Darral Willis Jr.’s hard work leads him to first taste of professional basketball
Wichita State parlayed sizable mid-major success in the Missouri Valley Conference into joining the talent-rich American Athletic Conference for the 2017–18 season through Shockers names including: Toure’ Murry, Cleanthony Early, Fred Vanvleet, Ron Baker, Landry Shamet and Shaquille Morris, among others. After concluding his senior year for Gregg Marshall’s Shockers, Darral Willis Jr. should also be mentioned among Wichita State’s decade of notable players.
Willis Jr., 22, played in 33 games while starting in five just two years removed from playing at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi. After dominating the JUCO ranks in his 2015–16 season following a successful high school, Willis garnered offers from high-major programs which included Wichita State, Arizona State, LSU, Oklahoma State and Marquette, among others. Willis Jr. attributes Wichita State’s camaraderie as a program as his deciding factor.
“What really made me come here was the team, the teammates and the energy,” Willis said. “All of the guys. That’s what made me want to come to Wichita State.”
Willis averaged 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor in the 2016–17 season — providing a 6'9", 221-pound frame in Marshall’s frontcourt. He also wasn’t fazed by the competition jump from JUCO to D1 basketball.
However, last season, Willis added an important component that helped him become a dangerous weapon in Gregg Marshall’s system. Devoid of a respectable jumper flanking center Shaq Morris, a primarily interior scorer, Willis honed in on developing consistency and his rapid improvement kept AAC defenders honest. In a system comprised of back cuts, motion and ball movement, Willis evolved into a shooting big.
Willis averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor last season. During a three-game stretch against Big 12 teams Willis averaged 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds on 60 percent shooting. Per Synergy, Willis shot 36.2 percent on his 51 total jumpers in the 2017–18 season after making zero threes the previous year.
Value of Willis’s New Gravity
“Gravity”, in basketball lingo, is a player’s ability to draw a defender away from the basket and open up additional space for his or her four teammates. Big men had to accommodate offense’s floor spacing by implementing the deep jumper into their arsenal. Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol went from just three total attempted threes during the 2015–16 season to 268, providing the Grizzlies with ample floor space.
Willis’s similar spike in attempts shows why it’s paramount for modern-day big men to pick-and-pop, station themselves along the perimeter and sink spot-up jumpers when defenders fail to properly contest. Willis diligently crafted his jump shots in the offeseason through repetition and transitioned into Gregg Marshall allowing him to hoist in practice, eventually taking trusted jumpers in live game action. Willis shot 38.3 percent on 47 attempts this past season-a terrific mark and sample for a big man.
Shaquille Morris also bumped his three-point attempts, enacting an efficient floor spacing duo unavailable to Marshall one year previously. Adding an additional element to an already versatile repertoire, Willis enters the professional circuit as a proven floor spacer who can pick-and-pop and hit the standstill three in catch-and-shoot situations.
Jumpers are now a fixture in Willis’s approach and as a testament to that statement, last year Willis came up with a tough jumper against UCF to help ice the game in overtime.
The Wichita Eagle’s Taylor Eldridge documented the play on March 3, and interviewed Willis’s teammate, Rashard Kelly, about his thoughts on Willis’s rapid development.
“We need a big player like that when we need a bucket,” Kelly mentioned, per Eldridge. “I don’t think a lot of people in the country would take that kind of shot in that moment. But who gets the clutch bucket? Darral does.”
The countless reps Willis performed in the gym contributed to the lefty making a difficult jumper in a high leverage situation. Willis repeatedly stressed “work” in terms of his evolution as a modern-day 4 and he definitely fits the billing, awaiting a professional team to utilize his new-age attributes and endless hustle. As an added bonus of seeing shots go through the net: he gets to emulate his favorite player and fellow lefty James Harden’s signature move, as he connects his index finger with his thumb to create three fingers (a three symbol) while heading the other way. (3:04 in the video below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaX_O2bMs6A
Willis tries to emulate part of what Harden brings as a guard into a big man’s role and with the Rocket being arguably the top half court scorer in the world right now, his film can provide endless nuggets on how to win on offense.
Who will Willis Possibly Guard at the Next Level?
Willis is a prototypical power forward in today’s standard of big men who’ll likely mirror other 4s. Willis’s motor’s upside is potential for blowing up screens and switching onto big 3s when needed.
Per synergy, Willis finished “good” to “very good” in guarding three separate categories: Spot Up shooting, defending the P&R roll man and in isolation. Additionally, Willis displayed efficiency around the basket — illustrating his versatility on the less glamorous end.
As we hover closer to the basket, Willis’s numbers start to really pop off of the page. In the 18 possessions he contested shots around the basket that weren’t post-ups, Willis only let up 0.66 Points Per Possession — good for a 92nd percentile mark. In his 11 possessions defending post-ups as a senior, Willis allowed just 0.72 PPP-which put him in the 84th percentile among DI players.
With Wichita State possessing primarily offensive threats in Shamet, Conner Frankamp and Austin Reaves, you need a strong defensive presence inside. Willis brought that needed juice as a paint defender and could provide similar results when he’s asked to defend the post or contest inside.
Willis’s Willingness to Join the Shockers Program and his Valuation of Playing for a Cohesive Team
Wichita State’s domination of the Missouri Valley Conference, winners of six straight regular season titles spanning from 2012 to 2017, and notoriety as one of college basketball’s premier mid-major destinations for transfers is incentive to entice a recruit. Willis adored Wichita State’s team atmosphere and shared an experience that stood out to him during his two-year stay.
“I would have to say a trip to Maui,” Willis said, when asked about his fondest memory. “We had taken a trip to Maui and that was really fun — bonding with my teammates. It was just really fun hanging out with my team, my guys and stuff. We definitely hang out outside of the court. That’s why we were so good on the court because our bond off the court was really good.”
Wichita State plateaud at No. 3 in the nation last year and as consuming as basketball is at a school generally recognized by its program, Willis spent a lot of time with his teammates. The Shockers failed to win their conference tournament or make noise in March Madness, but Willis noticeably improved his prospects to land a pro contract.
Weight lifting, watching film and practicing consumed half of Willis’s days at the university. He notes that he’ll keep in contact with his teammates when he’s playing professionally, as they’re an important part of his life.
At Wichita State, Willis pursued Sports Management for an undergraduate program and will study Psychology in grad school. If there was another incentive to root for Willis, he seeks to help people out through Psychology when his basketball career ends. Whether it’s on the hardwood or in the gym or hitting the books, Willis will dilligintly work towards his efforts.
Willis signed with Dewey E Hawkins III of JCK Sports Group as his professional representation. For Darral Willis Jr., hard work will pay off.