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Bruce Pascoe on UA Basketball

Williams' slippery slope

06/26/2007 11:49 PM
Bruce Pascoe

One of the opinions I received on Marcus Williams at the NBA predraft camp was that somebody would probably take him in the first round, figuring he had considerable skills and that his lack of production last season was probably just symptomatic of Arizona’s troubles.

That either isn’t proving true or there’s a lot of smoke screens out there.

On all the major mock drafts, Williams has fallen out of the first round and not necessarily because of anything he’s been doing during private workouts.

It’s because NBA guys have had time to really break his game down.

“Maybe it’s because more intelligence has become available to us,” said Jonathan Watters, NCAA scout for DraftExpress.com. “The general consensus (about Williams) on the mocks maybe was higher than it actually should have been.”

Jonathan Givony, who runs the DraftExpress site, said NBA scouts are finding issue with Williams’ shot, his defense, his mechanics and even his character.

“It’s a combination of a bunch of things,” he said.

NBAdraft.net and insidehoops.com are among the mock drafts that also have Williams now in the second round.

Williams may yet land in the first round. UA coach Lute Olson says he could. But Olson also says he’s hearing that Williams “could slide well into the second.”

We’ll see on Thursday.

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  1. I tend to stay positive with my comments, but when it comes to Williams “game” I have to chime in with the sound I can hear in the distance… Over-Rated! Over-Rated! Over-Rated!

    “NBA scouts are finding issue with Williams’ shot, defense, mechanics and his character”... is that all? But I thought character issues were what make the NBA what it is today.
    — Bill J. (Billy Bob)    06/27/2007 05:24 AM    #
  2. The scouts forgot to mention lack of leadership ability. Perhaps that is covered under “character”.
    — Robert    06/27/2007 11:12 AM    #
  3. BillyBob: Don’t try to run with the “character” issue – I have been flamed bigtime in the last blog (about Suzuki) for trying to make that point. Don’t go there! Don’t!

    Character doesn’t matter! Dunks do! Team? What team? I have a contract to sign! Laws? Rules? Good sportsmanship? Team play? Respect? Those are for wussies! Outta my way, Coach! I gotta go face someone up!
    — BT    06/27/2007 11:47 AM    #
  4. Couldn’t think of a worse scenario for Williams to jump ship early. He played great his freshman year and probably would have been picked higher.

    His sophomore campaign was inconsistent, and he didn’t step up in key situations. Not really a solid resume to head to the next level.
    — Button Salmon    06/27/2007 12:28 PM    #
  5. Great statement marco. Id do the same if i didnt live in KC…....

    As stated Earlier, sell your tickets. There are fans like myself who stick with the CAT’s through thick and thin and would love to take over your season tickets.
    — Trev in KC    06/27/2007 12:52 PM    #
  6. You need your own radio show, Marco! Right between Dr Laura and Dickie V! Your analysis and insight are amazing, your thoughts are provocative, and your comments pithy and edgy! How wonderful that you are so well informed and that you basically crap ice cream! You can have the keys to the blog back now – I forgot that it was yours. How thoughtless of me to be a fan – I beg your forgiveness for invading your territory.

    Patiently awaiting your next foamy-mouthed expulsion…
    — BT    06/27/2007 01:10 PM    #
  7. BT:

    Dickie V has his own show? What, is Coach K a frequent guest?
    — Robert    06/27/2007 01:40 PM    #
  8. Things have really come pretty far when a player has a mediocre college career, then figures to go high in the draft. Now, he may turn out to be a fabulous player but….....
    — 2018    06/27/2007 01:44 PM    #
  9. You guys are all wrong – and so are the mock drafts. They don’t even have Shakura going in the first round and he’s a lock to go in round one (late but it will happen – guaranteed).
    — Steve Anthony    06/27/2007 04:40 PM    #
  10. Reading the comments is interesting. I totally agree that Marcus will be lucky to get drafted in the first round as his abilities have declined since hhis freshman year and he certainly does not have any leadership abilities.
    Regarding Shakur-I hope Radenovich has taught him Serbian because that is where he will be playing-not the NBA.
    GB
    — GB    06/27/2007 06:06 PM    #
  11. Marcus is gonna have to learn to play D now with the Spurs…...............
    — trevor wells    06/28/2007 07:54 PM    #
  12. marco – you are self-fulfilling fool in any blog, so please think about what you write. anonymity is not a reason to be an idiot.
    — Nemus    06/29/2007 08:46 AM    #
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