Cameron Clark vs Ray Willis

[thebigabd]

Gotta think Ray Willis would have been better at the SF spot. Averaging 16 and 5 on the year. Here are his games against higher level opponents.

Key thing here, is that he has been to the foul line 174 times in 24 games. He shoots nearly 8 free throws per game, which tells me he can get to the rim. Cam Clark, on the other hand, has taken 50 free throws this season, and cant shoot as well as Willis.

at Charlotte: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
at Wake Forest: 23 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks
at NC State: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
at Oregon: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

Looks like Willis, at the very least, ended up being a decent loss for OU. This team SHOULD have had Ray Willis and Calvin Newell at the guard spots, instead, they end up with Carl Blair and Tyler Neal.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

i would still take clark over willis. When willis was here, he looked worse than cam does on the court.

 

[DenverSooner]

It doesn't matter if Ray Willis is better than Clark or worse than Clark. What is killing OU is no bench.

Carl Blair works hard and is an excellent basketball player compared to all people. Unfortunately, he is not an excellent basketball player compared to all Big XII players. He is probably a little bit below average for all Big XII players yet he has to play a major role at OU because OU has zero depth. You can say this about every bench player on OU's team.

There was another thread about second half performance. Perhaps OU's lack of depth means the guys are simply too tired to compete for 40 minutes. As a result, they get beat in the second half.

I think things will be better next year because OU will add three solid players. I sure hope I am right because the current status of the basketball team is depressing.

 

[WTSooner]

No thanks on Willis. Kid would have created more issues than he would have solved. Good riddance.

 

[hoopsaustin]

willis sucked and was a problem.

 

[AdaSooner]

No thanks on Willis. Kid would have created more issues than he would have solved. Good riddance.

Agreed. If nothing else, I would take Clark over Willis for the high character he brings to the team.

It's also way too early to give up on Cam. With his athleticism and upside, he still has a chance to be really good before his career is over.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Agreed. If nothing else, I would take Clark over Willis for the high character he brings to the team.

It's also way too early to give up on Cam. With his athleticism and upside, he still has a chance to be really good before his career is over.

He has seemed to at least try to be more aggressive the last couple of games...problem is he still seems out of control like his brain is moving at a different pace than his body

 

[AdaSooner]

He has seemed to at least try to be more aggressive the last couple of games...problem is he still seems out of control like his brain is moving at a different pace than his body

It's obvious that Cam has bought into the idea of playing with more aggression. If only the intensity he has demonstrated lately would move to the result stage. It's almost like he is trying too hard now.

But I have said for sometime ago that his erratic, high dribble does not translate well to a more physical college game where quick feet and quick hands are waiting for you to make the slightest mistake. I have also gone on record in saying that I don't believe he will ever be consistently good from the perimeter with his shooting form. Not many agree with me, but I'll stick to my guns until I'm proven wrong.

 

[sperry]

Clark has no offensive skills, he's just an athlete. His shot looks terrible, and rarely goes in. He dribbles the ball way too high. He plays out of control. The only way he can reliably score is on dunks, which any team that doesn't fall asleep will prevent him from getting. He needs to dramatically improve to avoid being a total liability on the court.



Ray Willis, on the other hand had some offensive skills. At the very least he was a much better shooter than Cam. We didn't get to see much of him because he didn't play any defense and was constantly in the doghouse for other reasons as well. Still, he could be a big help to this team if he was still here. I, unlike most posters on this board, actually liked Capel, but my biggest criticism of him was his inability to keep the HS kids on campus for 4 years. Guys improve exponentially as their careers move on. Look at Cade Davis freshman v. senior years. Look at Pledger freshman year v. today. Look at the entire Mizzou basketball team, which is a great team because of the fact that it has a ton of experienced seniors.

 

[Soonerman]

Clark has no offensive skills, he's just an athlete. His shot looks terrible, and rarely goes in. He dribbles the ball way too high. He plays out of control. The only way he can reliably score is on dunks, which any team that doesn't fall asleep will prevent him from getting. He needs to dramatically improve to avoid being a total liability on the court.



Ray Willis, on the other hand had some offensive skills. At the very least he was a much better shooter than Cam. We didn't get to see much of him because he didn't play any defense and was constantly in the doghouse for other reasons as well. Still, he could be a big help to this team if he was still here. I, unlike most posters on this board, actually liked Capel, but my biggest criticism of him was his inability to keep the HS kids on campus for 4 years. Guys improve exponentially as their careers move on. Look at Cade Davis freshman v. senior years. Look at Pledger freshman year v. today. Look at the entire Mizzou basketball team, which is a great team because of the fact that it has a ton of experienced seniors.

So why are you dogging Clark so badly? He's halfway through his SOPHOMORE season. He's got 2+ years here if he sticks it out, and if the 4 year player development theory holds true, he should be pretty solid when he's a senior. Right?

 

[thebigabd]

So why are you dogging Clark so badly? He's halfway through his SOPHOMORE season. He's got 2+ years here if he sticks it out, and if the 4 year player development theory holds true, he should be pretty solid when he's a senior. Right?

Cant shoot, cant dribble.

 

[sperry]

So why are you dogging Clark so badly? He's halfway through his SOPHOMORE season. He's got 2+ years here if he sticks it out, and if the 4 year player development theory holds true, he should be pretty solid when he's a senior. Right?

Not dogging him, pointing out the facts for the here and now with Clark. I hope he improves dramatically over his final two seasons. It's certainly possible.

 

[WTSooner]

What poster was it that said the board should temper it's expectations of Cam b/c he was REALLY raw in the basketball skill department?!?




But really, I hate that I was right on this. And I never expected him to struggle like he has this year, especially after the year he had last year.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Cant shoot, cant dribble.

well then why would you want ray willis over him? Ray couldn't shoot while he was at ou either and he looked just as bad dribbling as cam does

 

[hoopsaustin]

Ray Willis sucked terribly

 

[TheGimper]

Clark has no offensive skills, he's just an athlete. His shot looks terrible, and rarely goes in. He dribbles the ball way too high. He plays out of control.

Carl Blair is shooting 28% from the field. That is awful. Cam's offensive skill set is at least higher than Blair's. Also, Cameron hardly ever plays out of control. That is the most inaccurate criticism I've heard of Clark. It shows that you're intent on demeaning him. If anything, Cameron plays way too in control. The coaching staff has been telling Cameron he needs to be more aggressive.

Cameron's shot also goes in more than Blair's shot and Groom's shot. They're both juniors, so why aren't you dogging on their offensive skill sets? Not that I'm saying you should, but this rampant criticism of Clark has been somewhat unwarranted.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Carl Blair is shooting 28% from the field. That is awful. Cam's offensive skill set is at least higher than Blair's. Also, Cameron hardly ever plays out of control. That is the most inaccurate criticism I've heard of Clark. It shows that you're intent on demeaning him. If anything, Cameron plays way too in control. The coaching staff has been telling Cameron he needs to be more aggressive.

Cameron's shot also goes in more than Blair's shot and Groom's shot. They're both juniors, so why aren't you dogging on their offensive skill sets? Not that I'm saying you should, but this rampant criticism of Clark has been somewhat unwarranted.

The problem is that when cam decides to be more aggressive (which isn't a lot but more often lately, he looks out of control.
And right or wrong, he gets more criticism b/c he was a highly ranked guy

 

[Krugerfan52]

I take Cameron Clark over Ray Willis every day of the week. Last year Clark was a stud freshman catching alley-oops all day long, grabbing rebounds and hitting open jumpers. In two seasons at OU all Ray Willis did was turn the ball over, pout and jack up fade-aways in scrub time.

After showing flashes of greatness last year as a freshman, Cam Clark is having a rough soph year. He fit in nicely last year but hasn't found his niche in Kruger's offense. Ray Willis was a disease. He had no heart. Even in games where Cam isn't shooting well this year he has had big games on the board. He plays hard, he's just lost this year.

I hope people on this board dont run him off because he's a good kid, a great athlete and has been a good Sooner on and off the floor so far. I hope he plays two more years at OU and ends up a 1,000 pt scorer at OU with a great career.

 

[Krugerfan52]

Clark has no offensive skills, he's just an athlete. His shot looks terrible, and rarely goes in. He dribbles the ball way too high. He plays out of control. The only way he can reliably score is on dunks, which any team that doesn't fall asleep will prevent him from getting. He needs to dramatically improve to avoid being a total liability on the court.



Ray Willis, on the other hand had some offensive skills. At the very least he was a much better shooter than Cam. We didn't get to see much of him because he didn't play any defense and was constantly in the doghouse for other reasons as well. Still, he could be a big help to this team if he was still here. I, unlike most posters on this board, actually liked Capel, but my biggest criticism of him was his inability to keep the HS kids on campus for 4 years. Guys improve exponentially as their careers move on. Look at Cade Davis freshman v. senior years. Look at Pledger freshman year v. today. Look at the entire Mizzou basketball team, which is a great team because of the fact that it has a ton of experienced seniors.

Cam Clark LED THE SOONERS in 3-pt shooting last year. Not Cade Davis. Not Stephen Pledger. Both good shooters. But Cam was the leader. So dont say he CANT shoot. He just doesnt get the looks he got last year.

BTW, Calvin Newell who many on this board suddenly act like was a superstar, shot a whopping 27% from 3 last year. Cam shot 37%

 

[Krugerfan52]

Ray Willis sucked terribly

LOL. Agreed.