Rodney Williams- no minutes again

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Not ready for prime time is my guess-why else wouldn't he be playing?
 

If that is the case then this top 15 recruiting class we got will not contribute at all untill Trevors issues are resolved. Hopefully he can use this as a learning lesson.
 

It may have something to do with his play in the Portland game.

19 minutes, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 block. And that ill-advised three near the end of the game.
 


I think the jacked-up three attempt probably got him a little heat from the coaching staff. He'll be back. He's too talented.
 

Unfortunately, I have not seen much of Rodney as he has rarely played in the games I have been able to watch. I think Tubby's taking a tough line with him as he must not be playing the schemes properly.

I think its funny and very premature that one draft website proclaimed Rodney the third best pick in the 2011 draft. Thankfully, I think Rodney will stay with us longer than that.
 

Handsome Pete said:
What is up with this.
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Rodney was never recruited to be an impact player this year. His athleticism is beyond compare but his body and basketball IQ need developing. In HS and AAU he had frequent trouble against more physical players (including Ray Cowles) and often could unbelievably disappear in games in his senior year when he should have been "The Man", other than a spectacular dunk or block every now and then, he frequently was only the second of third, sometimes fourth leading scorer on the team (I think he ended up as 2nd or 3rd leading scorer on the season).

Gotta give him time to gain experience and strengthen his body. Even if Rodney makes a stronger move to get in the starting line-up than his first attempt here in the 76 Classic, the book on him in the Big 10 is undoubtedly to get physical on him early and often to negate his freakish potential. Revisit this issue a year from now, you might have a Big Ten POY candidate.
 

beowulftom said:
I think the jacked-up three attempt probably got him a little heat from the coaching staff. He'll be back. He's too talented.
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That's exactly what happened in his HS years, he threw up a lot of half-hearted, out-of-rhythm threes, especially if it was a physical defender marking him.
 



With three players out for the game, and two more out for the first half, I was surprised we didn't see Rodney.
 

guru said:
Rodney was never recruited to be an impact player this year. His athleticism is beyond compare but his body and basketball IQ need developing. In HS and AAU he had frequent trouble against more physical players (including Ray Cowles) and often could unbelievably disappear in games in his senior year when he should have been "The Man", other than a spectacular dunk or block every now and then, he frequently was only the second of third, sometimes fourth leading scorer on the team (I think he ended up as 2nd or 3rd leading scorer on the season).

Gotta give him time to gain experience and strengthen his body. Even if Rodney makes a stronger move to get in the starting line-up than his first attempt here in the 76 Classic, the book on him in the Big 10 is undoubtedly to get physical on him early and often to negate his freakish potential. Revisit this issue a year from now, you might have a Big Ten POY candidate.
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He may not have necessarily been recruited as an immediate impact player, but he definitely provided some spark (and some pretty gawdy numbers) earlier this year. It really seems like he is "on punishment" for something, perhaps the ill-advised three pointer last game or similar basketball-related things.
 

Handsome Pete said:
He may not have necessarily been recruited as an immediate impact player, but he definitely provided some spark (and some pretty gawdy numbers) earlier this year. It really seems like he is "on punishment" for something, perhaps the ill-advised three pointer last game or similar basketball-related things.
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Quite possibly correct, although his "punishment" is apparently for inexperience on the floor. Additionally, although I've heard he's doing well in the classroom now, he was a last-minute qualifier who struggled with academics through most of HS, so maybe his learning curve is a little different. On the basketball floor, what he did in those early non-competitive games is obviously not indicative of where he's now ready to compete against ranked teams and the Big Ten. If not for the other Gopher personnel problems, he might have best been served with a redshirt, this year. Hopefully it happens for him this year, unfortunately it's just probably too soon in his career to expect him to be the difference-maker. He just turned 18 in July.
 

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