Mike Williams

[Thegreatone]

I have heard different things on him, is he going to be a Junior next season or Senior? How much help can we expect him to bring?

[jkwuc89]

I think eligibility wise, he will be a junior.

[BigCatFan20]

its hard to say how much he will help. He never really got the chance to play at Texas, but many believe he will come in here and make a major impact for us down low. At the very least we will have more big bodies to throw out there next year.

[jplog]

I don't see how he couldn't have a major impact. Mc'D's AA, big body is exacty what he needed last year.

[Eastside_J]

From what I have seen and heard Mike Williams is big, athletic and a very smart guy.

I think its ridiculous and unfair to put all the weight on any one guy. But that said I think he will be a significant contributor and a great guy to have next year.

[subflea]

From what I have heard and seen I think he will be a very nice addition and should help out a lot. I see him helping open stuff for Williamson as well, much like Maxiell did for Hicks, and Hicks did for McGowan.

[bearcatfan93]

i think he will be similar to maxiell maybe not as athletic but hopefully he puts up some big numbers

[Thegreatone]

Well if he can bring the defense that Maxiell brought I will be estatic. Even just half as much as mad Max.

[waterhead]

From what I remember during pre season practice and scrimmage last year he was one of the most impressive if not the most impressive out of all the Bearcats.

[ME80]

Not to be negative at all, but how many times have we heard that the player sitting out the year is "the best player on the team"

[BigDaddyCornHusker]

Not to be negative at all, but how many times have we heard that the player sitting out the year is "the best player on the team"

Also.. how much did he contribute at Texas? 3 points & 3 rebounds p/ game. Why do we expect him to suddenly dominate in the Big East?

[shaunsimpson]

He didn't get much time at Texas due to the players that were there, but you are right. We don't know what we are getting. Mike could be an all-american or he could be a 6th man. James White fell in between.

[MikeInClifton]

This past season when someone would ask me who I thought the best basketball player on the team was, I would point to the end of the bench at the guy in the warmup suit - Mike Williams.

[waterhead]

I don't see anyone on this thread talking about Big East domination...just impact on Bearcat basketball. It wouldn't be difficult for a player to impact last year's team in a big way. If you look at our baseline last year we were extremely weak. Major impact is a subjective term.

Texas has had top caliber teams so one could see why a young McDonalds AA maybe wasn't being used the way he was expecting to be used. Maybe he wanted more playing time or to be a bigger part of the game plan. I would say he's hungry after sitting out a year with a bad taste left in his mouth from Texas.

As far as ability it's hard to achieve McDonalds AA status without having at least SOME game. Sure they don't all pan out but usually they can have an impact.

[levydl]

Also.. how much did he contribute at Texas? 3 points & 3 rebounds p/ game. Why do we expect him to suddenly dominate in the Big East?

He was very impressive in the summer league, for what it's worth. He has a nice mid range jumper, is an aggressive rebounder, and seems like a very smart player. He played pretty good defense in the defense-less summer league. He made some nice passes too. He's big and strong and athletic. He threw down a couple of hard dunks.

He was playing behind upperclassmen and top 3 NBA lottery pick LaMarcus Aldridge at Texas. He was hurt to begin his freshman year - I believe a hip problem or something like that - and he fell behind and never really got minutes. His best game was in the tourney against WVU (I think). He had several putbacks and rebounds in limited minutes if I remember correctly. The kid can play. He won't be BEast POY, but he'll be a solid PF underneath for 2 years.

[cincyjmax54]

When I watched him in the Summer I thought he was a close number 2 behind John Williamson. I thought Williamson was much more explosive and aggressive whereas Mike Williams seemed to be more polished and more of a finnese player hence the comments about a good midrange jumper. He would definatly be one of the more fundamentally sound players next year. He is very smart and sees the court really well. I dont remember him carrying tons of weight to be able to bang underneath but he will be a very nice compliment to any of our big guys. Overall he should help the Bearcats quite a bit next year with rebounding and offensive ability.

[waterhead]

I dont remember him carrying tons of weight to be able to bang underneath but he will be a very nice compliment to any of our big guys. Overall he should help the Bearcats quite a bit next year with rebounding and offensive ability.

6'7 and 240 lbs makes him one of the biggest Bearcats, if not the biggest, in terms of overall size. I don't know how much Hyranciuk weighs but Williams carries as much weight or more than the rest of the recruits or current roster. The newcomer Belton seems to be about the same size. Gates will come in next year around the same weight but with an extra inch or two in height. Other than these guys there is nobody over about 225 lbs in weight including McClain if we get him. He definitley has the size to bang underneath if he's willing.