Rodney Williams ??

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To me the most puzzling part of Rodney's game is that he isn't a great rebounder. Sure he'll give you that one highlight a game but with his athleticism and leaping ability he could be much better on the boards. It is nice to see some more moves to the bucket and hopefully his outside shot continues to improve. If he doesn't improve his offensive game I could see him only playing 10ish min/gm by years end.
 

tikited said:
I really hope he has two years left. I fear he will bolt after his jr. year, which will still be too early imo. Tons of work needed before he is anywhere near nba ready. Staying 4 years might hurt his draft position, but it could help him in avoiding becoming a bust.
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If he bolts after his Jr Year that will still be 2 more years....well like 100 weeks at least. If he is going to be a lottery pick, I wouldnt blame him if he left early. Way to early to speculate even, he is not close at the moment.
 

Seems unlikely to me

Bob_Loblaw said:
I don't think it would be difficult at all to play Rodney in a lot of games that are within 5-6 points, in fact I think he played quite a bit in the end/middle of the UNC game and Western Kentucky game. I'd imagine you are going to see Rodney playing at the ends of games a lot this season.
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I would be very surprised if Tubby has Rodney on the floor in close games. As a coach why would you? His ball handling, shooting and decision making are liabilities. He needs major improvement on his skills.

If Devoe remains ineligible he may get some opportunities but Chip certainly seem more likely to build into a guy on the floor at the end over Rodney.

Rodney played 12 minutes a game last year...24 this year
28% on 3's last year....18% this year
54% on f.t. last year...57% this year
1.6 reb per game last year...3.2 reb per game this year in twice the time
3 Turnovers per game this year and one steal per game

His athleticism will get him chances but his performance may hang him....potential or not....somebody is likely to out perform him and take his minutes away

I'd love for him to be All Big Ten but he is not a top five player on his own team
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
Two years ago some ill-advised posters questioned whether Hoffarber was a divison one talent. Last year people had the same question about Iverson. Look at what they have done since and where they are now. Iverson was arguably the MVP tonight and Hoffarber has been the "glue" guy and has played awesome this season and last.

Word of advice. In order to avoid looking like an idiot, avoid throwing your own players under the bus.
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+1
 

Seems like nerves to me

shootstraight said:
Can anyone tell me what he brings to this team? Terrible shooter and very poor defender. Other than maybe 1-2 super athletic dunks per game, he does next to nothing.
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Rodney seems like a guy with a big case of the nerves. He was proclaimed to be a stud, so somehow he's supposed to perform like an NBA lottery pick every night. That's a lot of pressure to put on someone, and it seems to me that he's not taking that pressure well. He'll be a hell of a player once he settles down, takes a deep breath, and has that one "breakout" game.
 


He outplayed Harrison Barnes on Friday night, and now everybody claims he isnt talented. Chillout people.
 

Sounds good

Rosemountian said:
He outplayed Harrison Barnes on Friday night, and now everybody claims he isnt talented. Chillout people.
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Nice sound bite but I'm not sure it is true. They both scored six points. Barnes did have 5 more rebounds and 2 less turnovers than Rodney.
 

Nice bite to your stats too but I'm not sure that means he had a better game. Do 5 more rebounds and 2 fewer turnovers make up for 0-12? Unless those 12 shots turned into offensive rebounds, they aren't that much different than turnovers.

60's Guy said:
Nice sound bite but I'm not sure it is true. They both scored six points. Barnes did have 5 more rebounds and 2 less turnovers than Rodney.
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Another classic gopherhole prisoner of the moment thread... great stuff... If you're going to overreact to a player's performance, might as well overreact to the good games.
 



underground629 said:
Nice bite to your stats too but I'm not sure that means he had a better game. Do 5 more rebounds and 2 fewer turnovers make up for 0-12? Unless those 12 shots turned into offensive rebounds, they aren't that much different than turnovers.
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I could be wrong... but didn't rodney also guard Barnes for most of the night too? I would think that holding Harrison Barnes to six points and an 0-12 night would have to count for something
 

He brings great potential as a junior and senior that he will not realize if he is on the bench all year. Part of being a good coach is developing young players, they need PT to develop.
 

I never suggested that Tubby bury him on the bench, but my original post was that he just has shown very little improvement in his game compared to what was expected. Also, this had nothing to do with him having "one bad game". His overall numbers are poor for the first five games compared to a very mediocre freshman seson. While the numbers may not tell the whole story for any player, they do tell us that he is struggling (18% 3 point and 54% free throw shooter). If we are going to be the top 10-15 team that we want to be and I think we can be, we need a whole lot more from Williams.
 

Williams shouldnt put up so many three's its not a strength. He should dribble into the lane and shoot over people.
 




Figured we'd see a thread like this, we always do.

Really though, I'd love to see him really truly develop a mid range game, like really hone in on that 13 to 18 foot jumper. He can clear that first dude, but too often so far he's tried to go in all the way, rather than just pull up from 15, I figure because he's not comfortable with the shot. But if he could be, he could be incredibly dangerous. He's got that first step, but going into the paint just isn't fruitful oftentimes and just taking what you're given, the open mid range, can get you 5 buckets without even changing things up a whole lot.
 

I only remember Rodney guarding him (except when we were in zone) but there may have been times when he didn't. Barnes missed some easy shots, but I thought Rodney did an excellent job of forcing him into bad looks.

GOPHerDIE said:
I could be wrong... but didn't rodney also guard Barnes for most of the night too? I would think that holding Harrison Barnes to six points and an 0-12 night would have to count for something
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Rodney's shot doesn't look much better, but he's definitely improved his aggressiveness and ability to beat his man off the dribble and either get fouled or hit a contested layup. The only problem is that he's gotten a little too confident in his shot and he needs to jump straight up more often when he's out of control driving. He's been called for quite a few charges.
 


Rodney doesn't have the "eye of the tiger" right now. Frankly, I'm not sure he ever will. He sort of reminds me of RS3 personality wise, where he's just too nice/easy going for his own good. Hollins taking his minutes might help light a fire under him? I sense that like most people he's just always avoided what he's weakest at (jumpers & dribbling) & gotten away with it till now. I'd bet he's in a gym somewhere right now shooting, shooting, shooting. He does play pretty good defense & he gets the team/crowd energized with his monster dunks so he'll continue to see the florr, but he needs a find a first step to the basket & a jumper. I'd have him watching a lot of Willie Burton film.
 

GopherGack said:
To me the most puzzling part of Rodney's game is that he isn't a great rebounder. Sure he'll give you that one highlight a game but with his athleticism and leaping ability he could be much better on the boards. It is nice to see some more moves to the bucket and hopefully his outside shot continues to improve. If he doesn't improve his offensive game I could see him only playing 10ish min/gm by years end.
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Great rebounder? There is little space for him arround the basket. He has to out anticipate Austin and/or Harf and/or out hustle Al and/or Chip and/or battle for whatever escapes Trevor and/or Colt and/or Ralph and/or Mo just to be good. Maybe not so puzzling?
 

Apparently Gopherhole doesn't believe in player development. Remember that we haven't played any scrubs this year. Williams went from barely playing last year to starting this year and his first 5 games were all against fairly veteran, battle tested teams with NCAA tournament experience and or experienced coaches. Against WKU he had the best game of his career. Everything about his offensive game is a work in progress and he's still learning to play on the wing but that doesn't mean he isn't contributing. He's already a good defender on the ball and is learning to play off the ball defense. Plus the reality is that his athletic plays spark the team. He'll have a good number of games against lesser competition to continue to grow more comfortable in his role. How do you expect the kid to improve if he's not on the court? This is the same reason that Tubby plays the 4 freshmen together. Its a baptism by fire, sink or swim type of situation. Plus Rodney will be much more effective in the starting lineup as he has 2 inside rebounders/defenders, a PG to get him the ball and a shooter to draw attention. He needs to be that slashing wing that can take advantage of poor rotation and position by the D and he may get there. The truth is that this team NEEDS Williams this year and this experience is invaluable for him
 

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