"Robert Williams has a chance to be one of the better players that's ever played here

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GE
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8:40a, 11/9/16
AG
Billy Kennedy quote.

I tend to agree with him and extremely excited to see what he can do. Probably won't be a four year player but hopefully we get at least a couple great seasons out of him.

This kid is pretty much what everyone had hoped Deandre would be but he can shoot a bit too.
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bobinator
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8:53a, 11/9/16
AG
Why don't we let the guy play a bit before we decide he's better than DeAndre was.

The mists of time have made DeAndre worse than he really was. Dude averaged 7.9 pts and 6 boards on a team that had a senior Joe Jones and sophomore Bryan Davis on it while playing for a first year coach that seemed to struggle piecing together his personnel for a lot of that season.
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GE
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In reply to bobinator • 9:01a, 11/9/16
AG
bobinator said:
Why don't we let the guy play a bit before we decide he's better than DeAndre was.

The mists of time have made DeAndre worse than he really was. Dude averaged 7.9 pts and 6 boards on a team that had a senior Joe Jones and sophomore Bryan Davis on it while playing for a first year coach that seemed to struggle piecing together his personnel for a lot of that season.
Deandre had good production for a freshman post, but not relative to expectations and where he was drafted. Williams seems to have similar athleticism, more refined basketball fundamentals, but less height and overall length. I think he will match or exceed Jordan's production in less overall minutes.

He also wont go 2 for 23 from the line to start the season.
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bobinator
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9:08a, 11/9/16
AG
I mean there's no doubt that Jordan had a disappointing season compared to what everyone hoped, but at the same time he was a lot better than people seem to remember him being. I also think Turgeon misused him, but that doesn't really matter now.

But we'll see on Williams' fundamentals. I don't think we really know anything yet on that front.

I really like Williams, he's certainly a whole different kind of athlete size combo than most guys we've had lately. Like a midpoint between DeAndre Jordan and Ray Turner maybe. But I'd like to see him actually do some stuff before we're sending him off to the NBA draft.
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Steeple
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9:22a, 11/9/16
Darby is over the moon with this guy
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Pumpkinhead
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9:26a, 11/9/16
AG
Yeah, Deandre had a better freshman season than many seem to remember. I guess his very short career at A&M didn't live up to the hype when we signed him, and that has dimmed some poster's view of how well he actually did.

Robert Williams still has A LOT of college basketball to play. He clearly is another level athlete than we typically have seen at A&M, and when we play a team like Kentucky, Williams is going to be able to run around and jump up high right there with them. He also played on Houston Hoops with De'Aaron Fox so hopefully Williams will have a good feel already for how to block Fox's favorite go-to moves .

But we also need to see how he does vs. some bigger stronger competition. Those St. Edwards kids had no chance.

Regarding comparing Williams to Jordan, I will go ahead and make one bold prediction though that, yes, Williams will shoot free throws better than Deandre did as a freshman at A&M. Actually, I'll make the bold prediction that Williams will have a higher FT% than Jordan will this current season playing for the Clippers . Heck, 80% of the folks in the stands could probably come down and shoot a better FT% than Deandre.
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Kyle Field Shade Chaser
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9:48a, 11/9/16
AG
Not a fan of crowning kids before they've played a game (exhibitions and D2's don't count). But he definitely passes the eye test.
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bobinator
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In reply to Kyle Field Shade Chaser • 10:12a, 11/9/16
AG
TST said:
Not a fan of crowning kids before they've played a game (exhibitions and D2's don't count). But he definitely passes the eye test.
Whew no kidding. I thought some of what he did to those poor kids at St. Edward's could be against the Geneva conventions.

He's going to put so many dudes on posters this year.
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Expert Analysis
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10:16a, 11/9/16
AG
Everyone has a chance to be one of the better players that have played here...some people just have a higher chance than others
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In reply to bobinator • 12:11p, 11/9/16
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AG
bobinator said:
I mean there's no doubt that Jordan had a disappointing season compared to what everyone hoped, but at the same time he was a lot better than people seem to remember him being. I also think Turgeon misused him, but that doesn't really matter now.

But we'll see on Williams' fundamentals. I don't think we really know anything yet on that front.

I really like Williams, he's certainly a whole different kind of athlete size combo than most guys we've had lately. Like a midpoint between DeAndre Jordan and Ray Turner maybe. But I'd like to see him actually do some stuff before we're sending him off to the NBA draft.


If you also look through the fog of time, you'll see that in critical times in games, Jordan was not in there and was not a factor. He was a lazy player and a lazy teammate at the time. Since he left, he has greatly matured and has become a great ambassador for Texas A&M. Kudos to him for his success and his loyalty to A&M and to the memory of Tobi. With that said, he was a limited basketball player in 2008 with the physical skills to make a few highlight reel plays a game.
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bobinator
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12:33p, 11/9/16
AG
He was in there sometimes, but why would he be a factor at critical times? He was a limited offensive player, especially compared to Jones or Davis. He was a better rebounder because of his athleticism, but a non-factor on offense partially because defenses would just foul him. Hell, he's one of the best centers in the NBA and the Clippers pull him out at crucial times because of that.

Anyway, I'm not saying he was awesome that year, certainly not compared with expectations, but he still had a decent year. He led the team in rebounding and blocks.
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czar_iv
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1:04p, 11/9/16
AG
Quote:
Anyway, I'm not saying he was awesome that year, certainly not compared with expectations, but he still had a decent year. He led the team in rebounding and blocks.
I don't remember much stats that year for Jordan, but I remember Jordan was a non-factor for that team. If he decided not to show for a game, he wouldn't have been missed. The fans might not even noticed. Maybe it was Turgeon; maybe it was Deandre; either way he was a bust as a Texas A&M basketball player.
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bobinator
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In reply to czar_iv • 1:11p, 11/9/16
AG
How can your leading rebounder be a non-factor?
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czar_iv
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In reply to bobinator • 1:12p, 11/9/16
AG
Did you want that team or those games?
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Method Man
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1:16p, 11/9/16
He was the leading rebounder because he was tall. He got worked. Y'all called BD a baby deer but Deandre was a baby elk. He wasn't as bad as people say but he was a liability often because he was so lost.
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czar_iv
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1:21p, 11/9/16
AG
Here are the leading rebounders for the last few games that season:

03/14/08 8:20 p.m. ^ vs Kansas State W 63-60 (7)ELONU, Chinemelu
03/15/08 3:20 p.m. ^ vs Kansas 71-77 L (7)DAVIS, Bryan
03/20/08 4:30 p.m. ! vs Brigham Young W 67-62 (12)JONES, Joseph
03/22/08 6:38 p.m. vs UCLA 49-51 L 17600 (8)KIRK, Dominique

If Jordan was so important and talented, where was his rebounding against better competition? We had 3 guys that rebound as well as Jordan that year (i.e Jones, Elonu and Davis) and they brought more to the table than Jordan. If Jordan didn't show up to the NCAA tournament that year, A&M fans wouldn't have cared. He did close to nothing that year.
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bobinator
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1:22p, 11/9/16
AG
I also seem to remember him starting to come on late in conference play and he got really sick or whatever happened and basically didn't play the Big 12 tournament and didn't do anything in the NCAAT games.

He was really really good in the game at Baylor.

Anyway, my point in all this was to basically say that matching Jordan's production would be a pretty good freshman year for Williams.
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bobinator
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In reply to czar_iv • 1:24p, 11/9/16
AG
You left out that the led, or tied for the lead, in rebounds in all five games he played before those.

Like I said, he didn't play in the Big 12 Tournament much at all (and literally not at all against Iowa State) and Turgeon said he was sick and it obviously carried over into the next week.
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czar_iv
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In reply to bobinator • 1:26p, 11/9/16
AG
Williams' body language, attitude and hustle in an exhibition game was more positive than Jordan did during any game at A&M. IMO, Williams' impact will far surpass Jordan's contribution to the A&M program.
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GrayMatter
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1:38p, 11/9/16
AG
Woah, just tap the breaks there. It's not fair to the player to be compared to an NBA starter and a great ambassador for our program. It doesn't do him justice nor Deandre and you're comparing apples to oranges. It's a different team and coach. I don't think he's going to be a one and done player, but his athleticism is something we have sorely been missing from our team. We now have depth and that is huge because we can afford to bring him along slowly knowing that Davis will demand attention in the paint.

I can already predict a highlight reel worthy put back at some point during the season. With Williams in the lineup commanding the paint, teams are going to have to shoot over us because he'll be swatting every layup in to the first row.
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bobinator
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In reply to czar_iv • 1:41p, 11/9/16
AG
They probably will. And again I wasn't trying to rewrite the DeAndre Jordan year as some sort of high water mark for A&M post play, all I said is he wasn't as bad here as people make him out to be. If he wouldn't have been a mega recruit and hadn't have left for the NBA immediately, we'd look at it as a pretty good freshman season.

Freshmen big men:

DeAndre: 20 mins, 7.9 pts, 6 rbs, 44 total blocks
Bryan Davis: 7 mins/gm, 1.9 pts, 2.6 rbs, 13 blocks
Chinemelu Elonu: 5.1 mins, 1.7 pts, 1.8 rbs, 9 blocks
Joe Jones: (no mins found), 15.3 points, 6.5 rbs, 16 blocks
David Loubeau: 13.5 mins, 4.6 pts, 3.2 rbs, 6 blocks
Kourtney Roberson: 12.7 mins, 5.7 pts, 2.3 rbs, 7 blocks
Tyler Davis: 22.8 mins, 11.3 pts, 6.2 rbs, 41 blocks
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bobinator
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In reply to GrayMatter • 1:47p, 11/9/16
AG
What will also help him a lot is that Davis is a great rebounder so he'll be a little more free to take some risks on blocks knowing we have a dominant big man still in there.
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GE
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1:50p, 11/9/16
AG
FWIW the intention of the original post was not to bash Deandre in any way. He was good for a freshman and had some pretty awesome highlights. He's also a fantastic representative of the school.

The point I'm trying to make is Williams has similar athleticism and length to Deandre but isn't nearly as raw as Jordan was as a freshman. Would not be surprised to see him play 20 minutes per game or more.
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bobinator
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1:57p, 11/9/16
AG
Yeah... sorry I managed to derail this thread pretty effectively. It's just something that I see quite a bit that's been sort of gnawing at me. I can't wait to see what he can do, if his season is significantly better than DeAndre's was then we're going to have a hell of a frontcourt.

Kennedy has dropped hints that Williams can actually shoot from distance a little bit. If he even has Ray Turner type distance on his shot that's a gamechanger.
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GE
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2:08p, 11/9/16
AG
Him taking those two outside shots without hesitation in the exhibiton and draining one of them makes me assume it's a part of his game.
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CactusThomas
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In reply to bobinator • 2:10p, 11/9/16
AG
bobinator said:
How can your leading rebounder be a non-factor?


Perhaps no one missed a shot that year?
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GrayMatter
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In reply to GE • 3:16p, 11/9/16
AG
Yeah I probably read too much into it. But I see what you're saying. At this point, we'll just have to wait and see how the year ends. While Deandre wasn't asked to do much because BD and Jones were there; I think Williams will have a bigger role.
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Mikeyshooter
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3:37p, 11/9/16
AG
I think people remember the way it ended with DJ. Something happened between him and Turge the week leading up to the Big 12 Tournament.

Iowa State - DNP
Kansas State - 5 min
Kansas - 4 min

BYU - 5 min
UCLA - 15 min
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Pumpkinhead
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In reply to CactusThomas • 3:55p, 11/9/16
AG
CactusThomas said:
bobinator said:
How can your leading rebounder be a non-factor?


Perhaps no one missed a shot that year?


That was the Turgeon team that scored only 10 points in the first half in a game @Oklahoma. Deandre should have had 15 offensive rebounds in just that game alone.
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EconAg11
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4:05p, 11/9/16
AG



I was at the scrimmage and I really liked what I saw from Williams. I haven't seen a freshman with so much energy since Ray Turner. Other than his dunk at Mizzou the video i posted is my favorite Ray Turner moment. I definitely see Williams having similar moments.
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CDub06
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4:24p, 11/9/16
AG
But how are his no-jumpers?
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Serious Lee
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9:00p, 11/9/16
i went to both exhbitions in '07 against emporia and TSTU and i dont remember DJ looking anywhere near as dominant as williams did. RW is just so more instinctual as a shot blocker and likely a better rebounder. For a 7 footer, DJ should have averaged better than 6 per game. I remember him grabbing all of 2 boards his first game and turge slamming him for it.
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Method Man
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10:10p, 11/9/16
Robert is an instinctual shot blocker and has a better jumper than a lot of guys.
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In reply to GrayMatter • 11:11p, 11/9/16
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AG
AggieBaller98 said:
Woah, just tap the breaks there. It's not fair to the player to be compared to an NBA starter and a great ambassador for our program. It doesn't do him justice nor Deandre and you're comparing apples to oranges. It's a different team and coach. I don't think he's going to be a one and done player, but his athleticism is something we have sorely been missing from our team. We now have depth and that is huge because we can afford to bring him along slowly knowing that Davis will demand attention in the paint.

I can already predict a highlight reel worthy put back at some point during the season. With Williams in the lineup commanding the paint, teams are going to have to shoot over us because he'll be swatting every layup in to the first row.
He's not comparing Williams to an NBA starter. He's comparing him to a freshman 7-footer that had some spectacular plays and racked up stats against lesser competition, but his attitude and lack of hustle in practice (not illness) limited his minutes in the postseason. Evaluating both players at this same stage of their careers, Williams is the better collegiate basketball player. Jordan obviously has the higher NBA ceiling.
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PatAg
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In reply to czar_iv • 1:53a, 11/10/16
AG
czar_iv said:
Quote:
Anyway, I'm not saying he was awesome that year, certainly not compared with expectations, but he still had a decent year. He led the team in rebounding and blocks.
I don't remember much stats that year for Jordan, but I remember Jordan was a non-factor for that team. If he decided not to show for a game, he wouldn't have been missed. The fans might not even noticed. Maybe it was Turgeon; maybe it was Deandre; either way he was a bust as a Texas A&M basketball player.
Bust is an idiotic way to think of his time here.
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