The Five Minutes that Erik Williams Played

[GGGG]

Man, I know it was in garbage time, but that should show you why he isn't seeing the floor much.  His defense is just awful.  Joe Fulce is miles ahead of him at this point.

[NavinRJohnson]

Joe Fulce is miles ahead of him at this point.

Now that is an indictment of his defense...Kinda says it all.

[Hards Alumni]

I'm glad that more people are finally realizing that Erik just isn't ready yet.

Top 100 player or not, he isn't there yet.

[T-Bone]

He did seem like there was more hustle from him out there.  The announcers even commented on him not being there offensively yet.

[MUUM794]

I know the fact that he is not ready to contribute on a Big East team NOW is disappointing. But let's be honest, we're talking about 19-year old freshman. There are plenty of heralded recruits that didn't have huge years in their freshman campaigns that went on to have productive collegiate basketball careers. I think Erik will be no different. He needs time to develop, and the team doesn't need a big contribution from him right now. His goal should be to be playing at a high level come November for next season.

[chapman]

McIlvaine was saying that he moves too much on defense without having a purpose for the movement, which I guess makes sense.  Given that we've been a little out of sync and don't play until the weekend it was more important to get the regulars the extra minutes than to rest them to get him in the game any more than he did.  Keep giving him his garbage minutes for now, if anything so he can see for himself that he can play at this level but he's got to put in a lot of work between now and November. 

[GGGG]

McIlvaine was saying that he moves too much on defense without having a purpose for the movement, which I guess makes sense.   

That is *exactly* what he does...I just couldn't articulate it like Mac did.

[Norm]

I did not watch the game, so maybe someone can tell me what he did in the game that was so awful.

My guess is that Erik Williams' confidence is totally shattered right now. I compiled some stats of all of MU's top 100 players since Scott Merritt, and his playing time is the lowest among them all by leaps and bounds.

The one thing I do find interesting is that he supposedly does not see the court because he does not play good enough defense - but nobody on this year's team is lights out on defense. The team as a whole usually lets the other team shoot at or above 50% most games.

[4everwarriors]

More importantly, I thought Jr. would have seen more action.

[3Mer]

EW is a deer-in-the-headlights from the moment he steps on the court.  And -- regardless of score -- Buzz doesn't keep him out on the floor long enough to overcome his shock.

Just sayin'.

[GGGG]

I did not watch the game, so maybe someone can tell me what he did in the game that was so awful.

My guess is that Erik Williams' confidence is totally shattered right now. I compiled some stats of all of MU's top 100 players since Scott Merritt, and his playing time is the lowest among them all by leaps and bounds.

The one thing I do find interesting is that he supposedly does not see the court because he does not play good enough defense - but nobody on this year's team is lights out on defense. The team as a whole usually lets the other team shoot at or above 50% most games.

1. On the ball, his placement is wrong.  A couple people blew past him because his footwork was bad.

2. He is slow to recognize his "help" assignments off the ball, and doesn't get into position soon enough.

My guess is that he's a guy who used to be able to use his athleticism to make up for his fundamental defensive weaknesses in the past, but he can't do that anymore.  I'm not worried...he'd hardly be the first freshman in history to have that problem.  As long as he keeps working, he will be fine.

[StillWarriors]

1. On the ball, his placement is wrong.  A couple people blew past him because his footwork was bad.

2. He is slow to recognize his "help" assignments off the ball, and doesn't get into position soon enough.

My guess is that he's a guy who used to be able to use his athleticism to make up for his fundamental defensive weaknesses in the past, but he can't do that anymore.  I'm not worried...he'd hardly be the first freshman in history to have that problem.  As long as he keeps working, he will be fine.

Hard not to wonder if his prior coaches didn't do him a disservice by not forcing him to play D the right way. As I recall, he hung back as a shotblocker in high school. I would think he would've picked things up in AAU ball though. Not like you expect a kid to be a defensive stopper coming in, but at the same time you wouldn't think you'd have to start from scratch essentially either. Oh well. The athleticism is there, so if the desire is too, he'll get there in plenty of time to have a successful career at MU.

[Big Papi]

Didn't he have a foot problem where he lost 3-4 months early on into his senior season?  Or was that his junior season?  Either way, I am not concerned about his lack of progress at this point in time.  The landscape is littered with top 100 freshmen who did little their first year or two in college before finally getting it.  Of course, the landscape is also littered with top 100 who never get it too.  Lets wait and see what happens before saying he could be a bust.

Also, lets not confuse top 100 with the top 25/30.  Top 25/30 players will usually make impacts right away.  Williams is not a top 25/30 player.  Dom was close to a top 25/30 player and he had impact right away.  I expect Vander to have a big impact next year as a freshmen. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm glad that more people are finally realizing that Erik just isn't ready yet.

Top 100 player or not, he isn't there yet.

No one is denying that.  How do you get there is the question.....some of us believe playing time is one way of learning.  At least in games where we are destroying the other team and playing time can be had.

[wyoMUfan]

McIlvaine also said "sometimes as a big man, you've gotta slow it down to speed it up" in regards to his game and looking like a fish out of water at points

edit; which sounds over simplified and a total "duh" statement but for a guy like williams it makes sense, I mean does greg monroe ever look like he is rushing or uncomfortable on the floor?

[bma725]

Didn't he have a foot problem where he lost 3-4 months early on into his senior season?  Or was that his junior season? 

He broke his foot during January of his junior year, and missed the rest of that season as well as AAU ball that year.

[bma725]

Hard not to wonder if his prior coaches didn't do him a disservice by not forcing him to play D the right way. As I recall, he hung back as a shotblocker in high school.

His coach has said as much in an interview with Rosiak last year:

"But he's got to learn to guard the ball first. If I failed in one way as a coach as far as translating it to the next level, he didn't have to get out and guard like he's going to need to. But we weren't going to win by using Erik as a perimeter defender. Once he gets that down, I think he's going to surprise people."

[79Warrior]

More importantly, I thought Jr. would have seen more action.

I felt that way also. I would like to have seen him get some more time. The issue for Buzz is who sits for Junior.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

A  lot of upside to EW and sounds like everybody knows what he needs to work on. I am excited about his potential and look forward to watching him improve.

[Norm]

OK, everyone has commented on EW's lack of defensive skills. How has he looked on offense? Is there anything there, or has has offense been sapped by his concentration on defense (in order to earn more playing time)?

[bma725]

OK, everyone has commented on EW's lack of defensive skills. How has he looked on offense? Is there anything there, or has has offense been sapped by his concentration on defense (in order to earn more playing time)?

He hasn't really been involved in the offense enough to get a gauge on anything.  He's taken a total of 19 shots all year, and only 2 in the Big East season.  Can't really evaluate him on that. 

To be fair, he's not really in a position to show the stuff he was known for in high school.  Right now on offense when he's in, he's either in the low block or the top of the key.  In high school he was known for his perimeter play.  The only real play that stands out was a nice drive he had against one of the cupcakes.  Got the ball at the elbow, dribbled right by a quicker defender, and laid it in.  Other than that he's been mostly a screener and passer.

[Hards Alumni]

Hard not to wonder if his prior coaches didn't do him a disservice by not forcing him to play D the right way. As I recall, he hung back as a shotblocker in high school. I would think he would've picked things up in AAU ball though. Not like you expect a kid to be a defensive stopper coming in, but at the same time you wouldn't think you'd have to start from scratch essentially either. Oh well. The athleticism is there, so if the desire is too, he'll get there in plenty of time to have a successful career at MU.

There is no defense in AAU ball.

[mu03eng]

Maybe I'm misremembering but I thought that EWill was shorter his freshmen year(point guard type) and exploded in height his sophomore year then got hurt his junior year.  If that is correct, he hasn't had a lot of time as a big man.  Fundamentals need to be improved upon simply because he doesn't have basic reps.

[bma725]

Maybe I'm misremembering but I thought that EWill was shorter his freshmen year(point guard type) and exploded in height his sophomore year then got hurt his junior year.  If that is correct, he hasn't had a lot of time as a big man.  Fundamentals need to be improved upon simply because he doesn't have basic reps.

Shorter yes, but not that short.  He was 6'4 as a freshman, he's 6'8-ish now.

[mu03eng]

Shorter yes, but not that short.  He was 6'4 as a freshman, he's 6'8-ish now.

Hmm, maybe I'm remember something else, but I swore I saw something when we were recruiting him that he had ball handling skills because he played guard until a growth spurt struck