March 30, 201511 yr Congrats to WCS to being named to the All American team, he is UKs 25th first team All American.
March 30, 201511 yr Author He has came a far way since his freshman year. He always had the athletic ability but I Dont think anyone seen him being an All American one day. Especially even during the year last year when people were saying Dakari was better and was happy he started to start over WCS after a very bad stretch of games by WCS. He has come a far way and I love seeing the player he has become. We have became spoiled as UK fans with freshman being great right away and we forget that players can get better the longer they stay.
March 30, 201511 yr As a UK fan, I am happy for him but Willie is no first-team All-American. If he had the same quality of play but was at Iona instead of UK he wouldn't receive a mention. Great athleticism and fun to watch(at times) but All-American... NO WAY!
March 30, 201511 yr While I agree that Willie may not look like what we want from an All-American skill wise...but let's think on it a bit further. Willie has a particular set of skills...Being able to defend all 5 players on the floor is something very few players have ever been able to do, WCS was by most accounts the defensive POY in College basketball. If players can make the AAT while being scorers without the ability to guard a Nun in a phone booth (and there have been plenty of those) or the ability to do pretty much anything but shoot. Then WCS can make the AAT as a Defense First player IMO.
March 30, 201511 yr While I agree that Willie may not look like what we want from an All-American skill wise...but let's think on it a bit further. Willie has a particular set of skills...Being able to defend all 5 players on the floor is something very few players have ever been able to do, WCS was by most accounts the defensive POY in College basketball. If players can make the AAT while being scorers without the ability to guard a Nun in a phone booth (and there have been plenty of those) or the ability to do pretty much anything but shoot. Then WCS can make the AAT as a Defense First player IMO. You make a substantial point. I guess we get accustomed to thinking about All-Americans in terms of their offensive prowess. Willie has awe-inspiring athleticism but I cringe when he tries to score the ball from more than 6 ft from the basket. I think his shot will continue to improve as he goes forward but he and Dakari can lay some major bricks if they are outside dunk range. Plus, Willie has the psyche of Joseph Daniel Votto at times. Just seems to be living outside the material world at times.
March 31, 201511 yr Congrats Willie. Well deserved honor. With Karl making the second team makes it twice as nice.
March 31, 201511 yr Congrats to WCS and KAT. Question .... which player would you rather have on your team?
March 31, 201511 yr Congrats to WCS and KAT. Question .... which player would you rather have on your team? KAT.
March 31, 201511 yr I'm just not seeing All-American... DPOY, maybe. I can see All American, but not 1st Team.
March 31, 201511 yr Congrats to WCS and KAT. Question .... which player would you rather have on your team? Towns
March 31, 201511 yr I'm just not seeing All-American... DPOY, maybe. But if you're the best defensive player in the country why isn't there a spot for you on the All-American team? If you're going to put Okafor on there, and he's just awful on defense, why can't you put his opposite number on there? He's as much one-sided as Cauley-Stein. Like it or not college basketball is a defensive game right now. The defenses fast outshine the offenses. So why would the best defensive player not be an All-American?
March 31, 201511 yr As a UK fan, I am happy for him but Willie is no first-team All-American. If he had the same quality of play but was at Iona instead of UK he wouldn't receive a mention. Great athleticism and fun to watch(at times) but All-American... NO WAY! This. Except for the UK fan part. Other than that...spot on.
March 31, 201511 yr But if you're the best defensive player in the country why isn't there a spot for you on the All-American team? If you're going to put Okafor on there, and he's just awful on defense, why can't you put his opposite number on there? He's as much one-sided as Cauley-Stein. Like it or not college basketball is a defensive game right now. The defenses fast outshine the offenses. So why would the best defensive player not be an All-American? Put him on the second or third team. The fact that he is first team shows that the quality of college basketball is at an all time low.
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