Re: Marcus Williams
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:20 am
What could have been...
Transfer portal athletes need to realize the grass is rarely greener!
I'm not sure on the what could have been. Wyoming basketball improved leaps and bounds this year without Williams. Texas A&M basketball also improved leaps and bounds from the first half (with Williams) to the second half of the season (without Williams). I wish him the best but there is a saying of addition by subtraction. I don't know if that applies but twice seems to be a trend.
I think what "could have been" is most likely the same team we had plus an elite level ball handler. Obviously Wyoming made a big leap this last year but it was in spite of having no ball handling...not because of it. The lack of a real point guard really bit us down the stretch. Take what Marcus brings to the table on the court and add that to what Linder did and I think we don't have that late season fade. Obviously...rumors are that he was a head case... so this is all with the caveat that the player bringing that elite ball handling to the court is not a head case.OrediggerPoke wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:55 pmI'm not sure on the what could have been. Wyoming basketball improved leaps and bounds this year without Williams. Texas A&M basketball also improved leaps and bounds from the first half (with Williams) to the second half of the season (without Williams). I wish him the best but there is a saying of addition by subtraction. I don't know if that applies but twice seems to be a trend.
There is two sides of the court though. If you compare 20-21 to 21-22, almost the entire improvement for the Pokes was defense. We were about the same from an offensive efficiency standpoint but improved dramatically on Defense. That’s not a coincidence. Williams was a terrible defender who was benched in the midst of a FOY season due to bad defense (which is saying something).307bball wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 1:20 pmI think what "could have been" is most likely the same team we had plus an elite level ball handler. Obviously Wyoming made a big leap this last year but it was in spite of having no ball handling...not because of it. The lack of a real point guard really bit us down the stretch. Take what Marcus brings to the table on the court and add that to what Linder did and I think we don't have that late season fade. Obviously...rumors are that he was a head case... so this is all with the caveat that the player bringing that elite ball handling to the court is not a head case.OrediggerPoke wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:55 pmI'm not sure on the what could have been. Wyoming basketball improved leaps and bounds this year without Williams. Texas A&M basketball also improved leaps and bounds from the first half (with Williams) to the second half of the season (without Williams). I wish him the best but there is a saying of addition by subtraction. I don't know if that applies but twice seems to be a trend.
In general...I don't think it will be common for freshman of the year or newcomer of the year winning players to transfer.
Lot of moving parts to be sure. Marcus turned out to be a head case so it's academic. It's possible that your prediction maps completely onto what would have happened if he stayed and he was not a head case.NowherePoke wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:16 pmThere is two sides of the court though. If you compare 20-21 to 21-22, almost the entire improvement for the Pokes was defense. We were about the same from an offensive efficiency standpoint but improved dramatically on Defense. That’s not a coincidence. Williams was a terrible defender who was benched in the midst of a FOY season due to bad defense (which is saying something).307bball wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 1:20 pmI think what "could have been" is most likely the same team we had plus an elite level ball handler. Obviously Wyoming made a big leap this last year but it was in spite of having no ball handling...not because of it. The lack of a real point guard really bit us down the stretch. Take what Marcus brings to the table on the court and add that to what Linder did and I think we don't have that late season fade. Obviously...rumors are that he was a head case... so this is all with the caveat that the player bringing that elite ball handling to the court is not a head case.OrediggerPoke wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 12:55 pmI'm not sure on the what could have been. Wyoming basketball improved leaps and bounds this year without Williams. Texas A&M basketball also improved leaps and bounds from the first half (with Williams) to the second half of the season (without Williams). I wish him the best but there is a saying of addition by subtraction. I don't know if that applies but twice seems to be a trend.
In general...I don't think it will be common for freshman of the year or newcomer of the year winning players to transfer.
Having Graham for a full season helps as well (last year when teams would get Williams and HT to defend in the pick and roll it was like taking candy from a baby), but he isn’t really a dominant defensive presence and having Williams acting as a turnstile on the perimeter likely would have just resulted in even more foul trouble for Graham.