Showing posts with label Elliot Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elliot Williams. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Elliot Williams to the NBA Draft

Fox News broke the story that Elliot Williams has officially declared for the draft. He has also signed an agent, preventing him from deciding to return to college. This should not come as a surprise as Coach Josh Pastner has said that Williams will either be in or out, no testing of the waters.

This is obviously bad for the Tigers from an experience stand point. Right now, the only players in the backcourt that won't be freshman are Wesley Witherspoon and Roburt Sallie, assuming he decides to return.

It does have some positives, though. There was a bit of a log jam at the guard positions which made the starting lineup very complicated. Would Joe Jackson or Will Barton have to sit on the bench? Or maybe, keep playing Wesley Witherspoon as a power forward? Now the starting line up is much easier to figure out. It will probably go something like this; PG:Joe Jackson SG:Will Barton SF:Wesley Witherspoon PF:Angel Garcia C:Will Coleman. That's a lot of talent for a starting five. So, there's nothing to be upset about (Although I'm sure many tiger fans weren't going to be upset with the problem of having too many players capable of starting).

Tiger fans should wish Elliot Williams well. While he won't be a lottery pick, going in the late first or early second round is nothing to laugh at. It also looks great for Josh Pastner to take a role player from Duke that averaged less than five points a game and turn him into a draft pick (As Dan Wolken so graciously pointed out on his Twitter account). Fans should just be glad he joined us for the one season that he did. That was when we truly needed him.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

UAB vs. Memphis

After last nights game, Tiger fans and players alike can let out a collective sigh of relief. After dropping a road game to SMU, Memphis bounced back to defeat one of the top teams in conference USA, UAB.

The game brought as much intensity as fans have ever seen in a conference game before (yes I am counting the buzzer-beating Tulsa win last season). While this game may not have been decided by less that double digit points in the final seconds, it was a battle the whole way through. 30 lead changes and 10 ties resulted from the UAB Memphis rivalry game. Luckily, Elliot Williams and Wesley Witherspoon stepped up by scoring 25 and 29, respectively. Towards the end when a UAB win was still possible, UAB employed a tactic that Tiger fans have become used to seeing, they fouled. With the Tigers forced to earn the win at the line, they delivered. In the second half, Memphis shot over 90% from the charity stripe.

Will Coleman also had another good game with 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. He looked a lot more like that Dorsey-style player that Memphis fans were hoping for. Twice last night, he blocked back to back shots. These were crucial blocks as they came in the final minutes when Memphis was starting to go on a run.

Pastner also showed his ability to be a good X's and O's coach. He switched the defense often to keep UAB confused. The came ready for man to man and had to face zone for the entire first half. The defense switched to man, box and one, and triangle and two to keep UAB from getting comfortable offensively.

All in all it was a very encouraging game. Memphis has yet to lose back to back games since Kemp, Niles, and Mack stepped on campus, and I bet they're glad it stayed that way. The Tigers remain in the hunt for the regular season title, they're currently tied at third with UAB behind UTEP and Tulsa, who are tied for first. Not to mention a two game losing streak puts you in a bad state of mind to face a top 25 team like Gonzaga on Saturday.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Put On Notice

The Tigers held their own against the top ranked team, Kansas. They didn't play perfect. In fact, by many standards they didn't play well. They shot the ball awfully. They were bad on free throw attemps, bad on three point attempts, but good on defense (is it just me, or does that sound familiar?)

What the Memphis Tigers did was show heart. They played a scrappy game that oozed determination. They never gave up. There was a time when Kansas stretched the lead to ten. It was the second half. That's what was supposed to happen, right? Kansas winning by double digits. Memphis letting it fall towards the end. Not this night. Memphis clawed their way back into the game. They were constantly nipping at the heals of Kansas, and the look on Bill Self's face said it all. Unbelievable.

This game showed a few things. One is that Memphis' low numbers may not be as much of a problem as previously thought. On most nights, the Tigers will stick to a nine man rotation. On this occassion it was only seven. While Kansas' players were cramping up and taking IV injections, Memphis was putting it all on the floor,and they did so with tireless speed. It also showed us that Memphis' strong point will continue to be their defense. They held Kansas to only 57 points. Three pointers did not go as well as has been expected for this season, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that change very soon.

Finally, it put the nation, C-USA in particular, on notice that Memphis will be a national contender. They will be a team to fear, and you won't have to wait until 2010. This game will definitely give the Tigers a healthy boost of confidence. Williams, Coleman, and Kemp all let it be known that they feel good about how they performed, and they plan on keeping Memphis a powerhouse.

Two best players of the night had to be Willie Kemp and Elliot Williams. Williams stepped it up. He had a career high 21 points. My favorite part of watching him play is how well he manages his shot through contact. Kemp displayed an air of confidence that I haven't seen in him since his freshman year. He may not be a scorer, but he is certainly a play maker. His best attribute is how well he knows his seniors. If he drives and dishes, and that ball lands in the hand of Pierre Henderson-Niles or Doneal Mack, it's going in. He also seemed to desire more of a leadership role. For the most part, when him and Williams are on the floor together, Williams brings up the ball, although they do switch. When the game was winding down and it was close, however, Kemp stood next to Williams, who was waiting for the inbound pass, and said he wanted to bring the ball down. This is good because it frees up Williams to play off the ball in a role that better fits his style.

The worst plays came in the post, but Niles, Coleman, and Witherspoon can sleep well knowing they won't play a athlete with a post presence as strong a Cole Aldrich for a long time.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Player Performance

Elliot Williams:
By far the best player on the team, and he showed it against LeMoyne Owen. When the Tiger's where starting slow, and everyone had some anxiety about initiating a drive, Williams stepped up. He scored the first two points of the night, free throws. He is obviously not afraid to make a play through contact. Williams led the Tigers in scoring with 24 points and 8 of 11 from the floor. Also hit 3 of 4 from behind the arc and 5 of 6 free throws. Tied for highest assists with 6. Had a few too many turnovers, however, and I did not see the pesky on the ball defending he is so highly regarded for.

Wesley Witherspoon
Definitely the second best player on the team. The Tigers will need him and Williams to perform consistently if they want to win. He solidified his status as a playmaker in this game. It shows as he is tied with Williams for most assists with 6. Second leading scorer with 13 points. Second leading rebounder with 7 boards. Almost had some foul trouble in early second half but managed to keep it under control after that. Very versatile, very athletic, and very confident. Considering what a slow first half he had, his stats are phenomenal. If he learns to play with a high effort every minute of every game, he could become more of an asset than Williams.

Pierre Henderson-Niles
Leading rebounder with 11 boards. It should be noted, however, that four of these rebounds came one after another as he would shoot, miss, rebound, and repeat. The main thing about Niles was he looked a lot better. He can jump, he can run, and he played 20 minutes without looking tired.

Willie Kemp
Very strong defense. He tripped up the guards fairly consistently. 3 assists to 1 turnover. Did not have an extremely strong night offensively, but he shot 4 of 5 from the field. Kemp did play with a lot of confidence, which is also true for the rest of the senior class. 1 of 1 from behind the arc and 3 of 3 from the free throw line. Scored 12 points.

Roburt Sallie
Showed something we rarely saw from him last year, a great ability to drive. Sallie had a suprisingly low 3 point percentage as he only hit 1 of 3 from behind the arc. He did, however, his 5 of 10 overall. Scored 11 points.

Doneal Mack
His best attribute was his smoothering defense. When he was trying, he made LeMoyne Owen's guards look foolish. Hit 1 of 1 from behind the arch.

Will Coleman
Pretty much what was expected. No outstanding stats, but he showed amazing athleticism. Definitely slammed a few alley-oops. Almost had some foul trouble early on that had hit sit out a good portion of the first half. Needs to do a better job of rebounding. Scored 11 points, mostly from other Tigers' missed shots.

DJ Stephens
Did good. A lot better than I expected. I had my doubts about his ability to play power forward with his lack of height, but when you see him stretch his arms, you know it won't be a problem. Very athletic. Dunks with ease and is pretty fast. Wouldn't be surprised to see him contribute significant minutes this season.

Drew Barham
Almost non existent. 0 for 3 from the field, two of them from behind the arc, but he's a freshman, and it's early. This is what exhibitions are for.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Elliot Williams

This could very well be our next star. He isn't that different from Tyreke Evans in a lot of ways. They played together in the McDonald's All American game. Evans was ranked 3 in that class and Williams was ranked 16. Williams is even a likely candidate for point, though his natural position is shooting guard. Sound familiar?

I don't doubt that he will end up playing point guard. He has the ball handling skills to do it, but I don't think its necessary. Most people want to see it happen because it worked so well with Evans. The situation is slightly different now. For one thing, I think Kemp will blossom under Pastner. He didn't fit in well with Calipari and was thrown to the side one too many times. I would like to see Kemp play point and do it well. Also, Evans natural position may have been shooting guard, but he was never as effective when we wasn't ball dominate. Williams can work with another player that handles the ball.

There are some similarities in the way Evans and Williams play, though. Both of them have superior ball handling abilities, both of them have deceptive speed, both of them are great at stealing the ball, and both of them finish at the rim with highlight reel quality dunks. While Evans might be better at most of these things than Williams, Williams does have one distinct advantage. He can consistently hit his threes. This makes him much more difficult to guard because he is well rounded. Also, by the time he first puts on his Tiger's uniform, he will have already had a years worth of college basketball experience. This will be invaluable to Williams. Just as he will be invaluable for the Tigers.

Check out some Elliot William's highlights on the video bar.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Will next season Tigers play different?

In our last two season, the Memphis Tigers have had two primary strengths. The first, and by far the most obvious, has been the furious defense. Both of our last two teams have been notorious for holding opposing teams to low scores.

In 07-08, Joey Dorsey was an extremely prevelant defensive presence. Derrick Rose was also extremely dedicated to defense, and that has benefited him in his NBA career as many players at that level are more interested in offensive accomplishments.

In 08-09, it was more of a team effort. Antonio Anderson was most certainly the defensive leader. He always defended the opposing team's top scorer, and he did it well. Anderson held many talented scorers to embarassingly low field goal percentages.

Tyreke Evans also did a great job as a defender because he usually presented himself as a tremendous mismatch for most NCAA point guards. Taggart also proved his defensive abilities in the tigers second match against Tulsa that season. He basically single-handedly ensured that the Tigers would not need another miracle buzzer beater to finalize their victory over Tulsa.

I don't expect next season to be much different on the defensive end. Willie Kemp has proven himself to have a tremendous dedication to the defense, which coupled with him incredible speed, makes him a difficult player to score against.

Elliot Williams worked his way into Duke's starting line up his freshman year due, in large part, to his shut down defense.

Doneal Mack and Wesley Witherspoon have shown signs of their ability to be solid players on a team oriented defense.

Most important of all, however, is William Coleman. He is a tremendous defensive presence. For a man his size, he has a rediculous amount of athleticism. Also, the fact that he has been compared to Joey Dorsey makes one believe in his defensive abilities.

The difference in next season will be between offensive strategies. The 07-08 strengths laid in three areas. The first was Derrick Rose's uncanny ability to finish at the hoop and score, if necessary. The second was Chris Douglass Roberts ability to seemingly score a will. Finally, Joey Dorsey was able to slam in almost any lob or missed shot to ensure two points for the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team.

The 08-09 offensive relied primarily on the ability of Evans to attack the rim. If he was unable to finish, he had several options to dish the ball off to. He could pass to Taggart for a dunk, he could give it to Dozier for a back to post finish, or he dish it to either Sallie or Mack for a 3-pointer.

Next season will most likely be all about raining threes. Think about it. Kemp's strong point is his 3-pointer, Doneal Mack's strong point is a 3-pointer, Elliot Williams strong point is his 3-pointer, hell, even Garcia's strong point is his 3-pointer. The best part is, their shots won't be nearly as risky with a guy like William Coleman to either slam it in or grab the rebound.

In any case, next season sure should be interesting.

Who should start point guard for the Memphis Tigers?

The three names that are most commonly tossed around are Willie Kemp, Elliot Williams, and Doneal Mack. Roburt Sallie and Wesley Witherspoon are certaintly possibilities, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Sallie does a great job as a shooter. Also, his ability to energize the offense off the bench shows his perfect role for this particular team. Witherspoon could mature into a decent point guard. With his skill set, I find it difficult to believe coach Pastner would use him in this way unless he adapted it to a Penny Hardaway style point forward position.

Most likely, Elliot Williams will be the starting point guard for the Memphis Tigers. His more natural position is shooting guard, but in the tigers team, he could work out quite well at point. I mean hey, it worked out for Tyreke Evans.

In all honesty, I personally feel that Willie Kemp should be given the first chance to start as the Memphis Tigers point guard. During his freshman year he started, and that year the Tiger's team made it to the Elite 8.

During his sophmore year, he lost confidence when losing his role to one-and-done player Derrick Rose. He did, however, do a fairly good job as a shooting guard as he developed an admirable 3-point shot.

By his junior year, Kemp was playing with a tremendous lack of confidence. Once again he lost his starting point guard position to a one-and-done player by the name of Tryeke Evans. Even worse, Kemp struggled to find the 3-point shot he had developed during his sophmore year.

While Pastner will most likely use an offensive style similar to the Dribble Drive Motion that Memphis basketball has become famous for, he will probably also run slightly more set plays, and implement a Lute Olsen style Motion Offense. Willie Kemp will fit into that style of play better and will most likely gain confidence by working with a player-developement driven coach. The fact that no one and done players threaten to take his spot, will work to his advantage as well.

Then, Elliot Williams could take on an Andre Allen type role. Most of the time he would play as a shooting guard while Kemp played at point. When needed, Kemp could take a break. Then Williams would man the point guard position while Sallie jumped in for that shooter role he plays so well.