Erik Williams

[NickelDimer]

I'm surpised no one is talking about the absence of EW outside of the first two minutes of the game.  In those two mins he had a great save to either gain or maintain possession (can't rember) and an offensive rebound/putback.

He's longer than Jae who struggled VERY much on the inside last night, and he was a MUCH better matchup against that UC lineup than Ox, who played double the minutes EW did.

I can't figure out why he played two productive minutes against their bigs, and then rode pine the rest of the night.  That second half was lost underneath, and there's no way EW would've played worse than what we got.

[TJ]

He also missed his first defensive assignment completely, leaving a wide open weak side wing.

However, I agree with you in that it couldn't have hurt to try something different to attempt to keep them off the offensive glass.  They were just killing us down low.

[groove]

He displayed only two minutes worth of toughness during practice this week.

[jeffreyweee]

He still looks a bit lost offensively and defensively. When he crashes the board his athleticism is apparent and he probably needs more game time to develop into the player we expect. But at this point in the season we don't have much game time to spare. I fully expect him to be a 15-20 mpg contributer next year but we don't have the time left this year to allow him to develop. Those two minutes are important in showing Buzz is rewarding his development in practice but what he needs now is game time which we don't have much to spare.

[NCMUFan]

I agree, I thought he played a good two minutes.  Got that put back which was sweet.  The guy is pretty athletic.  It will be tough to get him minutes now with every win a must.  Buzz will stick with the tried and true even if it ends up a L.

[MarquetteBamaFan]

Who didn't look lost on D last night?  Jae played awful D the entire night and didn't do anything on offense either.  How good does E Will need to be to get back into the game?  If he plays bad the first two minutes, he gets pulled for the rest of the game.  If he plays well the first two minutes, he gets pulled for the rest of the game.  If Buzz thinks that E Will isn't good enough to play then don't start him.  But don't play him two minutes regardless of his performance.

[MerrittsMustache]

I get the impression that Buzz likes Crowder coming off the bench and that he feels EWill is the best option to start in front of him. However, like others on this board, I don't understand the point of starting Williams only to pull him for the rest of the game after a couple minutes. Fulce could start or MU could go small and start Blue. I don't necessarily think that starting Williams has a negative effect on the team. I just don't understand the logic behind it.

[copious1218]

I'm not a stickler for grammar but the least we can do is spell our own players' names right.  It's ERIK!

[esotericmindguy]

I get the impression that Buzz likes Crowder coming off the bench and that he feels EWill is the best option to start in front of him. However, like others on this board, I don't understand the point of starting Williams only to pull him for the rest of the game after a couple minutes. Fulce could start or MU could go small and start Blue. I don't necessarily think that starting Williams has a negative effect on the team. I just don't understand the logic behind it.

Agree, the only thing it accomplishes is pissing off Erik Williams. If a coach started me and then sat me the final 38 minutes I'd be rather upset. He's trying to be a major hero with his substitution pattern.  

[NickelDimer]

I'm not a stickler for grammar but the least we can do is spell our own players' names right.  It's ERIK!

Good up

[rocky_warrior]

Agree, the only thing it accomplishes is pissing off Erik Williams. If a coach started me and then sat me the final 38 minutes I'd be rather upset. He's trying to be a major hero with his substitution pattern.  

Dear lord people, Buzz explained this in detail after the PC game.  He [was] starting EW to shave off a few of Crowder's minutes in which he might pick up a dumb foul - to "save" him for the end of the game.  he also stated that EW doesn't know the offense well, so Jimmy has to give him instructions and that it puts stress on Jimmy's game.  Since he explained it on the radio, I'm sure all of this has been communicated even more clearly to EWill, so he understands exactly what's going on, and not just sitting there silently and getting pissed.  He knows his role, he plays his role.

Of course, Buzz also said that would be his strategy until we lost (i.e., it didn't work), so he may change it up again, hence "was" in the above paragraph.

[MarquetteBamaFan]

Dear lord people, Buzz explained this in detail after the PC game.  He [was] starting EW to shave off a few of Crowder's minutes in which he might pick up a dumb foul - to "save" him for the end of the game.  he also stated that EW doesn't know the offense well, so Jimmy has to give him instructions and that it puts stress on Jimmy's game.  Since he explained it on the radio, I'm sure all of this has been communicated even more clearly to EWill, so he understands exactly what's going on, and not just sitting there silently and getting pissed.  He knows his role, he plays his role.

Of course, Buzz also said that would be his strategy until we lost (i.e., it didn't work), so he may change it up again, hence "was" in the above paragraph.

Just because Buzz said it doesn't mean it makes any sense.  I'm sure Fulce's knee could handle the two minutes at the start of the game.  If EWill doesn't know the offense then he shouldn't play.  But playing good in two minutes of action and then sitting out the rest of the game doesn't help him.  Even if Buzz has talked to EWill about the situation, should he just be content with playing two minutes regardless of how well he played?

[RawdogDX]

I think it was odd that Buzz never tried to 'go small' with him at the 5.   We were getting owned with crowder at the 5.  Might as well throw EW in there so Jae can be at his natural position.

[APieperFan3]

I think it was odd that Buzz never tried to 'go small' with him at the 5.   We were getting owned with crowder at the 5.  Might as well throw EW in there so Jae can be at his natural position.

Interesting idea. I would like to see that next year. Erik is sneaky athletic but perhaps right now still too much of a liability on defense to not be on the floor with another big.

That being said...last night was NOT the night to do it. We tried to go small....Cinci left Yates/Thomas in the game...and they beasted us. As I recall...Buzz got Otule off the bench the first chance he got.

[bilsu]

Buzz (because he is superstious) was only starting him, because he started when we beat South Florida. Now that we lost, Eric will not get off the bench at all. Buzz can really be wacky.

[groove]

Buzz (because he is superstious) was only starting him, because he started when we beat South Florida. Now that we lost, Eric will not get off the bench at all. Buzz can really be wacky.

Also depending on the alignment of the stars

[MerrittsMustache]

Dear lord people, Buzz explained this in detail after the PC game.  He [was] starting EW to shave off a few of Crowder's minutes in which he might pick up a dumb foul - to "save" him for the end of the game.  he also stated that EW doesn't know the offense well, so Jimmy has to give him instructions and that it puts stress on Jimmy's game.  Since he explained it on the radio, I'm sure all of this has been communicated even more clearly to EWill, so he understands exactly what's going on, and not just sitting there silently and getting pissed.  He knows his role, he plays his role.

Of course, Buzz also said that would be his strategy until we lost (i.e., it didn't work), so he may change it up again, hence "was" in the above paragraph.

Sheesh. Clearly not all of us listen to Buzz on the postgame show, hence this thread. Despite the attitude, thanks for sharing the rationale.

It seems this team/season has made MU fans a little testy.

[rocky_warrior]

Sheesh. Clearly not all of us listen to Buzz on the postgame show, hence this thread. Despite the attitude, thanks for sharing the rationale.

It seems this team/season has made MU fans a little testy.

Sorry for the 'tude.  I've posted it once before this, and a couple other people have posted it a few times.  Sometimes I feel like everybody just posts, and very few actually read what has already been posted.

[Doris Burkes Thong]

I never would've imagined that coming into MU that Erik Williams would have played the low amount of minutes he's played so far as we near the 1/2 point of his elgilbility. I knew from seeing some of his HS videos he would struggle defensively(he lacked lateral quicks), but I thought by this time in his career he would be a real significant contributor. Let's hope he can have 2 huge years in his junior/senior campaigns and stay healthy.

[MUSF]

He also missed his first defensive assignment completely, leaving a wide open weak side wing.

If we benched every player for leaving a wide open weakside wing, we would finish every game with 2 players.

[Lennys Tap]

If we benched every player for leaving a wide open weakside wing, we would finish every game with 2 players.

Yeah, but Erik does it every 15 seconds.