Amir Williams

I don't really understand why he is starting for us at center or even logging minutes at the center position. He is very soft defensively as he won't bang down in the paint and his offensive game doesn't exist. I think we have a better chance with Trey Macdonald then him after Ravenel of course. What's your guys thoughts on him?

tdible2132 on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:17pm #

I've seen better hands on a clock

tdible2132 on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:18pm #

Kid has potential though

Knarcisi on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:18pm #

Agreed. What pisses me off more than his lack of ability is his apparent lack of effort and passion. He seems lifeless. No fight. What he needs to do in the offseason to have a chance ... 1) Work on his hands and receiving the ball. Take 200 bounce passes a day from the low pivot to where he receives the ball and gets it above his shoulders naturally. 2) Take a deep look inside and ask himself what he is made of.

Basso Profondo on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:24pm #

I agree, what is wrong with Amir? He obviously has a lot of talent, but why is it not showing on the court? The guy hardly even seems interested while playing. For people who have followed basketball much longer than I, what is usually the explanation for such consistently lethargic play exhibited by one guy?

Squirrel Master on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:37pm #

You seriously think McDonald will come in and then all of a sudden he will be the answer? I think you are hoping more than being serious. Amir is not playing great and he is not a starter but McDonald isn't the answer. I think it seems to be working right now with Amir starting and using his size to get things started and then Ravenel getting the most minutes of all the centers. Plus they are using that small lineup now and are finding some effective lineups.

They are on a winning streak that includes wins over MSU, Indy and Illinois which are all revenge wins. I don't think this is the best time to complain about what Matta is doing. I believe it is working just fine.

I mean he played for 10 minutes. Not like Matta had him out there the whole game. and McDonald isn't the answer either.

Knarcisi on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:44pm #

Of course McDonald is not the answer, but getting him meaningful minutes and seeing what he can do is a better option. We've gotten a very good sampling of Amir. You saw what Thad thought of his effort today. Gave him the quick hook after lazy D and never saw the floor again.

Urban_Can_Recruit on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:47pm #

I never said anything at all about Macdonald starting so I don't know where you got that or if you're just trying to make stuff up. I'm not complaining about the way Matta is running the team, I am asking fellow buckeye fans their opinions of Amir Williams. And it is my opinion that Trey has better skills right now than Amir. So next time maybe you shouldn't 1) try to put words into my mouth 2) analyze my post as trying to complain about coaching.

Urban_Can_Recruit on 10 Mar 2013 - 10:52pm #

Sorry I misread and thought you put I said Trey as a starter my bad.

Squirrel Master on 10 Mar 2013 - 11:32pm #

no problem. I will defend though that it does sound like you are questioning Matta's strategy with Amir and Trey though. I'm not saying what he is doing with Amir is right, I am a fan but also agree he is not ready to start, just that right now is not really the best time to do something like that. The team seems to be clicking pretty well right now and even though individually Amir isn't doing much, he does help the team defense by just being the shot blocking threat that he is. I think it does matter that he can come from anywhere and get a big block and that opponents have to be cognizant of that. He doesn't look good out there, I agree. Same can be said about Ross but I think both Amir and Ross are providing the threat of their skills to allow the good players to do what they can.

Just hear me out. Do you think it helps Craft, not that he needs much, with his aggressive on ball defense knowing that a shot eraser is behind him in Amir despite whether Amir does effect the play or not? I think that Matta sees something that none of us do and that is how he effects the other teammates. Plus if there is a player that gets Craft motivated as a leader it is Amir. He takes it personal to motivate Amir and gets in his face sometimes. Matta must believe there is something there.

Again, no issues with your point, just feel that things seem to be working right now. I think a change would be bad timing.

b_pbucksfans on 11 Mar 2013 - 10:47am #

I really dont know how you can say Amir is a shot eraser? He is averaging 1.4 blocks a game but also averages 1 TO a game. What is the upside to him playing? He's soft in the post and uninterested in the game. Slam Thompson is averaging 1 block a game FWIW.

moopdawg on 10 Mar 2013 - 11:03pm #

I think McDonald has shown a lot more fire in his limited playing time than Amir. The only thing Amir has over Trey is size. I guess, maybe for defense, Amir has his role. It's hard to believe that McDonald would be less effective than Amir if he were given more minutes. I don't think anyone is saying that McDonald is the answer. He just a kid that some of us would like to see play more.

DetroitBuckeye on 10 Mar 2013 - 11:37pm #

He really stuggles but he has such a high ceiling. Still though he has to get playing time for his development, plus to be fair he is the only legitimate shot blocker on this team. He just can't rebound.

Toilrt Paper on 10 Mar 2013 - 11:44pm #

FORGET about this year it's almost over. The biggest problem is Matta didn't find the answer in the 2013 class either. No post players. Next year it WILL BE Williams and McDonald. No Ravenel and maybe no Thomas to play the 5 in a small lineup being used a lot here of late.

SwisherBuck33 on 11 Mar 2013 - 12:35am #

I would start McDonald over Williams. McDonald looked good in his little playing time, he showed he can at least defend while Williams is a bust (yes in the days of one and dones a top 5 player of his position can be called a bust after 2 years) and needs to ride the bench as an upperclassmen, if that doesn't lit a fire under his ass nothing will

KJR10 on 11 Mar 2013 - 12:37am #

Someone needs to feed this kid a sammich. I see him on campus all the time, looks like a string bean.

PDoggett73 on 11 Mar 2013 - 8:44am #

I used to think guys playing so timid had to do with Mata not playing his bench much and guys were afraid to make mistakes, but it seems like Amir just doesn't have any confidence and a lot of our younger guys don't have very good jump shots. I really hope something can light a fire under Amir or it's not going to be pretty next year.

Jack Fu on 11 Mar 2013 - 9:12am #

Well we went long stretches of yesterday's game playing a small lineup of Craft-Scott-Smith-Thompson-Thomas, and Williams only played 10 minutes, so maybe Thad is curtailing his minutes as the games are getting more meaningful. Could just be a one game thing, but I liked what I saw out of the smallball lineup. It's not a bad idea given how little we've gotten out of the center position this year.

As for Williams himself, he's just not good. And it's not just that he's "soft" -- he looks like he doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't look like a basketball player; he looks like a really tall guy the coaching staff found on campus and threw out there, without asking if he'd ever actually played before. I've pretty much stopped hoping for significant improvement. Anything positive we get out of him, now or in the future, will just be a pleasant bonus to me.

brandonbauer87 on 11 Mar 2013 - 10:29am #

Once Amir learns to play his natural game and not foul he'll be good. He never finds the flow because he's worried about fouling. That said, I'm not sure he's going to find that balance anytime soon. He just looks uncomfortable out there.