LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s been exactly a month since Derek Willis posted these kinds of numbers. In arguably one of his best performances of the season, the senior forward scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, gathered five rebounds and blocked two shots in No. 6 Kentucky’s 97-71 victory over Arkansas.
“Willis – the guy that keeps haunting us,” Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson said after the game. “Last year he haunted us at Bud Walton Arena, and tonight he haunted us as well. He’s one of those stretch guys – and it just seems like I go and watch games and he don’t shoot it like that – but when the Razorbacks show up, he lights it up.”
With the team’s leading scorer in Malik Monk posting an abnormally low 12 points on Saturday, the Wildcats needed someone else to step up. Willis was that guy.
The last time he scored double digits was December 7 against Valparaiso, earning 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 15 minutes. One month later, Willis tied his season high (15 points) in just 19 minutes of play and made a season-best three 3-pointers.
“The way Derek is shooting makes us way more efficient,” Bam Adebayo said. “It allows the post players to get touches because they zone in on Derek and he makes shots.”
But despite a solid performance, Willis had been quick to point out that he’s still not where he wanted to be. When his shooting is on, it seems like his defense is off. When his defense is on, it seems like his shooting is off.
Against the Razorbacks, the senior was able to take command of his play on both sides of the court, though he believed he could’ve faired a little better defensively.
“There was a couple lapses, just like any game,” Willis said. “I think at the beginning when I first came in – the first series I was in – I missed some balls I could’ve got, some rebounds. It kind of got on my nerves and I tired to pick it up defensively.
“I feel like I was so focused on playing defense and rebounding and trying to do all those things right – which I improved on a lot,” Willis said. “(But) focusing on that takes away from your offensive game too. I was working a lot harder than I ever have before on defense, so I think it could’ve been a conditioning thing where my legs weren’t used to it and it effected my shot.”
Willis is now averaging 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in 19.1 minutes, and is a reliable weapon from downtown. If Kentucky head coach John Calipari can continue to get improved production and discipline out of his senior, the Wildcats could be even scarier come March.
"You owe the team to be disciplined enough to do what you're supposed to do," Calipari said. "Do your job. His job is to shoot that ball. We created a good shot for him. Your job is to shoot it. We can't make it. Get in the gym at night and work on it. He blocked shots today. He rebounded better. Derek's getting better."