Scale of 1-10, your Derek Willis confidence level

[Wonderstruck]

Jennings, you said something in another thread that got me curious. I believe you said something to the effect of, "Why doesn't Cal take the time to mentor Derek?"

Do any college coaches "mentor" players anyway? Have they ever? I don't know the answer to that. I've

You'd think if Derek truly wanted to get better, he'd go to Cal, the guy that has put all of these guys in the NBA, and ask for help. I would assume Cal would be approachable in that regard and would offer help.

Bottom line, what is Cal like when it comes to players trying to get better?

[J.Jennings]

Jennings, you said something in another thread that got me curious. I believe you said something to the effect of, "Why doesn't Cal take the time to mentor Derek?"

Do any college coaches "mentor" players anyway? Have they ever? I don't know the answer to that. I've

You'd think if Derek truly wanted to get better, he'd go to Cal, the guy that has put all of these guys in the NBA, and ask for help. I would assume Cal would be approachable in that regard and would offer help.

Bottom line, what is Cal like when it comes to players trying to get better?

With all due respect, Cal has been saying from day one that he loves his players like his own so i assume that would mean he b woud mentor them and teach them to be more than just basketball players. Still, if Cal has never had a plan for Derek or Hawkins, why did he bring them here in the first place??

Regardless, there is no reason why Derek and Hawkins shouldn't get a chance this year. If not, something is totally wrong with this picture all together............

[Joneslab]

I'm still trying to figure out why it's being posted that Dominique Hawkins hasn't gotten a chance.

He's started.

[J.Jennings]

I'm still trying to figure out why it's being posted that Dominique Hawkins hasn't gotten a chance.

He's started.

He started because Poythrees went down and I don't think that Cal wanted to initially break up the lineup of the second platoon. I don't think anyone expected him to play over Ulis, the Harrisons, or Booker. We should see this year just how productive he can be with more minutes per game.

[Joneslab]

He started because Poythrees went down.

Regardless, he started.

You keep saying he's never gotten a chance. That's not true at all.

He got a shot his freshman year to play a little bit, far more than lot of people ever thought he would.

Reason he plays is because he brings manic intensity and he can really guard the basketball. To get a larger chance and to be a consistent contributor he's going to have to get in the gym and iron out his jumpshot. Hard to play a lot of minutes at the 2-guard in college basketball when you can't shoot consistently.

[J.Jennings]

Regardless, he started.

You keep saying he's never gotten a chance. That's not true at all.

He got a shot his freshman year to play a little bit, far more than lot of people ever thought he would.

Reason he plays is because he brings manic intensity and he can really guard the basketball. To get a larger chance and to be a consistent contributor he's going to have to get in the gym and iron out his jumpshot. Hard to play a lot of minutes at the 2-guard in college basketball when you can't shoot consistently.

I actually thought he improved his scoring this year and I have never flat out said that Hawkins has never been given a chance period. You talk about consistency, how do you get consistent playing 5 minutes a game?

[Joneslab]

I actually thought he improved his scoring this year and I have never flat out said that Hawkins has never been given a chance period. You talk about consistency, how do you get consistent playing 5 minutes a game?

You can watch Hawkins in an open gym and see that he's got a hitch in his shot. I went to the open practice at YUM! and watched him in drills, and he struggled more than our big men.

Just doesn't have good form. He's one of these players who's crazy athletic but hasn't figured out his jumper yet.

Until he does it's hard to play him a lot of minutes because guys like that hurt you. Have to be able to score unless you're one of these transcendent defenders like Nerlens and WCS.

[J.Jennings]

You can watch Hawkins in an open gym and see that he's got a hitch in his shot. I went to the open practice at YUM! and watched him in drills, and he struggled more than our big men.

Just doesn't have good form. He's one of these players who's crazy athletic but hasn't figured out his jumper yet.

Until he does it's hard to play him a lot of minutes because guys like that hurt you. Have to be able to score unless you're one of these transcendent defenders like Nerlens and WCS.

Personally I thought Brandon Knight had a funny looking jump shot but it works. Not that Hawkins is anywhere close to Brandon but hopefully he can get the kinks worked out over the summer. Regardless, as long as we have 5 good ones when it counts, that's the main thing. Still going to need guys like Hawkins, Willis, and even Mulder to play well enough to give the starters a blow during the game.


And to be honest, I don't even feel like arguing today about any of this **** today lol lol lol.

[Wonderstruck]

Willis apparently looked good in practice Monday, according to Mez Camfield of CoachCal.com...

Here we go...

[George]

I'll give him a 3. I'm not convinced that he cares enough to be a factor.

I'm sticking with this.

[Joneslab]

Willis apparently looked good in practice Monday, according to Mez Camfield of CoachCal.com...

Here we go...

It's suddenly crowded.

If Mulder can put the ball in the basket like he apparently can, and if Matthews is the athletic defender that people say he could be, then Willis may have to find minutes at the 4. But there you've got Poythress and Lee.

Will be interesting to see how it gets worked out.

[Spiritof96]

I was going to say 0 but I will be generous and give him a 1.

[Lighthouse]

I would say a 5. Because he can handle the ball, shoot and he's very good at getting the ball inside. On his confidence and dedication, only he can answer that.

[SBCatMan]

First, while I am a HUGE, HUGE UK fan, I am not from Kentucky nor do I live in Kentucky so I have no real bias for playing "Kentucky Boys." That having been said, I think Cal has mishandled Willis from the get-go.

Some are saying he looked good in practice Monday. That should not come as a surprise. He looked GREAT in the Bahamas LAST year. Now yes, we had a loaded roster last year. So, IMO, Cal should have done one of two things with Willis. One, he could have given him significant minutes in mop-up duty to give him some game experience for this year, or TWO, if he knew he was not going to play him, he should have red-shirted him and banished him to the weight room ala what Gonzaga did with Wiltjer. In either case, he would be in far better position to help us out THIS year.

I'm not buying the lack of dedication arguments. Willis is FAR from an AA or anything like that. But, I do think he has some game which has gone largely undeveloped for whatever reason.

[George]

First, while I am a HUGE, HUGE UK fan, I am not from Kentucky nor do I live in Kentucky so I have no real bias for playing "Kentucky Boys." That having been said, I think Cal has mishandled Willis from the get-go.

Some are saying he looked good in practice Monday. That should not come as a surprise. He looked GREAT in the Bahamas LAST year. Now yes, we had a loaded roster last year. So, IMO, Cal should have done one of two things with Willis. One, he could have given him significant minutes in mop-up duty to give him some game experience for this year, or TWO, if he knew he was not going to play him, he should have red-shirted him and banished him to the weight room ala what Gonzaga did with Wiltjer. In either case, he would be in far better position to help us out THIS year.

I'm not buying the lack of dedication arguments. Willis is FAR from an AA or anything like that. But, I do think he has some game which has gone largely undeveloped for whatever reason.

Except that Willis admitted to this very thing. So, it's kind of a fact.