EWill

[tower912]

Ners said I was being harsh during the game when I said that Ewill has no defensive instincts.   Fair and accurate point.    EWill seems like a good kid with tons of athletic ability.   He has come a long way and I think he is going to be a stud either later this year or next.    This is what I meant when I said he has no defensive instincts.    He broke his foot as a junior and missed a lot of time.    As a senior, his high school coach flat out said that the defensive scheme was for Ewill to stand under the basket and for his teammates to funnel the ball to him so he could block the shot.   His coach said that Ewill's toughest challenge was going to be to guard someone his size in space, as he never had to do it in high school.   
         This is consistent with what he has shown defensively.    He has come a long way, but until he starts d-ing it every day in practice and d-ing it better in games to the point where Buzz trusts him, he is going to be the 9th or 10th guy.    He is still thinking about his rotations, he is still reaching instead of moving his feet when he comes to help.  He is about a 3/4 second away from getting it.   When he does, he could still be very special.   

[chren21]

Is telling the truth being harsh?  Well then if that is being wrong, I dont want to be right.  Yes he has a huge upside, yes, he has a great shot, yes he seems like a good kid, etc, etc, etc,...  I'm sick of this whole lets sugar coat it so that I am not thought of as being harsh on here.  Who cares.  Tell the truth and stick with it.

Ewill's defense stinks.  EVERY single game he has been in this year he has performed a bonehead (or multiple) play on defense that has cost the team...  Period.

[tower912]

Is there anything inaccurate in my 'less harsh' analysis?   No.  He did not have a sound defensive base when he got here.   He has not caught up yet.   If/when he does, he could still be a beast.   Right now, he is 9th or 10th man because of his defensive lapses. 

[ATL MU Warrior]

Ewill's defense stinks.  EVERY single game he has been in this year he has performed a bonehead (or multiple) play on defense that has cost the team...  Period.

ok...name me a player on this team hasn't had one or more boneheaded defensive plays per game that "cost the team"? 

And by "cost the team" do you mean he's allowed baskets or committed unecessary fouls or do you mean he's somehow -- as an individual on a TEAM -- responsible for our losses? 

[chren21]

Is there anything inaccurate in my 'less harsh' analysis?   No.  He did not have a sound defensive base when he got here.   He has not caught up yet.   If/when he does, he could still be a beast.   Right now, he is 9th or 10th man because of his defensive lapses. 

Absolutely nothing at all.  But then again there was nothing wrong with "he has no defensive instincts" either.

[reinko]

ok...name me a player on this team hasn't had one or more boneheaded defensive plays per game that "cost the team"? 

And by "cost the team" do you mean he's allowed baskets or committed unecessary fouls or do you mean he's somehow -- as an individual on a TEAM -- responsible for our losses? 

True every player makes mistakes, but Ewill's "mistakes per minutes played" has to be pretty high.

[chren21]

ok...name me a player on this team hasn't had one or more boneheaded defensive plays per game that "cost the team"?  

And by "cost the team" do you mean he's allowed baskets or committed unecessary fouls or do you mean he's somehow -- as an individual on a TEAM -- responsible for our losses?  

Yes, everyone makes mistakes, etc, etc.  But can you name a player that comes in as little as he does and pretty consistently within one or two minutes has a defensive lapse the way he does?

I mean nothing other than costing the team on an individual trip down the floor by having it result in a foul or points against MU.  That has no more bearing on the wins or losses than anyone else making a mistake.  The difference is that his percentage of defensive trips down the court making mistakes  or having "lapses" is alarmingly high.

(Reinko just said the same thing in about 20% of the words)..

[ATL MU Warrior]

True every player makes mistakes, but Ewill's "mistakes per minutes played" has to be pretty high.

Maybe...maybe not.  During the game I watched last night nobody was playing great defense...the other team was getting to the rim at will and had multiple open looks from 3.  They didn't get all those open opportunities because EWill was in there.  

[ATL MU Warrior]

Yes, everyone makes mistakes, etc, etc.  But can you name a player that comes in as little as he does and pretty consistently within one or two minutes has a defensive lapse the way he does?

I'd be willing bet that his defensive lapses occur no more frequently than most of the other inexperienced players on our team (Jr., Otule, Ox, Jamail, etc.)

His weakness (as reported by others and observed by us) is his defense so when he's in the game we watch his defense like a hawk.  of course we're going to notice when he screws up on defense, that's what we're looking for. 

[chren21]

I'd be willing bet that his defensive lapses occur no more frequently than most of the other inexperienced players on our team (Jr., Otule, Ox, Jamail, etc.)

His weakness (as reported by others and observed by us) is his defense so when he's in the game we watch his defense like a hawk.  of course we're going to notice when he screws up on defense, that's what we're looking for. 

Your point is definitely a fair one but I would disagree.  I have watched about half of the games twice and Ewill's lapses are borderline silly.  Out of all the "inexp" guys he has a full year of D1 practice under his belt and defensively it does not seem to have done much at all.

[GGGG]

Honestly, I am not looking for EWill's defensive mistakes.  I really want the guy to succeed more than anything.  The problem is that a lot of his defensive mistakes, I don't see many high school kids making.  He loses his guy far too often...he doesn't rotate quickly enough...he gets in bad positions for rebounds...  This isn't just complex D1 stuff...this is basic basketball defense.  The instincts just don't seem to be there and are probably due to the stuff that his coaches said back in high school.

Look, he isn't going to be playing much come BE season.  But the guy still has two years left here and can really make an impact if he continues to work.

[NCMUFan]

It is to be seen how much E Williams plays.  I think his ceiling is as high or higher than Fulce and look how much we clamour to have Fulce back healthy and how pitiful Fulce was when he started to receive playing minutes.  I  believe E Williams will be an important productive element on this team.

[MerrittsMustache]

Ners said I was being harsh during the game when I said that Ewill has no defensive instincts.   Fair and accurate point.    EWill seems like a good kid with tons of athletic ability.   He has come a long way and I think he is going to be a stud either later this year or next.    This is what I meant when I said he has no defensive instincts.    He broke his foot as a junior and missed a lot of time.    As a senior, his high school coach flat out said that the defensive scheme was for Ewill to stand under the basket and for his teammates to funnel the ball to him so he could block the shot.   His coach said that Ewill's toughest challenge was going to be to guard someone his size in space, as he never had to do it in high school.   
         This is consistent with what he has shown defensively.    He has come a long way, but until he starts d-ing it every day in practice and d-ing it better in games to the point where Buzz trusts him, he is going to be the 9th or 10th guy.    He is still thinking about his rotations, he is still reaching instead of moving his feet when he comes to help.  He is about a 3/4 second away from getting it.   When he does, he could still be very special.   

That's what really stands out to me. He looks like he's constantly thinking about where to go and what position to be in defensively. It's not necessarily that he doesn't understand the rotations, it's that he doesn't quite have the confidence to be 100% certain that he's where he needs to be. That likely leads to the 3/4 of a second that he's behind. Fortunately, this is something that's fixable and something (that I believe) will come with time.

That being said, I think it's pretty obvious that EWill isn't the only MU player who needs to pick up his game defensively.

[ATL MU Warrior]

That's what really stands out to me. He looks like he's constantly thinking about where to go and what position to be in defensively. It's not necessarily that he doesn't understand the rotations, it's that he doesn't quite have the confidence to be 100% certain that he's where he needs to be. That likely leads to the 3/4 of a second that he's behind. Fortunately, this is something that's fixable and something (that I believe) will come with time.

That being said, I think it's pretty obvious that EWill isn't the only MU player who needs to pick up his game defensively.

This is fair and in my opinion accurate.  I think we all want him to be able to contribute ASAP.  And don't get me wrong, his defense does need to improve.  He's got a ton of potential...hopefully this year he will continue to get some minutes as I believe that's the only way his confidence is going to improve. 

[Mr. Nielsen]

Plain and simple, if he boards he will play. Per Buzz

[Canadian Dimes]

You guys can argue this one back and forth all you want to.  And yes everyone gets beat...but some guys like Buycks, Blue, etc. dont get beat ever single time and look terrible in doing it.  

i think Ewill's defense while still poor is better than last years if he becomes mentally half a step quicker he will have turned the corner.  I fully expect this to happen by this time of his junior year hopefully this year, but yes even last night against weaker compettion he was still off balance and in the wrong position much too often.  Now compare that to the defense of Buycks, Vander or Jimmy.  You will find them in that situation far far far less often.

Now on the other end of the extreme watch the defense of Jamil Jones.  he is horrible! Love his potential but he makes Ewill look all world defensively.  Davante gardner is terrible defensively and literally only plays because he brings some instant offense and ais battling few less talented people for PT

[NersEllenson]

Ners said I was being harsh during the game when I said that Ewill has no defensive instincts.   Fair and accurate point.    EWill seems like a good kid with tons of athletic ability.   He has come a long way and I think he is going to be a stud either later this year or next.    This is what I meant when I said he has no defensive instincts.    He broke his foot as a junior and missed a lot of time.    As a senior, his high school coach flat out said that the defensive scheme was for Ewill to stand under the basket and for his teammates to funnel the ball to him so he could block the shot.   His coach said that Ewill's toughest challenge was going to be to guard someone his size in space, as he never had to do it in high school.   
         This is consistent with what he has shown defensively.    He has come a long way, but until he starts d-ing it every day in practice and d-ing it better in games to the point where Buzz trusts him, he is going to be the 9th or 10th guy.    He is still thinking about his rotations, he is still reaching instead of moving his feet when he comes to help.  He is about a 3/4 second away from getting it.   When he does, he could still be very special.   

Agree entirely with your analysis here.  E-Will wasn't prepared well coming into MU from his high school defensive role, coupled with his foot injury, etc.

I don't have a problem with you, chren21, or anyone else being harsh, per se - but was just ointing out in the game thread that sometimes there is more than meets the eye with regard to how a player like E-Will is playing D - with regard to Buzz's post defense rules..gotta front the post player if you aren't Outle or Gardner..which can translate sometimes to having a hard time providing help.  You get to the "help" a step too late..you commit a foul..truthfully a couple of the fouls called on Erik were extremely tick tack.  The other challenge an E-Will faces is that rebounding is going to be his calling card for getting PT..so..when you have to front the post (you are already at a disadvantage with regard to rebounding position), and you have to be aware of playing help defense..which is usually harder to do when you are having to get in "front" post D position..and worry about rebounding the ball...that's just a lot going on...

[ATL MU Warrior]

Honestly, I am not looking for EWill's defensive mistakes.  I really want the guy to succeed more than anything. 

I think we're all in the same boat and I don't think most people on here are specifically looking for his mistakes for the sole purpose of being critical of him or anybody else. 

Every one of our players has at least one weakness (real or perceived) that we can all identify from watching games, reading about the games or coming to this board.  I think as fans who root for these kids to succeed it's only natural for us to watch the games with a watchful eye on those areas because we want them to improve.  Examples:

Ewill/Jamail/Ox - Defense
DJO - shooting woes
Buycks - playing smart/TOs/bad shots
Otule - Hands (leading to  TO's and low rebounding totals for a big guy)
Vander - Outside shot

I know if I miss a game and go to the boxscore to see what happened and how individual guys played, the first things I look for are how how DJO shot, how many rebounds/TO's Otule had etc.   Not so I can be critical, but to see if the hoped-for improvements are starting to materialize.  There's a bigger emphasis on these areas, that's all.

[brewcity77]

Ewill/Jamail/Ox - Defense
DJO - shooting woes
Buycks - playing smart/TOs/bad shots
Otule - Hands (leading to  TO's and low rebounding totals for a big guy)
Vander - Outside shot

Which means we should go with the guys that don't have holes in their game. Based on your list, we should start...

Cadougan
Smith
Butler
Crowder...

...

...

...and...

...

...ROB FROZENA! The student section will love this one 

[ATL MU Warrior]

Which means we should go with the guys that don't have holes in their game. Based on your list, we should start...

Cadougan
Smith
Butler
Crowder...

...

...

...and...

...

...ROB FROZENA! The student section will love this one 

I never claimed that was a complete list 

[bilsu]

It is hard for bigger players to play the pressure in your face man to man that Buzz wants to play. I think players like Eric, Gardner and Jones are at a disadvantage in that type of defensive system. Jones and Eric may eventually be able to play that way. Gardner will never have the speed to play a hard man to man. Otule really does not either. Perhaps that is why Syrcacuse can get so many centers while we have trouble signing anyone 6'8" or bigger. It is the same reason UW gets so many white bigmen. They can play in UW's position defense system of team defense. They would have a hard time playing in MU's pressure man to man.