Rodney

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Dre deserves every single bit of attention he has gotten over the past couple games. He has really come into his own and proved that he can lead this team but.... Aren't we kinda forgetting Rodney? This is his stat line from last night against Michigan: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Don't get me wrong, Dre is a great player and I'm not saying that he deserves any less attention, I am just saying that Rodney deserves more than he is getting right now... thoughts?
 


Absolutely. Rodney took a big step forward the last 20 games of the season (sans a few games) and if he can take an even bigger jump forward next year with more consistency it will be huge.

One thing is for sure...it's a good thing to go into a season with arguably the best athlete in the conference on your team. That's a great starting point. Add some solid and developing guard depth and we have a foundation to work with.

Go Gophers!!
 

He needs to take about a million jumps shots over the summer.
 

If Rodney can improve his 3 pt shot just a little, it will do wonders for our team. He is capable of making 3's, but I think he gets a little nervous every time he shoots them. Once he is able to drill an open 3, the d will have to play him closer on the perimeter which will make it easier for him to drive to the hole since his man won't be sagging off of him.
 


Rodney's last two games are what he should have been doing all year. He knew early-on in the season how badly the team needed him and in those last two games he came to play. He did play great. I hope next year he starts that way and plays hard all season. I hope he becomes the senior leader of his team.
 

Summer To-Do List:

1. Whether playing the 3 or 4, no standing around, commit to Stay in Attack Mode, Drive, Drive and FINISH
2. Take Million Summer-Js as noted above.
3. Take 5 Million Free Throws to improve at line the way Trevor did - get to 75 percent.
4. Get to Free throw line minimum of 8 times per game, making 6 of 8.
5. Make All Big Ten Team
 

BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK said:
Summer To-Do List:

1. Whether playing the 3 or 4, no standing around, commit to Stay in Attack Mode, Drive, Drive and FINISH
2. Take Million Summer-Js as noted above.
3. Take 5 Million Free Throws to improve at line the way Trevor did - get to 75 percent.
4. Get to Free throw line minimum of 8 times per game, making 6 of 8.
5. Make All Big Ten Team
Click to expand...

6. Become a "go to" player in crunch time. Even yesterday there were a couple of times down the stretch when he got the ball and looked to get rid of it as soon as possible. He's got to be a guy that goes 1 on 1 and makes the big shots.
 




cheeseheadgophfan said:
6. Become a "go to" player in crunch time. Even yesterday there were a couple of times down the stretch when he got the ball and looked to get rid of it as soon as possible. He's got to be a guy that goes 1 on 1 and makes the big shots.
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I don't think he'll ever be a "go to" / iso player, that is going to be Andre Hollins for the next 3 years. Rodney is better playing off the ball, either posting up or finding an opening for an ally-oop. If he can improve his shooting then that would allow him to play a little more on the perimeter and would help his shot at sticking in the NBA. Dre is our "go to" guy and I wouldn't have it any other way, dude has such a great all around offensive game.
 

BleedGopher said:
Absolutely. Rodney took a big step forward the last 20 games of the season (sans a few games) and if he can take an even bigger jump forward next year with more consistency it will be huge.

One thing is for sure...it's a good thing to go into a season with arguably the best athlete in the conference on your team. That's a great starting point. Add some solid and developing guard depth and we have a foundation to work with.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

With Trevor out, others were forced to step up there game and Williams may have been able to find his. The most telling info on the GOphers is that they had no Seniors starting in the tourney, so they got some maturing in this.

Basically next year, especially if Trevor gets to come back, and Williams back, along with others who had to step up their game and mature, the Gophers have the potential to be very good.
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
6. Become a "go to" player in crunch time. Even yesterday there were a couple of times down the stretch when he got the ball and looked to get rid of it as soon as possible. He's got to be a guy that goes 1 on 1 and makes the big shots.
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I agree. Dre was doing everything down the stretch yesterday. Which is okay, because he showed that he's a leader and the guy that wants to take those shots. The only problem was that he shot 33% that game and only made one of his last six shots. I think it might have been better to have a confident Rodney do his thing and drive to the hoop during those final seconds.
 

I would really like to see Rodney focus on his mid-range game and handles first and foremost. I'm a strong believer that you have to work your way from inside out. Gotta learn to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. Going straight to focusing on 3s is a lot harder if you aren't already a good mid-range shooter. The way he can elevate, if he can get the ball from the wing and do a 1-2 dribble pull up, who is going to stop that? If they play him too tight, he'll blow by them and make them one of his victims on SportsCenter. Looking forward to seeing him back next year and seeing what this team can do.
 



Rodney definitely improved as the year went on. Quite remarkable.

Points per game (season 11.2):
-First 14: 9.6
-Last 19: 12.3
-Last 17: 13.1
-Last 4: 14.8
-Last 3: 16.0

Rebounds per game (season 5.6):
-First 7: 2.6
-Last 26: 6.3
-Last 8 : 6.9

Free Throw Percentage (season 54.9%):
-First 13: 46.7%
-Last 20: 60.3%

Field Goal Percentage (season 55.7%):
-First 12: 42.7%
-Last 21: 60.6%
 

I admire Williams' attention to his academics at the U. Seems like a good citizen. Staying with the program for four years is a good sign of loyalty and a fine example for today's HS kids. Good going, Williams.
 

MadtownGopher said:
If Rodney can improve his 3 pt shot just a little, it will do wonders for our team. He is capable of making 3's, but I think he gets a little nervous every time he shoots them. Once he is able to drill an open 3, the d will have to play him closer on the perimeter which will make it easier for him to drive to the hole since his man won't be sagging off of him.
Click to expand...

I think he really needs to improve his ball-handling skills before he will ever be effective getting by defenders-no matter where they are playing on him. I'm strangely more confident in his jumper than I am watching him attempt to dribble past a defender. If he could gain just a little more control while making his moves he would be getting 20 points more frequently for sure. He does seem too nervous at crucial times. Get rid of that and we might just get that all-conference type of player.
 


BOUNDOUTPASSDUNK said:
Summer To-Do List:

1. Whether playing the 3 or 4, no standing around, commit to Stay in Attack Mode, Drive, Drive and FINISH
2. Take Million Summer-Js as noted above.
3. Take 5 Million Free Throws to improve at line the way Trevor did - get to 75 percent.
4. Get to Free throw line minimum of 8 times per game, making 6 of 8.
5. Make All Big Ten Team
Click to expand...

If he takes 5 million free throws using that awful free throw form, he'll just get really good at shooting free throws poorly. I can't believe the coaches haven't helped him improve his mechanical fundamentals. What do the assistant coaches do?!? Very frustrating and maddening.
 

point guard 10 said:
Dre deserves every single bit of attention he has gotten over the past couple games. He has really come into his own and proved that he can lead this team but.... Aren't we kinda forgetting Rodney? This is his stat line from last night against Michigan: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Don't get me wrong, Dre is a great player and I'm not saying that he deserves any less attention, I am just saying that Rodney deserves more than he is getting right now... thoughts?
Click to expand...

Rodney was exceptional.

He made huge strides this year. As much as it hurt having Trevor on the sidelines, it forced Rodney to take on a bigger role. I think he may be ready to be a star next year. I have grown more and more confident he'll be able to do his part, but I think some of it is on the coaching staff. There are obviously things he does incredibly well and the coaches need to put in him into positions where he can play to his strengths.

Good shot at being an all-conference guy next year.
 

RoyalGopher said:
Free Throw Percentage (season 54.9%):
Field Goal Percentage (season 55.7%):
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I know there are a lot of dunks here, but your FG% should not exceed your FT%.

What's good is that he attempted far more FT's than anyone else (113 to the 2nd place 88). What's bad is that he's only making half of them.

I wanna see that FT% exceed the FG%...and accomplished by raising the FT% (rather than lowering the FG%).
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
I would really like to see Rodney focus on his mid-range game and handles first and foremost. I'm a strong believer that you have to work your way from inside out. Gotta learn to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. Going straight to focusing on 3s is a lot harder if you aren't already a good mid-range shooter. The way he can elevate, if he can get the ball from the wing and do a 1-2 dribble pull up, who is going to stop that? If they play him too tight, he'll blow by them and make them one of his victims on SportsCenter. Looking forward to seeing him back next year and seeing what this team can do.
Click to expand...

This. Just having a mid-range jump shot would help so much. He can knock them down, it's just a matter of confidence. Towards the end of the game yesterday, he had a wide open 8-footer that he passed up. Elevate and knock that down.

I've heard some fans (not so much here) say that all Rodney can do is dunk. Even if that is true (which it isn't), you can underestimate the importance of his jumping ability. It's not like all of his dunks come in wide open situations where anyone would have scored. He goes so strong to the hoop, which makes it nearly impossible to block him sometimes. It also enables us to throw lobs that you normally wouldn't be able to do. I actually think we can throw even more alley-oops to him in the half-court offense. He's just so athletic that he'll get to the ball just about every time.
 

GophersInIowa said:
This. Just having a mid-range jump shot would help so much. He can knock them down, it's just a matter of confidence. Towards the end of the game yesterday, he had a wide open 8-footer that he passed up. Elevate and knock that down.

I've heard some fans (not so much here) say that all Rodney can do is dunk. Even if that is true (which it isn't), you can underestimate the importance of his jumping ability. It's not like all of his dunks come in wide open situations where anyone would have scored. He goes so strong to the hoop, which makes it nearly impossible to block him sometimes. It also enables us to throw lobs that you normally wouldn't be able to do. I actually think we can throw even more alley-oops to him in the half-court offense. He's just so athletic that he'll get to the ball just about every time.
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So many people fail to understand this. The higher a person jumps, the more difficult it gets to block/alter their shot. Pretty simple concept.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Good shot at being an all-conference guy next year.
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He should have been honorable mention this year. Blows my mind how Berggren made it and Rodney didn't. In conference games:
Berggren: 8.9 PTS, 39% FG, 5.1 REB, .4 AST, 1.8 BLK, .5 STL
Williams: 11.7 PTS, 52% FG, 6.1 REB, 1.2 AST, 1.3 BLK, 1 STL

It's not even that close if you ask me.
 

Bad Gopher said:
If he takes 5 million free throws using that awful free throw form, he'll just get really good at shooting free throws poorly. I can't believe the coaches haven't helped him improve his mechanical fundamentals. What do the assistant coaches do?!? Very frustrating and maddening.
Click to expand...

At his age it's too late. There are very few examples of players past the 8th grade changing form and inacting significant improvement. He needs confidence in his shot, it's too late for it to look good. That said, he will never shoot 75+%, but he probably could improve some.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
At his age it's too late. There are very few examples of players past the 8th grade changing form and inacting significant improvement. He needs confidence in his shot, it's too late for it to look good. That said, he will never shoot 75+%, but he probably could improve some.
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Examples are few, but they do exist. If he works hard enough, realizing there is millions of dollars at stake, I think he can do it.
 

So you are saying there is a chance, maybe 1 in a million but there is a chance. (My apologies to dumb and dumber)
 

I can't remember if Rodney went to any of the camps last summer (LeBron James/Kevin Durrant) or was it just Trevor that went? Hopefully he can get to attend this over the summer too.
 

gall0249 said:
I can't remember if Rodney went to any of the camps last summer (LeBron James/Kevin Durrant) or was it just Trevor that went? Hopefully he can get to attend this over the summer too.
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He went to at least one I remember.
 

gall0249 said:
I can't remember if Rodney went to any of the camps last summer (LeBron James/Kevin Durrant) or was it just Trevor that went? Hopefully he can get to attend this over the summer too.
Click to expand...

I think Rodney attended both.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
At his age it's too late. There are very few examples of players past the 8th grade changing form and inacting significant improvement. He needs confidence in his shot, it's too late for it to look good. That said, he will never shoot 75+%, but he probably could improve some.
Click to expand...

Trevor Mbakwe.
 

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