seriously, wtf has happened to Rodney Williams?

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Miles Tarver

Miles Tarver

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What has happened to this guy? One of, if not the most athletic player in the B10, and he is no where to be found against teams like Wisconsin and NW who are filled with players who are far inferior athletically to him. He is almost like a role player now. Doesn't initiate anything, doesn't look to be the go to guy...

what happened to him? Is he unhappy here? just not that good? wtf is going on?
 

Miles Tarver said:
What has happened to this guy? One of, if not the most athletic player in the B10, and he is no where to be found against teams like Wisconsin and NW who are filled with players who are far inferior athletically to him. He is almost like a role player now. Doesn't initiate anything, doesn't look to be the go to guy...

what happened to him? Is he unhappy here? just not that good? wtf is going on?
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The Big Ten happened to Rodney.
 

It's pretty simple. He's not very good at basketball. Can't dribble, can't shoot, sulks, when he does drive, he really has no clue what to do or how to control his body.
 

One needs to be able to shoot at a Div. 1 level... Same with Coleman...
 

Miles Tarver said:
What has happened to this guy? One of, if not the most athletic player in the B10, and he is no where to be found against teams like Wisconsin and NW who are filled with players who are far inferior athletically to him. He is almost like a role player now. Doesn't initiate anything, doesn't look to be the go to guy...

what happened to him? Is he unhappy here? just not that good? wtf is going on?
Click to expand...

He's just not very good. You have to be able to be a threat with the ball, and he's not. Those folks that were saying they would take Trevor and Rodney over John Thomas and Courtney James - c'mon. I would take Trevor with or over John and Courtney, but comparing one pair to the other is not even close. Rodney has not done anything, in four years, in the Big Ten.
 


I haven't watched the last couple games, but was at the Michigan game and came away with the feeling that he was unjured worse than anyone let on at the time. What happened to his hip in the Indiana game didn't look good.
 

He was solid last year in conference play, so it's not just that. It's pretty clear that hip injury is affecting him. He was playing pretty efficient still until that happened at Indiana. Now he's settling a ton for jump shots and not really even trying to attack the rim. It's also clear that he's letting a physical injury affect his mental approach to the game as well, which, when that happens can be difficult to break out of.
 

I've said this before, but I'm starting to feel the same about Rodney that I did about Ralph this time last year. I can't wait for him to graduate because it's depressing seeing the waste of talent.
 

Maybe it is just a simple case of Rodney having developed an acute case of Senioritis?
 



Shon Morris said it best: Williams looked like he didn't want to be out there. Didn't want any part of the ball.....WOW
 

Nadine tweet: "Tubby on Rodney: We've tried to run plays for him, throw the ball to him, but you've got to want it, you've got to want it bad. #Gophers"

Go Gophers!!
 

Rodney will be fine. Just going through a tough time. Rather have him go through this now then later on. I think he'll get going again this coming up week and will get his confidence back and he'll be back to the old Rodney. People need to stop overreacting.
 

BleedGopher said:
Nadine tweet: "Tubby on Rodney: We've tried to run plays for him, throw the ball to him, but you've got to want it, you've got to want it bad. #Gophers"

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...


The theme song for the Gophers locker room...

 



Myke said:
Rodney will be fine. Just going through a tough time. Rather have him go through this now then later on. I think he'll get going again this coming up week and will get his confidence back and he'll be back to the old Rodney. People need to stop overreacting.
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He's dissappeared for three and a half games, one bad game is one thing, a string of three to four is another altogether, you would think he would see less playing time for awhile.
 

Can anyone on this team amke a shot? This is so frustrating, the season started off so well. It seems like We can't stand success.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
It's pretty simple. He's not very good at basketball. Can't dribble, can't shoot, sulks, when he does drive, he really has no clue what to do or how to control his body.
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Pretty much sums it up. Jumping high does not equate to being a great b-ball player.
 

beavergopher said:
Pretty much sums it up. Jumping high does not equate to being a great b-ball player.
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I don't that it equates to bring athletic either. Jumping is a skill. Wouldn't an athlete be more effective at the dribble drive and making space?
 

book said:
One needs to be able to shoot at a Div. 1 level... Same with Coleman...[/QUO

Sadly, Rodney just isn't that good in a half court offense, which is what happens in the B10. Joe is better, but he is so limited by NOT being able to shoot and being so short for a 3. The play that Joe doubled down on Ryan Evans leaving Brust for a wide open 3 might have been one of the worst BBall iq plays i have ever seen. I realize he was backing down a much shorter dre, but dre could/would have fouled him if needed.
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When he flushed the dunk against Northwestern he didn't look hurt to me. All you have to do is look at his shooting technique and you can see why he can't make a shot 5 feet out.
 

As bad as he played on offense today, he pretty much shutdown Dekker in the 2nd half, had we pulled out the victory that would have been one of the reasons.
 


He just has no confidence. His shot has never been very good, but it looked way better earlier in the year.
 

BleedGopher said:
Nadine tweet: "Tubby on Rodney: We've tried to run plays for him, throw the ball to him, but you've got to want it, you've got to want it bad. #Gophers"

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

I try not to rip on our players, but I've been on record for a couple years as saying Rodney's not physical at all & his psyche is very fragile. If basketball was a dunk contest he'd be an All-American.
 

Rodney, Austin, and Coleman: 6 points in 84 minutes on 2/21 shooting.
Maverick: 6 points in 7 minutes on 2/2 shooting.

I can't quite wrap my head around that one.
 


Austin Hollins is the most critical in my mind. He has to be a scoring threat. The crazy thing about Austin today: as bad as he played, he still had 4 assists. The team only had 6 total.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Austin Hollins is the most critical in my mind. He has to be a scoring threat. The crazy thing about Austin today: as bad as he played, he still had 4 assists. The team only had 6 total.
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Of course they only had 6 assists. Hard to get an assist when everyone is standing around. That would be on Tubby.
 

Rodney can't seperate, isnt quick enough to drive past defenders, can't shoot, has no go to move, and can't finish through contact.

There you have it.
 

Rodney Williams Positves: Athleticism, Shot-blocking. Good kid.

Rodney Williams Negatives: Lacks fundamental skills like ball-handling and shooting technique. Bad hands. Low Basketball IQ. Not mentally tough. Not Gritty. Soft.

Add it up and you have what you have. The results fit who he is. To expect more at this point is wishful thinking.
 

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