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Pip will pit them against each other and the one who works harder, specially on defense, will get the majority of the playing time.. same strategy with Oberto and Elson.
I'm as big an Arizona Wildcat fan there is, and I like this pick at 33. Williams wasn't even considered to be a 5 star prospect when he went to UA, yet he still played himself into big minutes. That's no small feat considering that Olson usually sits the younger guys for the most part. He almost took Pac 10 FOY honors, and he was All Pac as a sop re.
I think people talking about his "at ude" are blowing it way out of proportion. IMO, I think Marcus wanted to be "the man" as soon as he stepped onto the campus. But Lute doesn't play those games. Lute, like Popovich, wants it to be a team effort. Not just one guy leading the charge. Williams was benched early last season for being too much of a ball hog, so Lute was definitely trying to remedy the problem. After a year or 2 under Popovich and all the vets, I think he'll learn quickly that it's a team game.
He can score, and yes, he can play defense. This is not a bad pick at 33.
Where's JMarkJohns? He's the one who subscribes to the premium content over at goazcats.com. Maybe he can share a few tidbits about his "at ude" with those of us aren't as informed as he is.
Pip will pit them against each other and the one who works harder, specially on defense, will get the majority of the playing time.. same strategy with Oberto and Elson.
Did you watch this thing at any point before last season?
And he was great last year - no disputing that - but he still had some major flaws in his game.
And Williams doesn't?
Many opinions in this thread are valid. He's a vocal kid, who let's his emotions get the best of him. He can take over a game, sometimes to the detriment of his teammates, but here's why...
The kid is a winner.
Already mentioned in this thread was his willingness to defend every single top offensive wing in the Pac-10. That includes the likes of Brooks, whom he SHUT DOWN upon playing him, Afflalo, who had some decent games, and Nick Young, who struggled once, but got hot at the end, and another time was hot early, but struggled late.
What hasn't been mentioned is tht this kid is a taylor-made SG, who's had to play SF and PF for Arizona. Thei may have helped him with some down-loe post moves, that he should be able to use on smaller SG's.
Again, this kid has bent over backwards to help Arizona. In several instances, he even played backup PG when Arizona's backup was unable to play. The kid has good court vision and a very good handle.
Arizona fans wrongfully take their frustration out on Marcus for the team's struggles the past couple seasons. Thing is, had he had a PG that was capable of running a team, involving everyone and creating open shots, he'd have been a top-20 pick. When Shakur's PG skills went to , Marcus felt it was on him as the defacto captain to step up and lead. Had he not, these "selfish" issues and "at ude" problems wouldn't have surfaced.
The kid has the potential to be a 20-point per game scorer in the NBA. Trust me. I've seen every single UA great, and he's far and away the best pure scorer they've had since Arenas.
He's an isolation player, which is the main problem. Still, Manu and Tony are isolation players, and they thrive. You give him 10 minutes, he'll give you 10 points. His mid-range shot is sweet and he can handle himself around the basket thanks to his time downlow vs. bangers like Taj Gibson, the Lopez twins, Jon Brockman and Spencer Hawes, the UCLA frontcourt tandoms, etc...
He needs to be in a system that proves to him he doesn't have to revert for them to win. Had he gone to some lesser team where he's the man, he basically becomes Glenn Robinson's clone and gets his, while his teammates struggle. he just wants to win so bad, that, just like Kobe, if his teammates aren't gettig it done, then someone has to.
With the Spurs, most Arizona fans, hope and pray he sees he can thrive within a team, because on good teams everyone knows their role, and does it.
Anyways, just my two cents.
We'll just have to see...
Thanks JMJ!
Let him have garbage time and let's see what this boy can do!!
From what I saw of Arizona this year I liked MWill's game. He's a little skinny and isn't a high flier, but he can definitely shoot the ball.
If you could morph Williams and White you'd have the perfect 2/3 big guard.
I think it's a great pickup. You get a guy whose main 'knock' is his at ude, but you get him in the second round where you can hold it over his head and say 'act up, and we cut you.'
I'm liking this pick more and more.
It could be a struggle, but no more of one than turning Jackson into a quality team player. He's got more talent and pure offensive ability than Jackson, though maybe not the range. That's yet to be seen.
He's definately a high risk, high reward type, but I'm a farely good assessor of talent (not to toot my own horn), and I am, without a doubt, confident, that should he get "it" and Pops plays him, he'll be a rotation player for several years, and then maybe a star. He's not a dumb player. He's smart. Not great IQ, but smart nonetheless... He's a good SG prospect, but his versatility will go a long way to endear him to a coaches heart. That and his willingness to do whatever a coach asks.
I hope Pops can clear his head of the "I've got to take over" mentality. He was a great player on a crappy prep team, and that's where he developed such. Then he was a very good youngster on a crappy veteran squad and felt out of place at first, ill-used next and then persecuted for trying to be himself lastly.
Damn, Jeff and Walter juust had the assistant coach from Arizona on.
The way he sounds, man, he sounds like Bruce Bowen's friggen TWIN!.
He also said that RC had been hanging around alot this year at practices and what not, and had observed Marcus quite a bit.
Thanks for the scouting reports, JMarkJohns. The upcoming summer leagues for the Spurs should be pretty interesting with Williams at shooting guard and White at small forward. That's a pretty strong pairing for summer league.
I wonder if they'll play Williams a little bit at point in summer league to see if he can do anything at that position. If Williams shows that he can play point guard in an emergency, perhaps the Spurs could look to trade Beno without having to fill the need for a third string point.
I didn't hear the show but do you remember if it was Josh Pastner? Ive heard him talk on some other shows and I'm pretty sure he's under the impression that we won the national le the last 3 seasons. Bruce Bowen's twin is about the biggest exaggeration I've ever heard if thats the case.
If he shows some ability to handle the ball, creates shots for himself and others, can hit midrange jumpers consistantly and can demonstrate a modi of maturity and mental toughness then there's a spot on this roster for him.
Last edited by Obstructed_View; 06-29-2007 at 04:55 PM. Reason: ah kant spuhell gode
Maturity was never the issue. At least not from my vantage point. Again, when things were great last year, there were no issues regarding Williams. Not on the court. Not off. When Chase hit the freshman wall mid-way through the Pac-10 schedule, and believe me, he hit it, and with Shakur several weeks in the ter, he and Radenovic attempted to right the ship. Ivan is a flawed talent. His best traits work on offense, and though a quality defender, his lack of elevation, explosion and quickness really forced Marcus to take on more leadership than the coaches wanted him to take/have. He toed the line for a while, but when wins never came, he took it upon himself to carry the team. The team was without a leader, and he tried his best to step up. Along the way came clashes with the coaches, some forced play and frustration stemming from both. To compound matters, when he started scoring 20+ a night, and the team still lost more than half their games, fans started the "ballhog" issues.
Whether true ot not, they weren't as much from nature as from necessity. His teammates, namely Shakur, had let him down. He wanted to win. cir stance never allowed that, no matter how hard he tried, and seemingly no matter who they played.
I can't tell you for sure he'll get it here. But I have no doubts that if he does, he'll prove a steal. Last year he was discussed as a top-20 pick. They said if he improved himself, he could be a lottery pick. That proves he has talent.
Last year's Arizona squad screwed up his direction.
Pops is one of the best coaches at righting the ship.
You'll have to work with his set release. He's a far better shooter off the dribble than in set plays. That's fixable, but probably what caused a 10-spot drop. The other 10-spots were these issues.
Winning fixes all.
As for Marcus at PG, it will work, so long as there's someone there who'll make the buckets when Marcus passes. That, and he'll need some structure. Set plays for him, let him develop habits. He's certainly no freewheeler...
If nobody makes the open shots he generates, that's when he'll start to revert. That's his main bad habit on the court. The Arizona teams of the past two seasons have had horrendous outside shooting.
No I said Bruce Bowen twin is what I took from it.I didn't hear the show but do you remember if it was Josh Pastner? Ive heard him talk on some other shows and I'm pretty sure he's under the impression that we won the national le the last 3 seasons. Bruce Bowen's twin is about the biggest exaggeration I've ever heard if thats the case.
He said hes a heady, high basketball IQ player, that has a good midrange shot, but could use some muscle.
He said hes a legit 6'7, and very long.
Sounds to me like Bruce Bowen.
Eh, the coaching staff will fix that....If nobody makes the open shots he generates, that's when he'll start to revert. That's his main bad habit on the court. The Arizona teams of the past two seasons have had horrendous outside shooting.
I basically described a combination of what Glenn Robinson provided when here and what Beno should have provided. I was referring to the maturity that Beno doesn't have, not as it relates to anything in Marcus' past. He's starting off with a clean slate AFAIC.
Hmm
What Glenn Robinson brought, and what Beno should have.
Youth infusion and good ball handling, good mid range shooter that can defend guys like Carmello Anthony?
One other thing, I believe what affected his shot this year, as opposed to last year, was him adding muscle to be strong enough to play the four. If you don't do both at the same time, add muscle and keep on top of you shot, you can be affected by the increased strength adversely. I believe Marcus kept on top of his mid-range game, but spent more time in the weight room and around the basket than attempting set perimeter shots.
I saw it with Hassan Adams as well. For his firs two years, he was used down low. He would occasionally venture out on the perimeter and had pretty decent success. His last two year's he spent on the wing, but it was after he had prepared for work down low. His shot was never consistant, and he lacked an overall feel.
Silly stuff in general, but it's just another brick in the pile that dropped his status.
I wouldn't say he's Bowen. A more defensively interested, but physically smaller Maggette is a comparison I'd make. Not the physical speciman, not the freak athlete, but more willing to do the dirty work, as well as score, score, score...
Sounds good to me. Would you be happy with a second round pick that could turn into that?
I can't co-sign JMJ enough..... basically everything he said, I agree with.... everything. He really hit the nail on the head w/ his points about Shakur, wanting to win, wanting to play, and about Marcus being a 3/2/1 and not a 3/4
and after a night of sleep, day of work.... I'm still exstatic about this pick
Better put some meat on 'dem bones.
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