The other 4 recruits are on campus and have interviewed with the EP media. Williams is one of the highest rated juco players in the country and should make an immediate impact. Anyone know when he is due to arrive on campus?
When will Roderick Williams arrive at UTEP?
- Thread starter MinerInWisconsin
- Start date
If he isn't here the week after the 4th of July, there may be cause for concern. I know my son's summer courses end next week, and perhaps RW is just finishing up. Hopefully the guy makes it to campus...and soon.
I thought he had already graduated from his JC. Not 100% sure, but I think it is Williams in the picture below with his coach:
So, if Williams has yet to show up with the rest of the guys, that may not be a good sign.
So, if Williams has yet to show up with the rest of the guys, that may not be a good sign.
Just not sure. Was just taking a stab at why he may not be here.
It is not uncommon that when a kid lacks a class or two to graduate that the school allows them to walk for graduation ahead of time.
If this is anything other than something like that, it probably won't have a good outcome.
It is not uncommon that when a kid lacks a class or two to graduate that the school allows them to walk for graduation ahead of time.
If this is anything other than something like that, it probably won't have a good outcome.
Definitely agree Fanaticoog. It may just be that Williams will be coming in a bit later than the freshmen. The frustrating part is that we get nothing from the local media other than what is fed specifically from UTEP. Usually the twitter accounts are a good source, but it looks like Williams deleted his account. I haven't been able to find anything either way. Hopefully, it is just much ado about nothing, but we are all aware of previous recruits not showing up for one reason or another.
According to Bigwood sources (Jeff Darby), Williams is supposed to be here for the Summer II school session in July....
Local media has actually had that info for awhile, but most seemed to sweep that under the rug, but most of us die-hards who have been burned by kids not showing up know that is some pretty important info fans want to and need to know lol
BIGWOOD!!!! UDAMAN!!!!
Now.... How about a prediction? In my amateurish vision, the newcomers "on paper"; could all be superior to the returnees, even Omega, Willms and Thomas. From the videos I've seen...Wade, Osborne, Smith and Williams are absolute studs.
Not absolutely sure about the PG's Gilyard and Magee or St. Pierre but if these guys suited up against the returnees it could be real interesting. Wade, Williams and Osborne drive and jam like nobody we've had in ages plus they can hit from the perimeter. I realize with the exception of Williams and Osborne they are freshmen, but my money would be on them. What do you think?
Now.... How about a prediction? In my amateurish vision, the newcomers "on paper"; could all be superior to the returnees, even Omega, Willms and Thomas. From the videos I've seen...Wade, Osborne, Smith and Williams are absolute studs.
Not absolutely sure about the PG's Gilyard and Magee or St. Pierre but if these guys suited up against the returnees it could be real interesting. Wade, Williams and Osborne drive and jam like nobody we've had in ages plus they can hit from the perimeter. I realize with the exception of Williams and Osborne they are freshmen, but my money would be on them. What do you think?
Predictions as of right now......I'd say Magee is going to get some looks and surprise people and my reason is because the coaches really, really, really, like him so he will get a lot mins in Costa Rica in my opinion. Gilyard is more of a two-guard from what I've been told, so it's going to be interesting to see how he unfolds as a freshman presumably behind Omega, and maybe Touchet? But if Magee struggles, does Gilyard move over full time??? That's the biggest thing to watch in Costa Rica in terms of the PG situation....
I think I've posted this before, but Williams is going to be the biggest factor right away from any of the newcomers, and I don't think the comparison to any other will be close. He can score and effect the game without the need of having the ball in his hands so if Omega, Magee, Touchet, and others get him involved were gonna love Roderick, and he rebounds and is a tough SOB.
Osbourne may not be as effective in getting to the rim as Wade could be, what I'm hoping is Osbourne earns his niche first as a lights out shooter (i.e. take some pressure off Jake and Touchet) and the rest of his game follows, but you're right he was an aggressive driver in Canada like Wade was on his films.
Wade is a hard read, he plays and looks the part, but will he be Tymond Howard (a really good player who never got minutes), or Julian Washburn 2.0 (an effective player who gets better every time out)?
I like Tirus Smith, but he's really flabby and out of shape right now, and needs to work on some quickness/explosion before he's ready to dominate C-USA which he could able to do in the future. And St. Pierre can really benefit from a red-shirt year, health willing, we are good in shape with Jones, and Willms in my opinion.
So I think it's Williams, Osbourne's shooting, and Magee as guys who integrate with our returning core right away.
I thought for sure that Gilyard was in line to be the next big time PG at UTEP. Whether its him or McGee I really don't care, but one needs to step in pretty quick and take charge.
In regards to Wade, CTF said that he could be the best perimeter player he has coached at UTEP. That's saying a lot. I'm expecting big things from him.
Osborne I'm not sold on. I really liked Cameron so Osborne is gonna have to show me a lot. If he is a lights out shooter then--forget about it.
Williams needs to just get here, strap on his headband and go to work. He and Flaggs will be a hell of a combo at SF.
Smith will spell Thomas and has the whole year to mold himself. He and Royster will compete next year.
St. Pierre needs to red-shirt and while getting back in shape. Like Bigwood said, our rim runners Matt and Kelvin will be just fine this year.
This could be the 2nd team this year and the future at UTEP (if not starters soon):
Gilyard/McGee
Wade/Osborne
Williams
Smith
Jones
In regards to Wade, CTF said that he could be the best perimeter player he has coached at UTEP. That's saying a lot. I'm expecting big things from him.
Osborne I'm not sold on. I really liked Cameron so Osborne is gonna have to show me a lot. If he is a lights out shooter then--forget about it.
Williams needs to just get here, strap on his headband and go to work. He and Flaggs will be a hell of a combo at SF.
Smith will spell Thomas and has the whole year to mold himself. He and Royster will compete next year.
St. Pierre needs to red-shirt and while getting back in shape. Like Bigwood said, our rim runners Matt and Kelvin will be just fine this year.
This could be the 2nd team this year and the future at UTEP (if not starters soon):
Gilyard/McGee
Wade/Osborne
Williams
Smith
Jones
I say at least one or the other. CTF is against the wall and thats usually when he steps up. Also the point zone will help the new guys integrate faster, especially if they can score. On paper its UAB, WKU and UTEP top 3. UTEP plays UAB on the road this year so I'm saying they finish top 2-3 in conference. I'll go with conference tourny champs cause our PG will be experienced and our defense will be stout. They will take out both teams in the tourney.
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They have slowly begun to update the football roster. Fields has been added, he will wear #20. But the most important roster updates will be if/when the Gray Shirts(Sullivan, Pickney, and maybe Dupree) are added.
Hopefully he'll be on campus soon and won't pull a Hamilton. Speaking of Hamilton, I was wondering if he signed with an NBA team for the summer league so I googled his name and found this:
http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/isaac_hamilton_848369.html
Thought it was pretty random/funny/weird.
http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/isaac_hamilton_848369.html
Thought it was pretty random/funny/weird.
My question is can anyone guard the perimeter? Those are the issues we have had in the past
Yes that seems to be the case but actually the miners usually have near the top 3 point defense in CUSA (including last year). Maybe Wade or Osbourne can be the next Stone/Washburn on defense.
Why did he leave CSDH? Just curious.
Williams has me remembering another very athletic Williams from UTEP's recent past.
The basketball roster is now updated and Roderick Williams is on it. Sidearm is now handling UTEP's web page.
Loved JW. Would take a player like him any day. Just never understood why he didn't do that more often.
Yeah it looks pretty cool. Still needs a few updates like the walkons, weights for the holdovers and Osbourne is a Soph....
Williams must be here now since the miners were taking pictures for their poster today. I will try to get a pic. Hope for an interview early next week.
I can't find anything and his twiiter account is private. Looks like UTEP or the players are not releasing as many pics as last year. Players may be on break before the 2nd summer session. Looking forward to his interview with the media though. He should be a vital piece off the bench this year.
Still nada regarding Williams. Can't find a damn thing. Does anybody or their mother have a clue?
Nothing to worry about. It's usually a good sign when a recruit changes his twitter account right before he's due to show up on campus.
I have reached out to Jeff Darby and Bill Knight for some input. Nothing from either one of them. Are we just overreacting based on old wounds?
Unless you all think that Williams is being kept away like some kind of secret weapon, then he isn't here IMO. He is not in the directory. The bad thing is that the team already took their pictures as far as I know. UTEP and/or CTF keeping this quiet is just gonna hurt them worse and piss people off more. My best guess is that they are praying he shows/qualifies for the regular school year. Somebody needs to explain the WTF.
This is 100% speculation on my end, but since he barely graduated from JUCO last month(June 6), maybe his NCAA paperwork is still in process? or maybe his eligibility is now processed but it just wasn't processed fast enough to get him here for Summer 2? Or maybe he had to do an unexpected summer course at his JUCO and he will be here after? Or maybe he is eligible, but after a full year in college, he decided to take these 2 months off to recharge his battery instead of immediately enrolling in summer school here. Or possibly he is no longer coming. I think that those are the 5 likely scenarios and 4 out of the 5 are not necessarily bad. As of this moment, he is still on the official roster and practice is supposed to begin in a week or so, so we should know relatively soon...
Yeah, as much as I'd like to direct blame somewhere if Williams doesn't show up, I know it isn't Floyd's fault if that ends up being the case. However, with that said, how about some transparency for a change? In this day and age, with a plethora of info at society's fingertips, I don't understand why CTF/UTEP don't get out in front of this and let a trusted media outlet make a carefully crafted statement about the situation. Hiding it, or sweeping it under the rug, just seems to add to an ever increasing tension and distrust between fans and the athletic department.
Maybe I'm overreacting. Although by all appearances, probably not.
Good points. Voice of reason. Hope it's one of the 4 scenarios you laid out that are not of the bad variety.
