Rodney Williams

What I mean is that he may have played the post a lot in high school ball, but in AAU ball he was a perimeter guy.
He clearly was not taught, or perhaps isn't interested in, learning fundamental basketball habits.
It's really kind of a shame.
 

To say Rodney has not been taught the game is too easy an answer. The great players have an IQ about the game....a feel for it as well as ability. They absorb stuff from other players, camps, by watching games, by talking to players/coaches and trying things in pickup games and in practice. They see the game and they naturally study the game. Watch Rodney play. That simply does not describe him. We need to make peace with that. Put Hoff's feel for the game in Rodney's body.......now that would be a complete package.
 

he'll be fine, point is he's just not ready for the next step. its obvious. he needs two years and alot of work over the summer to develop a swing position type of game. PRO? please. athletically, yes, fundamentally, not even close. same could be said about trevor. the nba is full of great athletes, but the ones that make it have some fundamentalls. right now these guys aren't ready. hopefully rodney works because he has the body and athleticism. i would love to see him at the next level. the more pros we have in the league helps tubby come recruiting time. when i say pros i'm talking nba, not europe.
 

Rodney is the most over-hyped Gopher basketball player of all time. Fabulous athlete but marginal bb player. It's time for Hollins to take over his miniutes, he's the key to the rest of the season.

I would be nice to have a Townsend Orr on this team.
 

he'll be fine, point is he's just not ready for the next step. its obvious. he needs two years and alot of work over the summer to develop a swing position type of game. PRO? please. athletically, yes, fundamentally, not even close. same could be said about trevor. the nba is full of great athletes, but the ones that make it have some fundamentalls. right now these guys aren't ready. hopefully rodney works because he has the body and athleticism. i would love to see him at the next level. the more pros we have in the league helps tubby come recruiting time. when i say pros i'm talking nba, not europe.

HE WILL NOT BE FINE!!!

HE's NOT A DIV 1 CALIBER PLAYER!

He simply lacks the fundamentals that most 4th graders have and to cap it off, he has lousy hands and no awareness or confidence.

Any player who can't shoot over 50% on FT's should lose their scholarship.
 


HE WILL NOT BE FINE!!!

HE's NOT A DIV 1 CALIBER PLAYER!

He simply lacks the fundamentals that most 4th graders have and to cap it off, he has lousy hands and no awareness or confidence.

Any player who can't shoot over 50% on FT's should lose their scholarship.

Tell that to Rajon Rondo ... maybe the Celtics should cut him too

Career 57.5% FT shooter or does that extra 7.5% make him keep-able?
 

You people would not hate Rodney if some random people had not said that he will be a NBA 1st rounder someday. Accept him for what he is, not what some websites have said he will be.
 

I don't watch the NBA so I could care less about that aspect. My observations have nothing to do with his pro future. He just doesn't know how to play, which has an enormous effect on his production as a Gopher.
 

Well, Rodney's not a bum. He's a nice young man. OK, that said, he's not contributing to the team as an all-around basketball player. He's got his niches, but any team would need him to do more things. Unless he can have more impact on the boards and make free throws, most of his minutes need to go to the freshmen. In any case, with only 8 scholarship players, this team is going nowhere unless all the freshmen get substantial minutes.

Rodney had a good rebounding game against Michigan and then completely disappeared against Purdue and Indiana. We beat Michigan and lost to the other two, and those things are connected.

I'm with bga. With Rodney's current skill set, he's a 4. They should have him come off the bench at that position and not take floor time away from others who can play the 2 & 3 positions.
 



and that is a disgusting comment, and that is not debatable. I am all for criticizing players games when they deserve it, but seriously calling him a bum? That's whats disgusting.

I don't know about his in game effort, heck, even Blake looked lost during the first half, but I do know when the come back started Rodney was the first one off the bench high fiving guys. Would it be nice if he produced more on the court? Absolutely.

Add in the fact, two different plays he came up noticeably limping. He hit a big 3 to start the game, had a nice post move down low to score. He had a great defensive sequence manning up an Indiana guard (until somehow the ref thought he fouled? I didn't see it) If there is anything I give Rodney credit for its that he always seems to work on the defensive end especially.

No one, not one guy (except maybe Austin) played with 100% the entire time they were on the floor, not even half the time they were on the floor. Can we stop singling out Rodney like he was the sole reason they lost?

I agree with this sentiment. I spend some time on other basketball boards and the Gopherhole is getting ridiculous. The criticising of players and prospects is going over the top. All of you 30-40 year old clowns need to get a new hobby and quit riding the players so hard without any form of analysis. Calling RW a bum is ridiculous. Moses......let your people free.
 

Well, Rodney's not a bum. He's a nice young man. OK, that said, he's not contributing to the team as an all-around basketball player. He's got his niches, but any team would need him to do more things. Unless he can have more impact on the boards and make free throws, most of his minutes need to go to the freshmen. In any case, with only 8 scholarship players, this team is going nowhere unless all the freshmen get substantial minutes.

Rodney had a good rebounding game against Michigan and then completely disappeared against Purdue and Indiana. We beat Michigan and lost to the other two, and those things are connected.

I'm with bga. With Rodney's current skill set, he's a 4. They should have him come off the bench at that position and not take floor time away from others who can play the 2 & 3 positions.

Bad- I'm thinking you go back a ways. I remember Clem starting here with Willie Burton as a frosh. Burton had athleticism, not quite the hops of Rodney but probably a bit more skilled. Burton couldn't shoot and didn't have much ball handling skill. At 6-7 he played inside and learned the ropes. By the time he was a senior he was playing the wing because he developed the skills he needed to play out there, including a very good jump shot from range. I completely don't understand why Tubby doesn't do this with Williams. I really don't think it's fair to Rodney, he looks totally lost in space out there.
 

Rodney is the most over-hyped Gopher basketball player of all time. Fabulous athlete but marginal bb player. It's time for Hollins to take over his miniutes, he's the key to the rest of the season.

I would be nice to have a Townsend Orr on this team.

Townsend Orr is my favorite past Gopher.

Tubby really hasn't recruited a player like him. Devoe was the closest thing.
 

Bad- I'm thinking you go back a ways. I remember Clem starting here with Willie Burton as a frosh. Burton had athleticism, not quite the hops of Rodney but probably a bit more skilled. Burton couldn't shoot and didn't have much ball handling skill. At 6-7 he played inside and learned the ropes. By the time he was a senior he was playing the wing because he developed the skills he needed to play out there, including a very good jump shot from range. I completely don't understand why Tubby doesn't do this with Williams. I really don't think it's fair to Rodney, he looks totally lost in space out there.

My memory of Burton as a freshman was his offensive rebounding ability - and not much else. Obviously he became a very different player as a junior and senior. I can see Rodney getting there, but he'll have to do a lot of developing.
 



he hit a three pointer. Of all the things to complain about tonight you single out Rodney. He's not the one talking about going to the NBA that is the media. I absolutely believe he could be a star by the end of his Junior year. Players do get better.

Oh no, there's plenty to talk about besides Williams, like Sampson's inconsistent soft play, abysmal shooting from the line and anything outside of 5 feet, and terrible guard play & ball handling. But Williams has shown no skill besides leaping ability. He should spend more time on fundamentals like ball handling, shooting and rebounding instead of his next dunk. If he can't shoot better, he needs to sit down. He is bringing nothing to the team right now.
 

Bad- I'm thinking you go back a ways. I remember Clem starting here with Willie Burton as a frosh. Burton had athleticism, not quite the hops of Rodney but probably a bit more skilled. Burton couldn't shoot and didn't have much ball handling skill. At 6-7 he played inside and learned the ropes. By the time he was a senior he was playing the wing because he developed the skills he needed to play out there, including a very good jump shot from range. I completely don't understand why Tubby doesn't do this with Williams. I really don't think it's fair to Rodney, he looks totally lost in space out there.

I personally liked Rodney at the 3 (Kind of a combination of the 2 and 4) but unfortunately when Al got hurt, Tubby was forced to make some change as experience seemed to be his number 1 priority, that meant Rodney at the 2. I don't think Tubby is intentionally hurting Rodney, but when you have an 8 man roster, you lose a lot of options.
 

Oh no, there's plenty to talk about besides Williams, like Sampson's inconsistent soft play, abysmal shooting from the line and anything outside of 5 feet, and terrible guard play & ball handling. But Williams has shown no skill besides leaping ability. He should spend more time on fundamentals like ball handling, shooting and rebounding instead of his next dunk. If he can't shoot better, he needs to sit down. He is bringing nothing to the team right now.

Sampson played much better last night. He was one of few players with the confidence to put up a shot and force Indiana to extend. He has a decent shot as well.

Developing fundamentals also doesn't happen over night. Give Rodney a break, he is only a Sophomore and giving him experience will only help him improve in the future.
 

I personally liked Rodney at the 3 (Kind of a combination of the 2 and 4) but unfortunately when Al got hurt, Tubby was forced to make some change as experience seemed to be his number 1 priority, that meant Rodney at the 2. I don't think Tubby is intentionally hurting Rodney, but when you have an 8 man roster, you lose a lot of options.

Rodney's better at the 3 than the 2 and he'd be better at the 4 than the 3. Tubby has better options at the 2 and 3 than Rodney but he is in love with Rodney's length on defense and Tubby is a defensive coach. His offense........
 

Rodney's better at the 3 than the 2 and he'd be better at the 4 than the 3. Tubby has better options at the 2 and 3 than Rodney but he is in love with Rodney's length on defense and Tubby is a defensive coach. His offense........

No, I understand that he does. Personally, I don't think his reasoning for the big line up was because he necessarily wanted to go big. I think it had more to do with the experience and not wanting to start a Freshman at this point. Does that change now? I hope so.
 

He also said Rodney has all the makings of a poor man's Wesley Johnson

At THIS point in his career Rodney Williams is Nate Tubbs with a vertical.. Myron talks about Rodney having NBA tools the only tool he has is his vertical.

NO mid ranger jumper, no 3 pt shot, no low post pet move, no handles.. lacks instinct this = a guy who averages 6 pts a game and is beyond inconsistent.

For the first time in Tubby Smith's tenure at Minnesota, the Gophers might have a few players who will consider their pro options before graduation.

Ralph Sampson III has the height, the skill set and pedigree to play at the next level. We're all waiting, however, for him to put it all together and add a little aggressiveness to his game so he can fulfill his potential. A big year by Sampson will certainly get the scouts talking even more than they are now. Plus, consider guys like Hassan Whiteside, Jerome Jordan and even, Cole Aldrich. The year before they hit the NBA radar, few knew much about them. It doesn't take much for a big man to raise his draft stock.

If Devoe Joseph adds some muscle to his frame and builds on his All-Tournament worthy performance in March's Big Ten tournament, he'll have a shot at the next level. Down the stretch, Joseph ran the team. I think he's a point at the next level, if he gets there. And I think the Gophers will play him at point guard next season, too. He needs to be consistent. But he has raw skills that were on display during that magical run in the Big Ten tourney. He's not there yet, but he could be the next Big Ten guard to land on the NBA map.

Rodney Williams should be a different player next season. During a short stretch his freshman year, he lived up to the premature hype about his pro potential. He was a top-5 pick on nbadraft.net's 2011 mock draft at the start of the season. But he struggled throughout the year and didn't play much during the Big Ten season. He should've redshirted. But when he was on the floor, he pulled off some above-the-rim maneuvers that are hard to describe. He needs to prove that he can handle the ball, hit a 15-foot jump shot and defend on the perimeter. But he has all the makings of a poor man's Wesley Johnson. If he cracks the starting rotation, a possibility with Minnesota's lack of depth at small forward, and plays well during the Big Ten season, Williams will move up on a lot of real NBA draft boards.

Different people say different things about Trevor Mbakwe. A few days after he signed with the Gophers in 2009, he told me that he'd already talked to Tubby Smith about going pro after his junior season. Legal issues prevented him from playing last year and they might keep him off the floor next season, too, depending on the outcome of his trial in June. One person close to the program told me that he doesn't think Mbakwe will start for the team. Others think he'll lead the Gophers to big victories over their toughest opponents. The 6-8, 240-pound forward certainly has an NBA frame. If he showcases pro-level skills next year, he'll get NBA looks, too.
 

Rodney is somehow more of a 4 than 3? Sounds like we've got some great basketball minds around here.
 

Rodney is somehow more of a 4 than 3? Sounds like we've got some great basketball minds around here.

Perhaps some explanation. I've posted before about my optimal team. On it, the 3 can shoot.
 




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