Mark Williams Thread

The “guard on there perimeter” is largely a fantasy. Centers that can do that are generally undersized and not huge offensive players. Bam is one but offensively he isn’t spectacular.

The two best centers in the league can’t. Embiid and jokic.

You just can’t be Roy hibbert or Drummond anymore.

That touch does look good, FT and shooting much better than Duren.

That foot speed…Add to above what does Duren much do better? Run.
MW not the slowest half court big, may be fastest 7 footer out there, in a league w/o 7 footers.

Not in same class, but uncomfortably closer to Vernon Carey and Nick Richards than Kai Jones and JT.

That video looked good. I am thinking more and more that the FO is VERY happy that they got Mark AND a 2023 pick. We are better off today than we were yesterday. If that other kid can work out as a backup PG, then we had exactly what I wanted to see out of this draft: a center and pg drafted - excellent!

I’m a Tar Heel guy so hated this dude in college obviously lol. But seriously though he has some good tools, we shall how he does. More interested to see how his game translates on the offensive side more than anything else.

NED welcome to hornetsplanet at such a bad time . I hope the DOOK kid does good to . He seams to have all the tools .

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I actually went back and took some time to watch some full play highlights (including misses) of Jalen Duren and I didn’t particularly like what I saw compared to this and in game footage of Williams. I think Jalen’s talented but I don’t see the higher “upside” people are talking about. Being 2 years younger doesn’t mean you have higher upside; it just means you have more time to work on your game. My problem with Duren is he doesn’t have the greatest mechanics or touch, nor does he seem to have very good defensive IQ. His body is great and he’s athletic as hell, but I wouldn’t be surprise if he never becomes more than a solid starter.

His 3 pt shot reminds me of Embiid a tiny bit, which is a good thing as Embiid has excellent form and mechanics.

Man, he is HUGE! I freeze framed that video and there is a point where he is on his tip toes with his fingers wrapped around the rim.

Seems to move pretty well, he also seems to have soft hands and a nice touch.

Were we just gifted a starting center?

re: athletic as hell.

I’m so wait and see with these types. Seems like there have been more misses than hits with highly touted bigs. It’s almost as if they need to be deeper in the draft with a chip on their shoulder to put in the work to make a difference.

That’s not to say anything negative of Duren. But I’m happy to have a more developed player in Williams for what we need.

But also prepared for Howard/Okafor 2.0.

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One other thing I notice is Williams is very efficient and quick with his body movement for a big. Some of those block shots are lightening fast responses, and he very quickly converts a lob or pass into a bucket. That alone seems like will benefit us tremendously, particularly as we try to spread the floor more.

Edit: also, he shows some touch. It looks like he can make a second move and get a bucket. That’s also something I feel like we’ve been missing with many of our past bigs.

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Too me, this is far more valuable and important than “switch ability”

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Agree, although Williams doesn’t look like he has stone feet either. If nothing else, he looks like he can generate time and misdirection for the team to respond.

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Here’s where I’m at after watching 20 minutes of highlight videos (which is to say, still no idea.):

  • He’s going to be a lob machine. Melo is going to love him. He and Bridges are going to make us play like a hockey team.
  • He’s going to change a lot of shots. Probably going to be the best shot blocker we’ve ever had.
  • All of his weaknesses (shot making, perimeter offense, switching) look like he can grow. There’s nothing about his fluidity or approach that make me think he can’t at least be serviceable in those categories.
  • Dude’s going to make a lot of fouls and turnovers this first year. We need to be patient with him as he figures out the game. I’m expecting a fair amount of foul outs and head shaking passes. But, he seems like a guy that will grow and figure things out once he gets adjusted to the speed of the game and continues to work.

Feeling optimistic about the guy.

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I expect Mark to dominate summer league play and I can’t wait to see him go up against Jalen D and Chet. I am also hoping that we keep Mason around until Mark is ready for a larger role. In fact, that is exactly what I expect from Cliff - a smart easy transition for Mark.

Yes. Those are the fundamental shooting mechanics I saw that makes me feel like he could develop a 30-35% NBA three point shot. His shot is fundamentally sound. A Myles Turner-esque percentage (33-34%).

The only thing is that he tends to shoot from his chest a little bit. Mark needs to raise his release point while keeping that elbow tucked. This is a relatively easy fix. However, Melo tends to shoot from his chest and it works out, but he can have his own cold streaks. I actually like mark’s form better than Lamelo’s than when I first saw melo’s form pre-draft.

Oh, and his footwork needs a lot of help watching him try to get set for three point shots. But that’s too be expected, he’s not a SG lol.

Posting this without much comment. MY GOODNESS. Screen grab from the vid posted above.

Best measurements of anyone I have seen in our roster. Evidently second best standing reach in NBA.

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If he does well during the preseason he could win the starting role like PJ did.

All I know is that the first 20 min of the Elite 8 game - Duke v Arkansas - Mark Williams was the best player on the floor. Absolutely dominated

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Watched the highlights. Definitely impressive. What stood out to you while watching the game? (I’m assuming you watched it live.)

Of course I did.

Quite frankly his length and ability to move in spite of that length. Arkansas is extremely well coached. Eric Musselman doesn’t get out prepared. But after that game it was evident it was men against boys. No X and Os about it.

Fast forward 1 month and Arkansas has signed 4 guys 6’10 or better out of the portal.

The Mark Williams effect.

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Yeah that does sound like men v boys. That is why I want to see what happens in the summer league and pre-season. I am trying not to get ahead of myself but I hope that he’s our center answer because PJ ain’t it. I guess a reasonable expectation is for him to be a solid back-up center for us this season. My real hope is that he becomes our starter center sooner than later.

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