Rodney Williams

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UptownMaroon&Gold

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Saw Rodney at the Cooper game tonight, pretty fun. The game was a ridiculous blowout over Chisago Lakes, score was about 70-35, 5 minutes into the second half, which is when we left.

But this guy is going to be fun to watch. He opened pregame warm-ups with a two-handed windmill dunk. He also had some other amazing dunks from the baseline, and one in traffic where he took off from just inside the elbow. Watching the recruiting videos of him, doesn't really do it justice either. He will have some dunks in Williams Arena, that we haven't seen in a long time, if ever.


Tonight he basically dunked a lot, and made some great passes, and played good defense but didn't really look to shoot from mid-range or 3.

Has anyone else seen him in person to see if he has a more well rounded offensive game?
 


He wont be dunking like that in the BigTen right away, but time will tell.
 


Dunks

I think the basket is the same height in the Big 10 as it is in high school, so I am guessing he will get some dunks in the Big 10 right away.
 


Dunks for show layups for dough. Let's hope the kid can make his layups. :)
 

TABinMO said:
I think the basket is the same height in the Big 10 as it is in high school, so I am guessing he will get some dunks in the Big 10 right away.
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But the players defending that basket are quite different. Using your logic, would he get the same dunks in the NBA?
 

One of the things I really like about Rodney is that he's aggressive going to the rim. That won't always mean that he'll be dunking the ball in college, but it's a good sign as to his mindset when it comes to making an impact on a game.

I also like the fact that he'll be a major weapon in the transition game. Can't recall the last time we had a high-flying finisher on the break like him and that alone will help the team a lot.

Otherwise, ColNathan is correct, he is pretty raw overall. But with the amount of talent he has, he's starting from a good place imo. If he listens to Tubby's staff and refines his skills a bit, he'll be a great player for us.
 

Dunks and Layups !?!?!?

Blizzard said:
Dunks for show layups for dough. Let's hope the kid can make his layups. :)
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What I want to know is 1: can he make 80% plus at the free throw line? and 2: can he get to the line in the first place? I hope so. :)
 



Vincent Grier was a pretty flashy guy in transition that could throw it down pretty well!!! IMO
 

ShowinGoldyLove said:
But the players defending that basket are quite different. Using your logic, would he get the same dunks in the NBA?
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Yes, but knowing our defense, he will get plenty of breakaway opportunities I'm pretty sure.

And yes, he is very raw. He will need to develop those skills as time goes on.
 

Rodney is a bad shooter outside 11 feet; FT's included! Like many posters have said, he is extremly raw, but you can't teach his athleticism and he sure is FUN to watch!
 

Williams needs a redshirt year, both to bulk up and toughen up.
 



If Williams needs a red shirt year, Cobbs is a back-up pg at best, and we go into next year with essentialy the same back court, I am going to start thinking about next year in a very nervous manner.
 

I too was at the game....

last night as Cooper romped past Chisago.

Recap: Rodney had 10 points, all on dunks, I only recall him taking one other shot (a 3 that missed) He had roughly (because I didn't have a writing utensil) 6 or 7 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, and two turnovers, (both on attempted ally oops.) as his team won 93-59 and he played roughly 22 minutes.

The good: He passes well, looks for and supports teammates, shows an efficient offensive game, rarely putting the ball on the floor. People talk about his point totals being not that impressive, but his team is doing very well and that's the bottom line. He was actively rooting for teammates on the bench at garbage time, hoping they could get in the scorebook.

His dunks ran the spectrum.

1) Exploding up after a low post entry
2) Trailing on a fast break with a soaring wind mill left hand thriller.
3) baseline drive and jam over help defenders
4) top of the key, left hand dribble drive, free throw line take off and two hand flush
5) tip dunk of an errant teammate jumper.

It was parents night, the crowd was into it, he slaps hands with all teammates coming off the floor, smiles like he enjoys everything about the game, chats with the refs, points to friends in the crowd. Poses for pictures with the tykes after the game, AND....did a couple of impressive standing back flips (ala Ozzie Smith) for those who stayed around for post game small talk.

the bad: really not much. Not overly intense, but this was a blow out game and hard to measure.
Plays defense without much knee bend, but is very quick to the ball, and sprints in transisition.

If he's willing to work, I don't see how he can miss helping the Gophers, and I mean right away. I hope he plays in the Salvation Army Pulley summer circuit, just to see him throw down.

It will be interesting to see how he finishes this year, and I for one will be in the stands if they face Osseo and Sam Dower in the section final.
 

4) top of the key, left hand dribble drive, free throw line take off and two hand flush





This one was amazing...If the Gophers dont work out for him, he could probably go on the AND 1 Mixtape Tour
 

stroms7 said:
Rodney is a bad shooter outside 11 feet; FT's included! Like many posters have said, he is extremly raw, but you can't teach his athleticism and he sure is FUN to watch!
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I haven't seen his stats on the year regarding free throws, and maybe the game i've come to don't reflect what hes been doing all season or for his career....but I've seen him play 4 or 5 times(twice in person and 2 or 3 times online) and I can't remember him missing any free throws. From my experiences he seems to be a pretty good free throw shooter, but like I said maybe that hasn't been true for other games, so correct me if I'm wrong.
 

I have seen Rodney played since his Junior year to now..and from my point of view...he is a pretty good free throw shooter....from the 10 or so games i've watched him played...i'd said he has made about 80-85% of his free throw shots...
 

Hopefully he'll get the same kind of name that Brent Petway did at Michigan (Air Georgia) and be Air Minnesota.

Now, I just hope he averages more than AG's 5.8 ppg...
 


Jwill535 said:
Are there still qualifying issues or is he good to go?
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The last thing we all heard was that he was good to go. Could be wrong about that, but Rodney himself said he was qualified when he committed, so it hasn't been talked about much lately.
 

I don't know if he'll ever be a great offensive threat, but man...can you imagine the havoc he'll wreak on the defensive end with that athleticism? Just think about him and Johnson on the court at the same time. I wonder if Tubby is having wet dreams about that right now.
 

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