Capel quote on Ray Willis

[Sooner23]

This was from the "Parting words from Capel" story stickied above.........

"We need Ray Willis to make the jump. I think that can be a great story, a kid that really didn't play at all, all of a sudden in his second year starts having success. I think that can happen, but it will only happen if he learns to work the right way. That's been his learning process this year. He's had some different things happen. I hope, I think he does, but I really hope he finally gets that. It's not like high school. It's not easy. It's not a joke. You've got to work for it. You've got to compete.

 

[tomkar98]

I sure hope Ray can make the jump. I had higher hopes for him last year, hopes that he didn't really live up to. But then again, not many times do you come across a guy like Willie and Blake. Guys that can contribute in the first year are hard to come by, guys that can start their first year are even more difficult to find.

I'll end with a "Big Play Ray! Big Play Ray!"

 

[buttermaker1]

Kid wasn't ready for the big time from a mental stand point however he has tons of talent. He needs to man up and grow up.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Prior to that he put Cade and Tony on Notice. I think that those are messages to those guys that their PT isn't guanteed.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Contrary to belief by some. Ray Willis is a very good offensive player. Just like Coach Capel said. Ray has to grow up and change his attitude and approach towards the game. The attitude change has to come in the way of his work ethic. I'm really pulling for Ray because it would give us another contributing guard on the team. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

 

[Sam]

I doubt many on this board have questioned Ray's ability to put the ball in the hole (if I recall correctly there were many on here calling for him to play more early on because his ability to score), I think the questions many have are his ability to play defense and work hard enough to practice to earn the minutes. Also strength might be another issue with his small frame but overall I am excited by what Ray could become by his Junior and Senior seasons. If he can give good minutes off the bench I can see him being a two starter averaging in the double figures for both of this years.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Contrary to belief by some. Ray Willis is a very good offensive player. Just like Coach Capel said. Ray has to grow up and change his attitude and approach towards the game. The attitude change has to come in the way of his work ethic. I'm really pulling for Ray because it would give us another contributing guard on the team. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

I don't think anyone doubts his offensive ability. Obviously there are conduct issues that Capel has noted and when he has gotten PT, he has played poor team defense and has taken the first shot available instead of working the offense.

 

[BigTime]

Contrary to belief by some. Ray Willis is a very good offensive player. Just like Coach Capel said. Ray has to grow up and change his attitude and approach towards the game. The attitude change has to come in the way of his work ethic. I'm really pulling for Ray because it would give us another contributing guard on the team. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

FF,

Who has said that he isn't a very good offensive player? I had heard anyone say that. I agree with the rest of your post, and hope that Ray takes it to the next level and contributes.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Oh fellas trust me. There have been a few. I remember a thread during the season that said Ray should have never been given a scholarship. Ray Willis just needs to get his head straight and he will be a very good player for us. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

 

[MercedeSooner]

i said it last year when we were watching high school clips of willis but i thought he was minimum a year away from contributing solely because of his body. He definitely has skills and if he works his tail off he ll be a player.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Oh fellas trust me. There have been a few. I remember a thread during the season that said Ray should have never been given a scholarship. Ray Willis just needs to get his head straight and he will be a very good player for us. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

are you joking ? was there really a thread started saying that willis shouldnt have been offered ? thats ridiculous. i think the expectations were too much if people expected him to step in and be a huge contributor off the bat. Ray didnt play at the highest level in high school, wasnt really on the AAU scene, and probably had the biggest learning curve of the guys coming in. I think between year 2 and 3 we ll see a real big player emerge.

 

[BigTime]

i said it last year when we were watching high school clips of willis but i thought he was minimum a year away from contributing solely because of his body. He definitely has skills and if he works his tail off he ll be a player.

It sucked pretty bad that he got stabbed. He lost 8 pounds of muscle/fat that he had put on because of the incident.

 

[Cheno]

Kid wasn't ready for the big time from a mental stand point however he has tons of talent. He needs to man up and grow up.

This. I'm not going to get too excited until we see that Ray wants to take the game serious and be a team player. I certainly hope he does...young man has all kinds of talent. But lots of guys do. It takes more than talent.

 

[perryj74]

This was from the "Parting words from Capel" story stickied above.........

Where do I find this "Parting words from Capel" story? It is no longer "stickied" above.

Edit: Nevermind. I found it on page 2.

 

[scrybe]

The thing that bothered me about Willis last year was that it appeared he was determined to shoot every time he touched the ball, regardless of whether he was open or had a good look at the basket. I suppose that was due to immaturity or maybe a desire to show everyone that he COULD score. But if that aspect of his game continues this season, I'm afraid he'll find himself languishing on the bench next to his coach.

 

[Seymore Cox]

The thing that bothered me about Willis last year was that it appeared he was determined to shoot every time he touched the ball, regardless of whether he was open or had a good look at the basket. I suppose that was due to immaturity or maybe a desire to show everyone that he COULD score. But if that aspect of his game continues this season, I'm afraid he'll find himself languishing on the bench next to his coach.

yessir.

 

[thebigabd]

If he sits on the bench all next year, he will probably transfer.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Wilis is one of those kids that it wouldn't surprise me if a) he came in next year with his head screwed on right, and makes a huge contribution, or b) he never gets it and either languishes on the bench, or transfers.

I don't think there is going to be an in-between with him.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Wilis is one of those kids that it wouldn't surprise me if a) he came in next year with his head screwed on right, and makes a huge contribution, or b) he never gets it and either languishes on the bench, or transfers.

I don't think there is going to be an in-between with him.

The one thing that woll help him is offensive fredom. Last year no one had a pure green light due to Blake being the main option.