Willis back in the dog house

[SoonerfanTU]

Yup well he sees a guy playing in front of him who is allowed to make mistakes, clank jump shots and can't play zone D. He played zero minutes in this game. Zero

Willis needs to ask for his release so he can play.

Willis is not as good a player as Pledger is.

And as I suggested last night, I tend to think Willis and Capel might already know he is leaving. Not a rumor, just my opinion. Just seems like an odd situation. But if that is true, I completely understand Capel not playing Willis unless forced to.

 

[red recluse]

Yup well he sees a guy playing in front of him who is allowed to make mistakes, clank jump shots and can't play zone D. He played zero minutes in this game. Zero

i'll see you see you next year when he proves you to be a fool. if you want to blast him for one game, cool. but don't be afraid to give him some credit when he steps up and plays well like yesterday. but i know you won't. ledge



so willis knows how to blockout, wow. give him 35 minutes per.

 

[buttermaker1]

i'll see you see you next year when he proves you to be a fool. if you want to blast him for one game, cool. but don't be afraid to give him some credit when he steps up and plays well like yesterday. but i know you won't. ledge



so willis knows how to blockout, wow. give him 35 minutes per.

Why would he prove me a fool by playing great as a soph? I just don't believe Willis has been given an opportunity when others are struggling right now. I certainly hope he plays great every game I am a OU grad and huge OU fan.

Never said give Willis 35 minutes a game just give him a chance when others struggle.

 

[buttermaker1]

Willis is not as good a player as Pledger is.

And as I suggested last night, I tend to think Willis and Capel might already know he is leaving. Not a rumor, just my opinion. Just seems like an odd situation. But if that is true, I completely understand Capel not playing Willis unless forced to.

Well its hard to tell since Willis never plays. Unless you attend practices you have no idea. In what little minutes Willis has played this year, 88 minutes and then one start, he looks like the better player to me right now.

Its just my opinion that Capel will not give Willis a fair shake and its not basketball related. This decision cost us the A$M game.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Its just my opinion that Capel will not give Willis a fair shake and its not basketball related. This decision cost us the A$M game.

Then what is it? He just dislikes him? If he is truly in the doghouse, then he really did something well. I'm telling you, based on what I've seen, and Willis' demeanor on the bench, I think he is already gone.

 

[buttermaker1]

Then what is it? He just dislikes him? If he is truly in the doghouse, then he really did something well. I'm telling you, based on what I've seen, and Willis' demeanor on the bench, I think he is already gone.

Yup I agree I think he is gone too, he played good in the start then was benched again. I have no idea but something is up between the coach/player. We could have used Willis some this year, he can score and plays decent zone D, he was never given quality minutes early to feel like he was part of the team. Always on the outside looking in thats a tough spot for anyone.

Considering what little PT he was given he showed great in the start.

 

[red recluse]

i didn't say pledger would be great. but he will be much more consistent. and a great role player.

i try not to defend pledger because i'm biased, and it would just be tantamount to sunshine pumping. the simple fact is pledger is fundamentally better than willis. if willis were given more playing time, i believe you would see the same mistakes from him as you have pledger. and there are very few players who don't practice well who play great in games. if willis is not bringing it in practice, he's not going to get the chance in a game. ryan wright had a great week of practice, and it showed saturday.

i wish the best for ray. much like neysmith, i hope he can go somewhere and get all the playing time in the world. if he does that and shows he's a player, i will eat as much crow as you can fill the LNC with.

 

[buttermaker1]

i didn't say pledger would be great. but he will be much more consistent. and a great role player.

i try not to defend pledger because i'm biased, and it would just be tantamount to sunshine pumping. the simple fact is pledger is fundamentally better than willis. if willis were given more playing time, i believe you would see the same mistakes from him as you have pledger. and there are very few players who don't practice well who play great in games. if willis is not bringing it in practice, he's not going to get the chance in a game. ryan wright had a great week of practice, and it showed saturday.

i wish the best for ray. much like neysmith, i hope he can go somewhere and get all the playing time in the world. if he does that and shows he's a player, i will eat as much crow as you can fill the LNC with.

How do you know he is better we have never seen Willis play real minutes but one game and he played great? I have seen the other guy make tons of mistakes and clank jumper have jumper? He has been allowed to play through mistakes Willis was never given this opportunity.

Its clearly a coach/player issue and it did cost us a win.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

Yup well he sees a guy playing in front of him who is allowed to make mistakes, clank jump shots and can't play zone D. He played zero minutes in this game. Zero

Willis needs to ask for his release so he can play.

I know about frustration. I still don't ever say its ok to act out or show your displeasure during a game. Talk to the coach in private. Go ballistic in practice and force them to play you. I come from the era when playing sports was a privilege, and you worked hard, respected the leaders, and you cared about the team. I sat the bench on a 7-19 team my frosh yr, just because the guy in front of me was a senior. I cheered for my guys, I busted hump in practice, and I never let my frustration effect the team. Once I hit my jr yr, I transferred and earned a scolly offer from several colleges. I knew that my old school was not going to allow me to flourish, so I moved on, but I always put the team 1st while I was there.

Today's athletes care little about the team, and mostly about themselves. I believe that it is spilling down to as low as the grade school level.

 

[buttermaker1]

I know about frustration. I still don't ever say its ok to act out or show your displeasure during a game. Talk to the coach in private. Go ballistic in practice and force them to play you. I come from the era when playing sports was a privilege, and you worked hard, respected the leaders, and you cared about the team. I sat the bench on a 7-19 team my frosh yr, just because the guy in front of me was a senior. I cheered for my guys, I busted hump in practice, and I never let my frustration effect the team. Once I hit my jr yr, I transferred and earned a scolly offer from several colleges. I knew that my old school was not going to allow me to flourish, so I moved on, but I always put the team 1st while I was there.

Today's athletes care little about the team, and mostly about themselves. I believe that it is spilling down to as low as the grade school level.

Well he doesn't have a sr playing in front of him, its a freshman making all kinds of mistakes. I really should move on.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

Well he doesn't have a sr playing in front of him, its a freshman making all kinds of mistakes. I really should move on.

I guess that we are just looking at this from different angles....

You are focusing on why he seems to be acting out, and I'm focusing on the belief that you don't act out. The next time Iverson goes crazy about being asked to PRACTICE, or Sprewell punches a coach, or Arenas brings a pistol to the locker room, I will investigate why they were so mad. Heck, maybe Arenas was going to bust a cap because he didn't get enough All Star votes to trigger his bonus money.....

Willis has not done enough at any level to act out, IMO. I hope that he doesn't become an attitude problem.

 

[BigTime]

Willis played good D in the game he started and led the team in rebounds with 7. We had a freshman that costs us the A$M game with a 0-5 performance and he played bad zone D that allowed A$M to hit 2 big 3's down the stretch. He was basically benched for Willis. Willis played very good in the start and hasn't been given an opportunity again.

Willis hasn't been given a fair shake this year and Capel should grant his release. If others weren't making mistakes I wouldn't argue the point. Playing a true freshman that can't hit a jump shot or play zone D instead of Willis cost us the A$M game.

Willis is in Capel's doghouse

Ray Willis is not a good defender in any shape or form. You are off your rocker if you think otherwise. I like his length on the defensive end, but his lateral quickness and his effort stinks (we saw some improved effort during the ISU game). It starts in practice. Coach Capel wants guys to practice like they play in a game.

It's simple. Steven Pledger busts it in practice on both ends. Ray Willis does not. Steven Pledger has played in every game. Ray Willis has not.

It won't get any easier next year with TJ Taylor and Cam Clark coming in and only Crocker leaving. TJ Taylor works extremely hard in practice and in the weight room, and I will tell you right now that he will pass Willis very quickly because that is what Coach Capel wants out of his players unless Ray decides to dedicate himself more to all aspects of the game.

And regarding you saying that Capel should grant him a release, what makes you think that Coach Capel wouldn't do that? What makes you think that Ray Willis will transfer? IF the scenario comes up where Ray wants to go to a smaller school for more playing time, then I am certain that Coach Capel will allow him to leave (see Tony Neysmith). I personally have heard that Ray is very content to be a part of this team and loves OU, but I guess we will see during the offseason if anything changes.

 

[NickZepp]

Ray has shown some good offense at times, but his defense hasn't really shown that he can play right now. And I'm not sure he'll ever get that chance here.

 

[Seymore Cox]

There's a difference between going through growing pains and not growing. Pledger is going through growing pains and Willis is not growing. As a coach I suspect Capel's gonna go with the guy going through gowing pains as opposed to the one not growing. That being said, I still hope Willis comes through for this team.

 

[buttermaker1]

Ray Willis is not a good defender in any shape or form. You are off your rocker if you think otherwise. I like his length on the defensive end, but his lateral quickness and his effort stinks (we saw some improved effort during the ISU game). It starts in practice. Coach Capel wants guys to practice like they play in a game.

It's simple. Steven Pledger busts it in practice on both ends. Ray Willis does not. Steven Pledger has played in every game. Ray Willis has not.

It won't get any easier next year with TJ Taylor and Cam Clark coming in and only Crocker leaving. TJ Taylor works extremely hard in practice and in the weight room, and I will tell you right now that he will pass Willis very quickly because that is what Coach Capel wants out of his players unless Ray decides to dedicate himself more to all aspects of the game.

And regarding you saying that Capel should grant him a release, what makes you think that Coach Capel wouldn't do that? What makes you think that Ray Willis will transfer? IF the scenario comes up where Ray wants to go to a smaller school for more playing time, then I am certain that Coach Capel will allow him to leave (see Tony Neysmith). I personally have heard that Ray is very content to be a part of this team and loves OU, but I guess we will see during the offseason if anything changes.

You have no idea if he can play because he doesn't play. You only assume he can't play D because he doesn't get minutes.

 

[buttermaker1]

There's a difference between going through growing pains and not growing. Pledger is going through growing pains and Willis is not growing. As a coach I suspect Capel's gonna go with the guy going through gowing pains as opposed to the one not growing. That being said, I still hope Willis comes through for this team.

Again you have no idea he doesn't log minutes. He hasn't been given the opportunity for growing pains good grief.

 

[OUhoops11]

How do you know he is better we have never seen Willis play real minutes but one game and he played great? I have seen the other guy make tons of mistakes and clank jumper have jumper? He has been allowed to play through mistakes Willis was never given this opportunity.

Its clearly a coach/player issue and it did cost us a win.

He played great? Dude, he did ok and gave us some good minutes, but great is quite a stretch. There are certain games where Ray can step in and feel comfortable and thus help the team, Texas wasn't it. That was a man's game, where toughness and physicalness had to be shown on every possession.



If Ray can't do it in practice, why would he do it in games? As a coach, you can absolutely not give a guy minutes in meaningful games when he doesn't practice well or better than his teammates. If he's not getting it done against the scout team on the practice court, what makes you think he could get it done against Big 12 competition?

 

[buttermaker1]

He played great? Dude, he did ok and gave us some good minutes, but great is quite a stretch. There are certain games where Ray can step in and feel comfortable and thus help the team, Texas wasn't it. That was a man's game, where toughness and physicalness had to be shown on every possession.



If Ray can't do it in practice, why would he do it in games? As a coach, you can absolutely not give a guy minutes in meaningful games when he doesn't practice well or better than his teammates. If he's not getting it done against the scout team on the practice court, what makes you think he could get it done against Big 12 competition?

How do you know he doesn't do it in practice are you there? I keep hearing Ray gives the first team fits in practice. Considering he had logged a whopping 88 minutes prior to the start he did great. Its not like he was able to play through mistakes every game like Pledger. If asked I would advise Ray to ask for his release.

 

[luckyc1423]

Ray Willis is not a good defender in any shape or form. You are off your rocker if you think otherwise. I like his length on the defensive end, but his lateral quickness and his effort stinks (we saw some improved effort during the ISU game). It starts in practice. Coach Capel wants guys to practice like they play in a game.

It's simple. Steven Pledger busts it in practice on both ends. Ray Willis does not. Steven Pledger has played in every game. Ray Willis has not.

It won't get any easier next year with TJ Taylor and Cam Clark coming in and only Crocker leaving. TJ Taylor works extremely hard in practice and in the weight room, and I will tell you right now that he will pass Willis very quickly because that is what Coach Capel wants out of his players unless Ray decides to dedicate himself more to all aspects of the game.

And regarding you saying that Capel should grant him a release, what makes you think that Coach Capel wouldn't do that? What makes you think that Ray Willis will transfer? IF the scenario comes up where Ray wants to go to a smaller school for more playing time, then I am certain that Coach Capel will allow him to leave (see Tony Neysmith). I personally have heard that Ray is very content to be a part of this team and loves OU, but I guess we will see during the offseason if anything changes.

By that statement can I assume you think Willie is coming back? Although I think he could greatly benefit by coming back another year I just dont see it happening...but wow what an offensive lineup we could have with him coming back..

Assuming he leaves, that leaves the same playing time open or more.

 

[OUhoops11]

How do you know he doesn't do it in practice are you there? I keep hearing Ray gives the first team fits in practice. Considering he had logged a whopping 88 minutes prior to the start he did great. Its not like he was able to play through mistakes every game like Pledger. If asked I would advise Ray to ask for his release.

If Ray was dominating the first team in practice, he would be on the first team.