Develop the mid-range jumper. Last year he proved he could catch and drive by anyone on the wing/baseline. The problem is, midwestern thick always slid over to take the charge, Rodney always was tentative and stopped and kicked it back out. If he could rise and hit the 12-15 footer, he could score 25 a game without breaking a sweat.
Rodney Williams MUST...
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Typical freshman playing limited ticks. He needs to get plenty of court time next year. He is going to bust out.
Mikie S
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I remember only one time all last year that Rodney put the ball on the floor and got past his man to the basket. And that was a spectacular missed slam. Rodney's back door dunks were neat, but counted no more than Hoffarber's back door layups.
Rodney, you've got to work an a whole bunch of skills, shooting and dribbling being two.
GopherJake
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Yep. Alley oops are overrated. I love his athleticism. The rest of his game needs a whole lotta work.
Minnie Soda
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I think he has a bright future ahead of him, but I hope he can add about 15-20 pounds of muscle between now and November.I love watching him leap, though. He made several BTN promos with his dunks -- my favorite was the 360 on the road (I think it was at Purdon't) -- and it's fun to see him swat an opponent's shot attempt into about the sixth row. The block of his that sticks out in my mind was one early in the season, where the opponent tried to shoot what he thought was a wide-open three from right in front of the visiting bench before Rodney closed out on him, and swatted a ball I thought there was absolutely no chance he'd get to. The look on the other kid's face was classic.
Dribbling is the biggest thing for him to work on. Getting past that first defender is critical.. he almost never took more than 1 dribble this season
Shooting is obviously big too... I actually suspect that he worked very hard on his jumper over the past off-season, based upon the percentage of his shots that dropped early in the year... but with his horrible form, there's just no way to be consistent. He has SO much movement in his lower body on his jumper. Fix the form and he has the work ethic to improve his percentage pretty significantly.
Then, obviously there's the strength. I love his leaping ability, but there were a couple scary moments when he was just knocked around going to the basket, and you could tell that he just didn't have the strength to play that way all the time the way a Vincent Grier did.
But, first things first: work on that handle. That'll change the way guys guard you and make it easier to hit the jumper.
Shooting is obviously big too... I actually suspect that he worked very hard on his jumper over the past off-season, based upon the percentage of his shots that dropped early in the year... but with his horrible form, there's just no way to be consistent. He has SO much movement in his lower body on his jumper. Fix the form and he has the work ethic to improve his percentage pretty significantly.
Then, obviously there's the strength. I love his leaping ability, but there were a couple scary moments when he was just knocked around going to the basket, and you could tell that he just didn't have the strength to play that way all the time the way a Vincent Grier did.
But, first things first: work on that handle. That'll change the way guys guard you and make it easier to hit the jumper.
Section2
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I'm 98% sure it was in a game where we were blowing the other team out, and that means it definitely wasn't against Mich. Either Iowa or Purdue IIRC.
Minnie Soda
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No, he's right. It was at Michigan. Gus Johnson had the call, and it took place fairly early in the game. I can't believe I didn't remember that one. For some reason, I had Purdue in my head, but that game was too early in the conference season. Thanks for correcting me.
GophenGolder
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GophersOnTheRise
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Alley-oops are very entertaining, but that isn't why they are effective. If you're capable of getting high enough for an alley-oop, it is a weapon because the higher up you are the harder it is for a defender to block, and whether some people like it or not, a dunk is the highest percentage shot there is in the game of basketball. Lay-ups are more likely to get blocked and there is more room for error. Dunks>>>>lay-ups no matter how old-school you might be. They are also a good way to get your team pumped up.
Countless times
Rodney got the ball on the wing and easily drove past his man (baseline side), and could have easily pulled up for a jumper. It was always one or two dribbles and he always immediately looked to kick it back out, but the time was there for him to get off 12-15 jumper. I agree his game needs a lot of work, but he was and will be almost always quicker and more athletic than the guy guarding him(Unless we go with three bigs in the front court). The ability to hit mid range jumpers, in my opinion, would do wonders for his game. I know this is pushing it, but imagine that G from Duke (Singler?) with Rodney's athleticism.
Rodney got the ball on the wing and easily drove past his man (baseline side), and could have easily pulled up for a jumper. It was always one or two dribbles and he always immediately looked to kick it back out, but the time was there for him to get off 12-15 jumper. I agree his game needs a lot of work, but he was and will be almost always quicker and more athletic than the guy guarding him(Unless we go with three bigs in the front court). The ability to hit mid range jumpers, in my opinion, would do wonders for his game. I know this is pushing it, but imagine that G from Duke (Singler?) with Rodney's athleticism.
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+19
Roland Brooks
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Handles
He needs to work on his handling of the rock. Pull up / mid range jumpers come off the dribble most of the time. He's gotta be able to put the ball on the floor.
He needs to work on his handling of the rock. Pull up / mid range jumpers come off the dribble most of the time. He's gotta be able to put the ball on the floor.
GophersOnTheRise
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Not that he has handles like John Wall or anything, but his handles are certainly good enough for a 1-2 dribble pull-up. He's proven time and time again that he can get by his man, he'll just have to take the extra step (figuratively) and find a way to consistently score. I think he could.
Why do people keep saying this? When has he ever done this at the collegiate level? maybe losing his man and making a cut to the basket off the ball, but he never took anyone off the dribble all season.
He certainly has the athleticism to beat guys off the dribble, but this past season he was missing either the confidence or handle to even try to do it. The only things he ever did when catching the ball last season were shoot, swing the ball, or take 1-2 side dribbles and look for someone to pass to. He never even tried to get by his man and to the basket with the ball in his hands.
GophersOnTheRise
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Maybe saying time and time again was exaggerating, but towards the end of the season there were a few occasions where he got it on the baseline and got by his man with absolute ease. He has a very long and very quick first step and he definitely has the ability to get by his man. It's just a matter of having the confidence and assertiveness to attack the basket on a consistent basis. He's not one of those guys who needs to do a million ankle-breaking crossovers to get by his man, so he doesn't have to develop amazing handles in order to get to the rim. He can do some simple jab steps and then simply blow by his man. If you don't agree it just means you haven't seen him play enough yet or haven't paid close enough attention while watching him (by you I don't mean specifically you, I just mean people in general).
kindofgreen
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I love his athleticsm too. He has as much as Gopher I've seen but he has a long way to go to contribute. I compare him to Jacobson. He had some hops and the handles to get past defenders or pull up with a jump shot. You don't learn to dribble or shoot overnight. But by the time he is a senior, if he works hard, he can be a big contributer -- and pretty darn exciting too.
Brew_recruit
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quick question, what games were you watching? Rodney played better then I thought he would, but when did he prove he could drive by anyone?
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Gophers 2011 Roster (As Of Now)
Wing - Rodney Williams, Austin Hollins
Power Forward - Trevor Mbakwe, Dominique Dawson
Post - Ralph Sampson, Colton Iverson, Maurice Walker, Elliott Eliason
Guard - Blake Hoffarber, Devoe Joseph
Point - Al Nolen, Justin Cobbs, Bryant Allen
Obviously there will be additions and (maybe) subtractions.
Wing - Rodney Williams, Austin Hollins
Power Forward - Trevor Mbakwe, Dominique Dawson
Post - Ralph Sampson, Colton Iverson, Maurice Walker, Elliott Eliason
Guard - Blake Hoffarber, Devoe Joseph
Point - Al Nolen, Justin Cobbs, Bryant Allen
Obviously there will be additions and (maybe) subtractions.
GophersOnTheRise
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Few times on the baseline, don't remember specific games. I watched him play in high school too. It's one of those things where you don't need to see a million times to know they're capable, kind of like jumping. If you see a guy do a 360 dunk in a game it's pretty safe to assume they can jump. The way I've seen him blow by guys a couple of times made it clear he has the potential to drive by people. For the most part he was pretty passive this year, he just has to get more confidence and be more aggressive so he can get to the rim on a more regular basis.