never get there given the time in the program already and playing time he has had. It all remains to be seen though.
 

jmag21 said:
I think all the emphasis on his shooting is misplaced.
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That must by why Tubby said he could be an offensive liability.

jmag21 said:
All he needs is two dribble moves to the hole, and the kid can finish very well. If he worked hard on his rebounding, defense, and his slashing, he'd be fine.
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You sound like Myron now. C'mon main. He's in his 20's he's and hasn't figured out that 'two dribble move' and will never be a good dribbler. Tubby constantly gripes about his defense. If he can't get it done he's got people ready to fill in.
 

Facts34 said:
Rodney weighs maybe 200 lbs soaking wet. He's not equipped for any sort of low post game. Nor does he have the strength to drive the ball through traffic. I doubt it has anything to do with him not working hard enough. He's good in open spaces. He's not so good when there are bodies between him and the hole.
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I'm pretty good is spaces too...

As for his weight, I don't think he has the ability to put on too many more pounds. It's called good old genetics. His frame will not support more than 210-215 pounds. He's just naturally skinny.
 

CDH27 said:
I have heard many people that are close to the Gopher program make comments about Rodney's lack of work ethic. What part of Rodney's game have you seen improvement in since his arrival on campus?
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I think he's pretty much admitted that he hadn't worked as hard in the previous offseasons. He seemed to talk as though this year was different, but obviously the proof is in the pudding. Tubby's comments, they could go either way. He could be lighting a fire, or just being honest. His expectations for older guys have always been higher, so while he's gushing about guys like the Hollins', or Coleman, guys who have been in the program for a while usually won't get that type of praise cause he expects them to produce. Rodney's a junior now, Tubby expects him to produce. He can't lean on just being a "young" player now.

It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
 

I'm sure you have. I could make a statement that contradicts that and nobody would know either. Some players just suck at shooting no matter how hard they work. Some players just can't put on much mass no matter how hard they try.

You've only seen him play two years. It was always clear he would take longer to develop. And to answer your question, he certainly played better defense last year and at least TRIED to dribble by people more often. There was definitely less merely standing far beyond the 3 point line, catching, and passing the ball.

CDH27 said:
I have heard many people that are close to the Gopher program make comments about Rodney's lack of work ethic. What part of Rodney's game have you seen improvement in since his arrival on campus?
Click to expand...
 

I hoped someone would step up and challege Rodney for the small forward spot. My feeling is that you can't play there if you can't shoot. I notice he was making shots during the warm ups. In any case, I didn't see anyone play better than him last night at that position. If nobody is going to step forward to challege him I think Rodney is going to be the guy at that position this year. Oto looked lost (bumping into people), Ingram only played a few minutes, Halverson didn't play at all. Whose going to step in for Rodney?
 

figi said:
If nobody is going to step forward to challege him I think Rodney is going to be the guy at that position this year. Oto looked lost (bumping into people), Ingram only played a few minutes, Halverson didn't play at all. Whose going to step in for Rodney?
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Not sure you can judge Oto on last night. The whole second unit looked lost and disjointed. It's hard to look good when the other guys don't know what to do. Yet watching them I was thinking that we'll have some depth and be more athletic than last year. Just hope Tubby subs individually or by pairs instead of the hockey pattern of everybody at once this year.
 

The good news for Rodney is that he looked much better shooting free throws.
 


Mulligan said:
Just hope Tubby subs individually or by pairs instead of the hockey pattern of everybody at once this year.
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Bingo. Not a fan of the 5-for-5 subbing. Wasn't a fan of it when Monson did it, and not a fan of it now when Tubby does it. Teams can utilize their depth without bringing the second 5 all in at once.

I can understand it during the exhibition games to a point, but I'd prefer the 5-for-5 go by the wayside once the regular season starts.
 

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