Benny

[Zelda Zonk]

I think i'm still more optimistic about him. I think he would develop better as a starter, but with the various 'issues' over his career, i agree that he can't (yet) be given his starting position back. Still, i think he has the potential to be more effective than JT, just because he can be more versatile. But, he really does have to get back to those fantastic four (?) games from last year. When he's hitting his mid-range shots, grabbing a few rebounds, he's good. He could be a 12ppg player. He should be. But, yeah, he doesn't take a lot of good shots. Yesterday's opening sequence for him was just dumb. Desperate. Like he thought he needed to make an immediate impact, yet didn't use brains or technique to do it. A 'cold' three would have been sweet, but it's also not the smart play, make or miss.

At this point, i'm putting half the burden of his development on Benny's Brain and the other half on the staff. The discipline is one thing. The player progress is another thing. I'm sure there's interplay between them, because sports involve the brain, but if he's not developing the physical tools to execute, that's a training matter. And once again, we have guards teaching forwards, and it's a different set of skills. That's fine when players come in with the right sensibilities and understanding, but when they don't i don't have confidence in our ability to drill them in.

 

[Scooch]

But, he really does have to get back to those fantastic four (?) games from last year.

I've seen this referenced a few times. What four games are you guys talking about?

He had an excellent game against Pitt on 2/25. A decent game vs. GT after that. Then a no-show, 8 minute game against Wake. And then the ACCT game vs. Wake where he was excellent again.

That stretch sums up the Benny experience to me. Occasionally great, but often underwhelming.

 

[Sudano]

He just has no feel for the game. Late in last night's game he ran up court ahead of his defender, he just needs to drift to the basket and get a pass from angle. Doesn't do that just stops gets a pass then immediately dribbles to the FT line but then realizes for some reason he doesn't want to do that so dribbles once and picks up the ball without pressure, no one is open he is off balance leaning forward so defender bodies him further off balance so he fires a terrible pass to a player on other side of court not expecting it but it was way off anyway so it goes out of bounds. I laughed and yelled What? He did 5 things wrong on one play in about 5 seconds.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think i'm still more optimistic about him. I think he would develop better as a starter, but with the various 'issues' over his career, i agree that he can't (yet) be given his starting position back. Still, i think he has the potential to be more effective than JT, just because he can be more versatile. But, he really does have to get back to those fantastic four (?) games from last year. When he's hitting his mid-range shots, grabbing a few rebounds, he's good. He could be a 12ppg player. He should be. But, yeah, he doesn't take a lot of good shots. Yesterday's opening sequence for him was just dumb. Desperate. Like he thought he needed to make an immediate impact, yet didn't use brains or technique to do it. A 'cold' three would have been sweet, but it's also not the smart play, make or miss.

At this point, i'm putting half the burden of his development on Benny's Brain and the other half on the staff. The discipline is one thing. The player progress is another thing. I'm sure there's interplay between them, because sports involve the brain, but if he's not developing the physical tools to execute, that's a training matter. And once again, we have guards teaching forwards, and it's a different set of skills. That's fine when players come in with the right sensibilities and understanding, but when they don't i don't have confidence in our ability to drill them in.

Outside of pure athletic ability what has he shown to be better than Taylor at from a basketball skills standpoint?

 

[Cusefan0307]

I've seen this referenced a few times. What four games are you guys talking about?

He had an excellent game against Pitt on 2/25. A decent game vs. GT after that. Then a no-show, 8 minute game against Wake. And then the ACCT game vs. Wake where he was excellent again.

That stretch sums up the Benny experience to me. Occasionally great, but often underwhelming.

He scored a bunch of points in garbage minutes against Pitt after the bottom fell out for us in that game.

 

[baggerbob]

So ...use him like we did Leo Rautins, aka "Point Forward".
JB was a pioneer in that concept- why couldn't he play mad scientist and use Benny that way?
I doubt that this will solve Benny's"issues" but if that's what's been holding him back, which it isnt , then I say "let's get creative".

Leo could do everything on the floor, Benny can't

 

[rvandersy]

Leo could do everything on the floor, Benny can't

Hope you're being sarcastic? Benny could never be a point forward.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Why so much drama about this kid after last nights blowout? I don't get it. He had 2 blocks a nice steal and hit a 3. Hes our like 9th man in the rotation. Took a couple bad shots so wasn't in long.

What more do people expect from a bench player in 10 minutes than that? We know he has issues but hasn't killed anyone or anything I doubt its extreme hes just immature.

I have never had big expectations for him since he came in under what we expected but I don't mind our 8th or 9th guy having some upside. We can't give him Bell's minutes either because we need Bell's shooting just have to pray that Chris doesn't have the same number of rebounds as a dead guy every night.

 

[rvandersy]

Why so much drama about this kid after last nights blowout? I don't get it. He had 2 blocks a nice steal and hit a 3. Hes our like 9th man in the rotation. Took a couple bad shots so wasn't in long.

What more do people expect from a bench player in 10 minutes than that? We know he has issues but hasn't killed anyone or anything I doubt its extreme hes just immature.

I have never had big expectations for him since he came in under what we expected but I don't mind our 8th or 9th guy having some upside. We can't give him Bell's minutes either because we need Bell's shooting just have to pray that Chris doesn't have the same number of rebounds as a dead guy every night.

What do you mean he came in under what we expected? He came in an athletic 5 star I believe.

 

[PhatOrange]

He’s not very good. Shows out once in awhile but otherwise he’s a 10-12 minute a game guy.

 

[CardiacCuse]

My opinion is that it's all mental with Benny. When he gets going, he's phenomenal. All it takes is a few missed shots, turnovers, or not getting the ball when he wants it (i.e. last night in the 2nd half) and it completely takes him out mentally. I feel bad for him because the talent is somewhere in there. His mental health might stop him from reaching what we and Benny wants to be at, and that's a shame.

expectations are the mother of disappointment

Benny's own expectations for himself are sky high...as they should be!

i actually thought he kinda found his role under JB last season towards the end...but thus far with Red he's uncomfortable out there...seems like he is forcing it a lot out there...the reality on any bball team is there can only be so many stars...the rest are role players ...and it seems SU already has the stars picked out...Judah, Bell, JJ, etc...there really arent enough shots to go around and benny knows it...

i mean theres a 7,4 center on the team with soft touch who barely touches the ball on offense! think about how crazy that wouldve been in the 80s/90s!!

I think he is highly aware of the pecking order on the team and his (currently low) place on it...and thus feels he needs to somehow force the issue to get a higher spot in the hierarchy of the team...as the senior player on the team, he probably feels it is his spot to be a leader...but thats not where he is on the team right now and ...its just uncomfortable for him. as it should be. there were likely offseason convos assuring him of his lead role this season...and now that it isnt exactly playing out that way we see the resentment bubbling up

i bet under JB it was wait your turn...take a support role and we will feed you when you are a junior/senior...it will work out...trust us...

and now he's a junior and still in a support role...and its giving him anxiety

it makes sense

never seen a player more suitable for a sports psychologist

i still think he can get it together..but I 100% agree it is all mental...and needs to get that part figured out before anything.

really all he needs to do is play within himself and stop forcing the issue...imo

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Outside of pure athletic ability what has he shown to be better than Taylor at from a basketball skills standpoint?

I see Taylor as being pretty limited in creating shots for himself or anyone else. He’s a catch and shoot guy who might occasionally dribble in a bit closer if someone overplays. And that’s about it. He does try to rebound. His upside is just more consistent shooting from three. I see Benny as having the potential for offense on three levels. I‘m not saying he does this consistently, but when he’s good as he has been for a handful of games and in spurts in others, that’s what he’s doing: threes, dribble across the lane and a pull up, occasional/rare stuff at the rim.

Don‘t get me wrong—I’m not a fan. I do, though, see the potential he flashes, and I’m becoming more and more concerned about JT’s shot technique and slow release. I thought JT was going to be Buddy 2.0 but he hasn’t shown any of the crafty stuff that Buddy used to do to make/get shots off. JT looks, too often, like he has to shoot at higher trajectories to avoid blocks, so not open is he.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I've seen this referenced a few times. What four games are you guys talking about?

He had an excellent game against Pitt on 2/25. A decent game vs. GT after that. Then a no-show, 8 minute game against Wake. And then the ACCT game vs. Wake where he was excellent again.

That stretch sums up the Benny experience to me. Occasionally great, but often underwhelming.

Honestly, I don’t have the memory for such things. Someone else referenced “four games” and I took their word for it. Seemed to align with my wonky recollection. And now I’ll take your word for it and say He Sucks.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

expectations are the mother of disappointment

Benny's own expectations for himself are sky high...as they should be!

i actually thought he kinda found his role under JB last season towards the end...but thus far with Red he's uncomfortable out there...seems like he is forcing it a lot out there...the reality on any bball team is there can only be so many stars...the rest are role players ...and it seems SU already has the stars picked out...Judah, Bell, JJ, etc...there really arent enough shots to go around and benny knows it...

i mean theres a 7,4 center on the team with soft touch who barely touches the ball on offense! think about how crazy that wouldve been in the 80s/90s!!

I think he is highly aware of the pecking order on the team and his (currently low) place on it...and thus feels he needs to somehow force the issue to get a higher spot in the hierarchy of the team...as the senior player on the team, he probably feels it is his spot to be a leader...but thats not where he is on the team right now and ...its just uncomfortable for him. as it should be. there were likely offseason convos assuring him of his lead role this season...and now that it isnt exactly playing out that way we see the resentment bubbling up

i bet under JB it was wait your turn...take a support role and we will feed you when you are a junior/senior...it will work out...trust us...

and now he's a junior and still in a support role...and its giving him anxiety

it makes sense

never seen a player more suitable for a sports psychologist

i still think he can get it together..but I 100% agree it is all mental...and needs to get that part figured out before anything.

really all he needs to do is play within himself and stop forcing the issue...imo

Someone should send him some John Wallace tapes.

 

[Scooch]

He scored a bunch of points in garbage minutes against Pitt after the bottom fell out for us in that game.

Shoot I forgot about those circumstances. So he had one excellent game then. Yikes.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I see Taylor as being pretty limited in creating shots for himself or anyone else. He’s a catch and shoot guy who might occasionally dribble in a bit closer if someone overplays. And that’s about it. He does try to rebound. His upside is just more consistent shooting from three. I see Benny as having the potential for offense on three levels. I‘m not saying he does this consistently, but when he’s good as he has been for a handful of games and in spurts in others, that’s what he’s doing: threes, dribble across the lane and a pull up, occasional/rare stuff at the rim.

Don‘t get me wrong—I’m not a fan. I do, though, see the potential he flashes, and I’m becoming more and more concerned about JT’s shot technique and slow release. I thought JT was going to be Buddy 2.0 but he hasn’t shown any of the crafty stuff that Buddy used to do to make/get shots off. JT looks, too often, like he has to shoot at higher trajectories to avoid blocks, so not open is he.

If he could be an offensive threat on three levels we’d see that now. We don’t. It’s not happening, unless he changes his mindset completely. It’s not happening.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I see Taylor as being pretty limited in creating shots for himself or anyone else. He’s a catch and shoot guy who might occasionally dribble in a bit closer if someone overplays. And that’s about it. He does try to rebound. His upside is just more consistent shooting from three. I see Benny as having the potential for offense on three levels. I‘m not saying he does this consistently, but when he’s good as he has been for a handful of games and in spurts in others, that’s what he’s doing: threes, dribble across the lane and a pull up, occasional/rare stuff at the rim.

Don‘t get me wrong—I’m not a fan. I do, though, see the potential he flashes, and I’m becoming more and more concerned about JT’s shot technique and slow release. I thought JT was going to be Buddy 2.0 but he hasn’t shown any of the crafty stuff that Buddy used to do to make/get shots off. JT looks, too often, like he has to shoot at higher trajectories to avoid blocks, so not open is he.

I’m giving the sophomore more benefit of doubt here. I don’t get why our fans think Benny has this potential. Three level scorer? He can’t handle the ball at all.

He’s played over 60 career games and scored 4.6 ppg. Last year alone he had 10 games where he scored two points or less and 12 games with two rebounds or less, but supposedly that was JB’s fault. I think everyone keeps expecting him to be this superstar based on his high school ranking or something other than actual production.

Our fans seem to be looking for a superstar in that spot. We need a role player who rebounds, isn’t a ball stopper, and can make an open shot.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

So ...use him like we did Leo Rautins, aka "Point Forward".
JB was a pioneer in that concept- why couldn't he play mad scientist and use Benny that way?
I doubt that this will solve Benny's"issues" but if that's what's been holding him back, which it isnt , then I say "let's get creative".

Really? NBA first round pick Leo Rautins? That’s the comp? You’ve been bewitched by Benny, me thinks.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Why so much drama about this kid after last nights blowout? I don't get it. He had 2 blocks a nice steal and hit a 3. Hes our like 9th man in the rotation. Took a couple bad shots so wasn't in long.

What more do people expect from a bench player in 10 minutes than that? We know he has issues but hasn't killed anyone or anything I doubt its extreme hes just immature.

I have never had big expectations for him since he came in under what we expected but I don't mind our 8th or 9th guy having some upside. We can't give him Bell's minutes either because we need Bell's shooting just have to pray that Chris doesn't have the same number of rebounds as a dead guy every night.

I don't think anyone's dumping on Benny just for the hell of it- if we didn't give a siht , we'd say nothing.
The kid came in highly recruited and has shown flashes, but he just can't seem to put it all together. It'd certainly be worth it if he could get over the hump, and we're all hoping it'll happen.
A tuned in Benny would make us a tougher out, perhaps even Top 25. So why not?

 

[DoctorBombay]

Really? NBA first round pick Leo Rautins? That’s the comp? You’ve been bewitched by Benny, me thinks.

In no way, shape, or form am I suggesting that Benny is the equal of Leo Rautins. That's ludicrous.
I am saying that if he was a PG who experienced a growth spurt, as someone suggested, then perhaps you try to utilize him as a Point Forward, like JB did w/ Rautins. I'm referencing the position, not the players.
And I mention Leo because at that time, the Point Forward position was not common. Leo was one of the first, and kudos to JB for having the coaching acumen to use him in that manner

 

[bevosu]

What do you mean he came in under what we expected? He came in an athletic 5 star I believe.

Somebody might have given him 5 stars, but all I remember is 4.

Basketball Recruiting - Benny Williams - Player Profiles - ESPN

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I’m giving the sophomore more benefit of doubt here. I don’t get why our fans think Benny has this potential. Three level scorer? He can’t handle the ball at all.

He’s played over 60 career games and scored 4.6 ppg. Last year alone he had 10 games where he scored two points or less and 12 games with two rebounds or less, but supposedly that was JB’s fault. I think everyone keeps expecting him to be this superstar based on his high school ranking or something other than actual production.

Our fans seem to be looking for a superstar in that spot. We need a role player who rebounds, isn’t a ball stopper, and can make an open shot.

I’ve never said he’s adept at the three levels. But he has shown glimpses where JT is pretty much a one level guy. But whatever. Don’t push all the other hype on me—I was never sold on the “five star” rating. I thought it was BS that a lot of us here sorta ‘bumped up’ his 4 stars to 5. No, not a superstar. As I said, I think he can be a 12ppg guy. That’s not a star, just a solid contributor, in the mold you are describing.

 

[Sherman20]

I think it's more likely he's the same player he's always been. Fans keep expecting more productivity when we have 60 plus games showing this is who he is.

Very few people expect Benny to be a star at this point. We just need him to be a solid power forward who rebounds, plays good D and can block shots and score in the paint or in the mid range. I don’t know if he understands or accepts that but hopefully he eventually will. We can’t write him off because we’re gonna need his size and athleticism against bigger and stronger teams. Maliq, JT and Bell won’t be enough.

 

[CLMintz]

Judah again was arrogant and dismissive during the Gonzaga presser. JJ was much more professional. Its clear to me that, at a minimum, Bell and Mintz think they are better than they are. arrogance and ignorance are awful qualities to have.

You mistake confidence for arrogance. And to suggest that they are ignorant is mean-spirited on your part. And you’re actually ignorant for making that comment because you don’t personally know either of them. They are actually quite bright and, and Judah has a very engaging personality and a great smile.

 

[two3zone]

He scored a bunch of points in garbage minutes against Pitt after the bottom fell out for us in that game.

He sure was smiling and very proud of himself.