Derrick Williams

What a beast. I am still in awe. A few weeks ago I had planned on doing an anti-Derrick Williams post that cited his multiple 11-14 point games and wondering if he would show up or shrink away in March. He showed up. He showed up big time. 25 points in the first half against Duke, to include a 3 as time expired to cut the Arizona deficit from 9 to 6 at halftime. Then 20 points against Uconn, but he also had 3 fouls in the first half and didn't play significant minutes. In the second half he was a force. For the game he had 20 points and was 9-12 from the foul line. That's where he did his damage. After getting in serious foul trouble in the first half he turned those whistles around and got fouled basically whenever he wanted to in the second half. His power can't be questioned he dunked over half the Uconn team. Now, 5-6 from deep against Duke notwithstanding, Williams is not a great shooter. Next thing, when he is covered by Oriakhi and Okwandu away from the basket he should definitely use his power and speed to take them to the hoop. Multiple times he didn't, he stood beyond the arc and jacked up the 3's that missed. As a Uconn fan (see the last 5 posts) I was happy every time he shot the 3. He isn't a great shooter and Uconn's big guys can't hang with him if he tries a dribble drive. At the next level he will run into a new problem, Oriakhi and Okwandu won't be covering him. Kobe and Paul Pierce will and they can cover him on the perimeter and on the drive. So, yes his game has to improve and his decision making in regards to what shot to take needs to improve but I think he's awesome. I would take him #1 overall and not think twice. Then I'd put him in a gym and not let him come within 15 feet of the basket all summer. I'd have him shoot 1000 J's a day and then next summer I'd give him some of those post moves that every power 3/skinny 4 in the NBA needs, and then I'd hope that he was on my team for the following 10 years because he is a guaranteed NBA All Star. As far as emphatic goes, his blocks against UCLA and Memphis are probably the two most emphatic blocks of the college season. His put-back tomahawk bring the house down dunk against Duke, and his let-me-carry-the-whole-Uconn-team-through-the-lane-as-I-two-hand-dunk were the two best dunks I've seen all season.