Derrick Favors Wins the Battle, But Jordan Williams Gets the Last Laugh
by Ben Broman on Feb 21, 2010 10:43 PM EST
in Basketball
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PrintJordan Williams vs. Derrick Favors: we billed it as a matchup of the two best freshmen in the ACC, and in the end, that's what it was. Unfortunately, one was just significantly better, and it wasn't the good guy.
Jordan was solid and had a few big plays - one commenter in the game thread said, after a Jordan Williams putback and dive for a loose ball, that Jordan was "keeping [Maryland] in the game". And he did - Jordan is a crucial part of this team.
Favors, though, showed why he, and not Williams, will win ACC Freshman of the Year. He ended up with more than twice the point as Jordan, and finished up with 18 rebounds to boot (one less, actually, than J-Dub's 12). He was the best player on the floor for Georgia Tech, and would've been the player of the game had it not been for Cliff Tucker's dagger.
But Favors isn't markedly better than Jordan, and it was Jordan's team that got the win. At this point next year, Favors figures to be in New Jersey or Minnesota. Jordan, on the other hand, will be in College Park for at least one more year, probably two, and possibly three. And he'll do so as one of the best big men in the ACC, maybe even carrying Maryland in the future.
If you have the choice between a few extra points per game for three fewer years, you don't take that deal. So even though Favors might be better right now and will end up with the hardware, I'm happier with Jordan Williams on my team.
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not to be a pain...
but Favors finished with more than double Williams’ points (21) and had 18, not 11, rebounds, for a truly monstrous game.
We won so I don’t care that much, but credit goes to Favors for keeping his team in the ball game.
Favors is, in fact markedly better...
But agreed I will take JWill for 4 yrs over Favors for 1 or 2
Agree
Favors looks like he will be a very nice NBA player…another Chris Bosh, perhaps, though his perimeter game is certainly not as refined as Bosh’s was at this point in his career. But he has all the tools.
JWill, on the other hand, is very much in the Lonny Baxter category as an NBA prospect. He simply doesn’t have the height or athleticism to be a real NBA prospect, and I don’t see any way he leaves school early. The only way I can see him becoming a decent NBA player is if he develops his mid-range jumper, which would put him in the mold of a Karl Malone-type player (not to say he’d be anywhere near as good). All that said, I think his value at the NCAA level over four years will far exceed Favors’ value over one or two years. If he stays healthy and continues to work hard, he will be IMO one of the all-time great big men we’ve had.
by jellisjenius on Feb 22, 2010 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
Jordan's upside
This game is the only time I’ve seen Favors and his putbacks and a few foul shots don’t tell me enough about his game to even offer an opinion. Actually Jordan is something of a mystery too. Even after seeing him for 20+ games, I was surprised to see him go up quickly above Lawal for a clean block underneath. On offense he shows us something new almost every game. He is a scorer that has a lot of game. Most inside guys look like they were taught some basic post moves that are the keys to their game. Jordan looks like he learned from constantly trying new things… a trial and error process. He looks like he fired up a lot of different shots before he got to UMD. We really don’t know what his jump shot range might be We’ve seen him hit a few 6-8 ft fadaways and look good doing it. I won’t be surprised to see him square up and knock down a 15 footer. The motion and release on his foul shots is sound. His misses now may be more of a case of learning to shoot under pressure before Comcast-size crowds than technique. It took Greivis a full year to become a decent foul shooter. Ricci should be ecstatic about the opportunity to work with Jordan. He should be able to build up Jordan’s upper body without adversely affecting his shooting touch and add power and explosiveness to his jumping ability. So, just like Greivis, it may take awhile for us to see what kind of player Jordan can be.
Athlete
Favors is more of a pure athlete than Williams. Yet, Williams will continue to work hard and get in better shape now that he knows exactly what it takes to play in the ACC. Also, Williams is picking up some of Greivis’ mannerisms, such as pumping up the crowd. After he gathered that lose ball to give Maryland possession he raised his arms in the air to get the crowd on their feet. The only time I heard the crowd louder all night was when Tucker nailed the game-winner. He will continue to develop into a great player and emotional leader for the team.
where are you getting your stats from?
you’ve been consistently wrong several posts
Yeah im sorry
I do love all the posts and I love the site. I have seen a few posts with some stats that are way off. Maybe he had 11 reb in the 1st half? I don’t know. anyway JWill still had a great game against another premier ACC big man. He will shut down booker again in CP, now we just need someone to lock down on grant (who killed us last time)
Holy shit guys chill.
Out of all the posts Ben makes, he never has any grammatical mistakes or anything and the stats are right for the most part. Give the guy a frickin break…
yeah...
Unusual amount of haterade for a fan base coming off an exciting win.
I spun around... and there I was, face-to-face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass.
Re: stats
I have no problem when people correct me – actually, I appreciate it – but if you’re wondering how a person could make a mistake, it’s easier than you think, particularly when I post ~5 times a day like I did yesterday.
I was reading the paper this morning and in an AP story they called Michigan State the “Wolverines” and misspelled the word “gold”. It’s not impossible – sometimes I mistype, or misread, or misremember. The stats here did absolutely nothing to change the idea of the post. They’re references. If you’re talking about game recaps – I post those literally within 5 minutes of the end of the game, and I’m working with unofficial stats. That’s why those aren’t always right, and I do wish there was a better way to do that, but I’m not going to pore over them after finding out the official stats.
And Fred – there’s a prominent Maryland message board poster named CCSully. None named CCScully exist that I know of. When you talk to someone about a mistake, it’s a good idea not to make one.
Yes, Favors was better
but wasn’t Williams usually matched up with Lawal? Lawal had only 5 boards and 12 points on 13 FGA.
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