Hopefully there will be many opportunities like this for Gophers fans to show appreciation for Williams.
He didn’t ask for the hype. He didn’t seek the attention NBA Mock Draft experts. He didn’t set unrealistic expectations for himself. No, Rodney Williams didn’t ask for any of that.
Instead, all he’s done at the U is stay focused on and off the court throughout his career. He’s on pace to graduate, he’s a team leader on and off the court, he’s improved every year he’s been a Gopher and he’s positioning himself to get drafted in the NBA. In other words, he’s an example of everything that is right with college basketball.
It’s time that Gopher fans appreciate who he is, what he’s become and what he’s meant to the University of Minnesota.
Rodney came to the U in a much-hyped 2009 recruiting class that included Royce White, Trevor Mbakwe and Justin Cobbs. Royce never played a minute for the Gophers, Cobbs lasted a year before bolting, and Trevor’s legal and injury issues are well-documented. Meanwhile Rodney has been a pillar of consistency both on and off the court.
All too often in the world of college basketball, fans and media get upset if players don’t meet the expectations that they’ve set for the athlete. The one-and-done era has done that to itself. We put high school kids on pedestals they often don’t want or deserve and then get upset when they don’t achieve that. We criticize young freshmen and sophomores that they don’t have complete games. We pay more attention to YouTube shenanigans than we do taking care of business. And as a result, we don’t enjoy the ride as much as we should.
Well Gopher fans, it’s time to enjoy the Rodney Williams ride as well as the fruits of his labor.
Criticism has been thrown Tubby Smith’s way as a guy that players don’t improve under. Sometimes that has merit, but sometimes it doesn’t. Rodney Williams is a great example of the latter. No player has improved year over year like Rodney Williams has at the U since Quincy Lewis more than a decade ago. The numbers don’t lie, and neither do the intangibles such as leadership, consistency and attitude. But back to the numbers: