DMN story on Dement

[SMUguy]

Great story by Rick Alonzo on Dement. Pointed out his successes, but also showed his shortcomings in the postseason.

Thought it was really interesting to read the differing opinions on Dement offered by Willie Davis and Stephen Woods.

[TheSkelf]

If Willie hated it so much here, he should have transferred. He obiously never respected Dement. He was suspended several times for "misconduct."

I think he is just bitter. He is bitter that in a year when he was supposed to be one of the dominant players in the WAC, he was flat. And he is jealous that Sasser got all the pub last year.

I am not saying that he didn't help this team tremendously, but he felt short of everyone's expectations. Any short conversation with Willie reveals that he is bitter that he didn't get drafted right off the bat into the league. He is overly confident. He talks about his dribbling skills, and that he should have been bringing the ball up the court. That is a load of crap. He wasn't that fast and I never saw him show any spectular moves.

I know for a fact that he went to many, many NBA camps after the draft, which does say alot for his talent, but if he was that good, he would be in the league.

I used to be a HUGE Wille D fan, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Stephen Woods seems alot more credible. I have never heard Woods say anything negative about the coaching. Woods is a good example of a coachable player, much like Voc. Anyone that saw Voc play last year knows that he always follows Dement's calls and respects him.

I don't think many players respect Dement for some reason. He is a good coach, but those that don't have faith in him won't follow his lead.

[Rambo]

I second that, for the most part. Are you saying that Willie didn't play out of position for 4 years, and that it didn't have a negative effect on his play?

I am retracting this statement after further thought and statistical analysis. See post below. I now agree 100%

[This message has been edited by Rambo (edited 03-05-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Rambo (edited 03-05-2002).]

[Eddie P]

Rambo-

I joked with Steve Davis from the Dallas Morning News and Kevin Blackistone (sp?) about this very issue, at it is laughable.
Willie D. thought he should play point guard. That is utterly ridiculous but I have heard the man say it himself and i have two accredited journalists who have heard it too. Now, I ask you, do you agree with Willie's assertions? Who exactly do we put in the post during Willie's years here and which guard do we bench?? Sasser, Ross, Elsey, Woods, Hancock?

[This message has been edited by Eddie P (edited 03-05-2002).]

[Pony4Life]

There were stories going around that Willie Davis told a reporter that he not only could play guard, but that he actually expected to be drafted -- in the first round, no less -- as a point guard! Can you picture him trying to guard Gary Payton, or even Steve Nash?

Funny, he never complained about being out of position when he was earning all-conference awards.

[Rambo]

I wouldn't bench anyone besides Willie. He IS NOT A GUARD. I don't care what he says. If someone is of considerable size and is a ment to play guard (either through skills or history) then they play the guard position. Look at Ryan Mendez, formerly of Stanford. He was 6'7" and played guard. The reason he was a guard and still 6'7" is that he started as a guard as a kid and then he grew.

Willie did not make sense as a guard. Look at his stats from 97-98 season: 5-28 from behind the arc. So, you say, he was a freshman. The next season's stats aren't on the web, but his junior year's are: 11-62!!!! (should he be out here?!?) That is 17.8% for the 2 years. NOT A GUARD. Every person on the team this year that shot 3s had a better percentage than that.

In the 2000-01 seaosn he did do better. 15-46

I'm not saying that 3pt% is the only way to determine if one is a guard or not, it's just the best way to do so statistically. I challenge anyone to argue that while on the court Willie D greatly displayed the traits of a guard.

Upon further review of the stats online, I have found that every year Willie played he had the lowest 3pt% of anyone on the team that shot 3s.I could ramble on like this forever, but it's just not worth it. He is all washed up.

[Rambo]

Unfortunately I feel the need to further comment.
Willie did not limit his comments to Alonzo. He also conveyed these thoughts to Bhop as he attempted to disuade him from coming to SMU. Willie has shamed all those that greatly supported him during his career at SMU.

Willie - Don't rain on our parade just because you didn't get everything you wanted.

[Bballer]

I loved Willie, but he was not PG. Look at his skill of brining the ball up the court against Tulsa in 1999-2000 when we were up with less than 20 seconds and instead of holding the ball, which a PG should have done, he tried to dribble coast to coast and he turned it over, setting up a Tulsa 3, sending us to 2 OT's and a loss.