Deron Williams

[LA_Mustang]

OK, I know this has little to do with SMU but I’m a huge basketball fan and he’s from our backyard so I thought I’d bring it up. (plus, we really don’t want to talk about SMU basketball right now....do we?)

Watching the Illinois/Wake game Wednesday night made me think about how much Deron has improved his game since high school at The Colony. He was the least heralded of the big six recruits coming out of Dallas in ‘01 (Bosh, Hop, Horton, Diogu, Wright and Williams), and rightly so. He probably was the sixth best player of the group at that time. But now, he might be the best. Currently, he’s the best all-around player in the Big Ten and the unquestionable leader of perhaps the best team in college bball.

I’ve followed Deron from The Colony to Illinois and he continues to improve his play every year. He made a huge step from his freshman to sophomore year by becoming more of a scorer while still perfroming his other PG duties. This year his improved all-around game makes him one of the best players in the country. He will be a very good PG in the NBA.

Also, watching that game Wednesday night made me think about that game back in ’01 between The Colony and Lincoln played at St Mark’s....the best HS basketball game I’ve ever seen. The Colony had a backcourt of Williams and Wright (currently the two best players in the Big Ten) and Lincoln had Hop, Bosh and Eaton (#4 NBA draft pick, a top player in the WAC and a current blue chipper in this year’s class). And yes, Hop was the best player on the court that night. Outside of AAU ball, that was probably the most talent you will ever find in a high school game. Good stuff.

[Demented in Dallas]

I've written Coach Tubbs about trying to schedule Illinois, Indiana and Arizona State for next year. Why not try to bring those guys back home for their senior seasons? It would be sure to draw a good home crowd. I don't know if those Big 10 schools would slum enough for a road game at a WAC school, but Arizona State sure would. I'll bet ESPN might be interested in a homecoming game for Wright and/or Williams.

By the way, I would think that Bosh, already in the NBA, is the best among those six at this point. But Williams is having a great year.

[Sic_em]

Do you really want to reward those kids for rejecting Texas universities and going out of state? Hosting them is nothing but another opportunity for them and their coaches to recruit more Texas kids...

[Hoop Fan]

LA, wasnt that Colony-Lincoln game at UTD? Or did they play twice that year? I remember Hops phenemenal rebound dunk on the shot that bounced off the back of the rim. Anybody who saw him that day and others knows he is not the same physically anymore.

Deron Williams is a great player. But even he had a poor game against Arkansas today. He got ripped twice in the open court and missed shots and free throws. He's not in the slump Hop is, but even good players have several bad days in a season. Illinois is my second favorite team and it will be cool to see them hit #1 in the polls for the first time since the Flyin Illini back in '89. Still, I'd rather see SMU get it going.