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| Sylvester Willis |
Saluki Center Sylvester Willis Chat Wrap!
Welcome to the SIUSalukis.com moderated chat room. On Tuesday, Saluki center Sylvester Willis stopped by to talk SIU men's basketball. Sly is the team's starting center and also one of the most out-going members of the squad. He had lots to say and shoots straight from the hip.
Hope you enjoy what Sylvester has to say and remember to continue to check back with SIUSalukis.com for future chats.
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| Moderator: Thank you for joining the chat room this evening with Sylvester Willis! He's fired up and ready to chat, so keep the questions coming. We'll answer as many questions as possible for the next 45 minutes or so.
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| Thomas Smith (Geneva, Switzerland): As a fellow SIU alum and having grown up in Calumet City, I'm especially proud that you are a Saluki! What aspects do you feel you need to improve on as a player in order to make a maximum impact for the team down the stretch? Best of luck! |
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Sylvester Willis: I didn't know they had the internet in Switzerland! I appreciate your support. I feel I'm pretty solid on defense, but I just need to work on a go-to move to help the team on offense. |
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| Pat (Woodstock): What kind of pre-game preparations do you go through, if you even have any? Are you superstitious at all? |
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Sylvester Willis: I don't have any pre-game rituals. Coach Weber suggested I shave my head before the Evansville game, because I was in a slump. I shaved my head last year when we were 0-0, and no one said anything. The main thing is, I just try to get loose and make sure I'm ready to play. Superstitions? I wear three pairs of socks for every game, but I don't know if that's a superstition. In the army they tell you the most important thing is your feet. It's a war out there. You have to take care of your feet! |
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| Paco (West Chicago): Earlier this season when you were struggling, Coach Weber said he wouldn't bench you unless you chose to sit out. How nice does it feel that your coach believes that much in you to leave that big a choice up to you? |
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Sylvester Willis: It feels good that Coach Weber respects my work ethic that he leaves the decision up to me. Truth be told, though, when I was struggling my minutes went down. I was starting, but I wasn't finishing. When you've got guys on the bench that can help you, it feels good not to have to worry about having a bad game. |
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| Todd (Murphysboro, IL): Sylvester,
What have you worked on the most since last season to improve your game? |
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Sylvester Willis: My conditioning. I haven't been in this good a shape in my life. In the past, when we ran long distances, I got lost, because all the guys would pass me. Now I'm not saying that I'm in the front, but at least I'm in the middle of the pack. |
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| Krauss (Carterville): I read in the media guide that your favorite childhood memory was getting a Nintendo when you were 7. What are your favorite video games now? |
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Sylvester Willis: I like NBA Live and Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Both are Playstation2 games. I like playing my teammates. I whoop 'em. |
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| Kyna Horton (Chicago): I just wanted to say hi. I think the Salukis are doing great!! And we at home are rooting for you guys to go to the NCAAs this year.
Love, your sister!! |
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Sylvester Willis: Hey! I appreciate the support from home. It really helps me to know you all are rooting for me. Talk to ya later. |
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| Karen (Marion, IL): How do you mentally prepare for a high-pressure game like SIU v. SMS or SIU v. Creighton? |
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Sylvester Willis: Personally, I just try to take myself away from the whole situation. We're at the arena so much and watch film and walk through the other team's plays. I pretty much soak all that in. When I have a chance to relax, I try to do just that. That pretty much helps me. When it's all said and done, you just have to go out there and play. |
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| Gabrielle Alexander: Hey!! This is Gabby. Just wondering
if you think you have a chance
at the NBA or if you even really want
to go? Do you have any other career
goals?
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Sylvester Willis: Hey, Gabby. Good luck with the wedding (unless you're some other Gabby!). Besides going pro, I want to go to grad school. Anybody out there want to sponsor me? You're welcome to! Right now. I'm studying electronics, and I want to keep going with that. |
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| Krauss (Carterville): Who is your best friend on the team? |
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Sylvester Willis: I won't say I have a best friend on the team. We're all a pretty close-knit group, but I live with Jermaine and Darren. I get along with everybody, even Coach Watson. |
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| Heath (St. Louis): Who is the best player you have ever played against in college? |
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Sylvester Willis: Hmm. You know, I've played against Brian Cook and Frank Williams from Illinois, and Caron Butler from UConn, but to rate one as the best is pretty tough. I don't know what to answer. Kyle Korver, that's it! I can honestly say he was better than all of them. |
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| Krauss (Caterville): What's the best advice you ever got? What advice would you give to a kid? |
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Sylvester Willis: It might sound old, but just do your best. That's the best advice I've ever gotten, and that's what I'd give a kid. You might not get what you want, but when you look back on it, you'll be satisfied. |
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| Jermaine (Carbondale): Why don't you pick up your clothes off of the floor? It really ticks your roommates off. |
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Sylvester Willis: If this is Jermaine, you haven't cleaned the kitchen up ALL YEAR. How mad do you think that makes your roomates?! |
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| Mike Smith (Mt.Vernon): Do you ever watch tapes of other college hoops big-men and their moves to the basket? I think you are a better player than we are seeing. Besides the fouling, I think you can take it to the hole much more than you are. What's holding you up? |
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Sylvester Willis: No player in particular, but I do try to take things from other people's games when I watch TV, but I mainly try to stay within my own game and my own ability. We might have to get Coach Weber in here in the chat room about what's holding me up! If I see opportunities to score, I take it, but maybe my unselfishness affects my aggressiveness. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I might take it! |
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| Chris (Carbondale): Now I know Kyle Korver is a great player, but to say he's better than Caron Butler? I'm not sure about that. Did you see him tear is up in the Rookie Game? |
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Sylvester Willis: I'm just talking about the games I played in. I didn't see the rookie game. We had a game at Southwest that night. I didn't see it. How was it? |
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| Ben (Carterville): So Sly, Do you ever get annoyed when you're on the road and you get harrassed by the other teams fans? It seems the "watchu talkin' about Willis" saying is pretty popular from opposing fans. |
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Sylvester Willis: I hear it. I don't get annoyed. I can laugh about myself. The first time I heard it, it was funny, but I like to hear different stuff. Get creative! I've got one for them, "Would this foot fit in your mouth!" |
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| Jens (Carbondale): When do you expect Coach Weber to leave SIU? |
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Sylvester Willis: I don't know. When he's ready. When Wal-Mart has an opening. |
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| John(murphysboro): What do you think about the Creighton game coming up?o |
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Sylvester Willis: I think if we lose to Southwest and Evansville, it won't mean jack. |
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| Todd (O'Fallon, MO): What do you think it will take to get an at-large bid the rest of the way out? |
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Sylvester Willis: For every team in the Top 25 to go 0-8 the rest of the way. Seriously, anything can happen. Coach talks about how it's in our hands. If we take care of business the rest of the way, we'll be in the tournament. It's as simple as that. |
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| Brett Tevini: Do you feel that sometimes you try to do to much on offense? You also have great jumping ability. I love your dunks! |
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Sylvester Willis: I don't think I try to do too much. I think it might be just the opposite. Jumping is one of the things I'm really good at. Thanks! |
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| Chico (East LA): When are you gonna play in LA? |
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Sylvester Willis: We played in Northridge last year. Hey Chico, how's the Man? |
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| Keller (St. Louis): Be honest!! Do you and the team watch the polls and the bracket projections as much as the fans? It seems we are still on the bubble!! I hope we can win the tournament and then relax for a week!! |
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Sylvester Willis: I'd be lying if I said I didn't. We're conscious about our situation with the committe and everything. Our goal is to win the MVC Tournament so we can relax. |
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| Joey (Salem): You said you like playing NBA Live. What's your favorite team to use? |
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Sylvester Willis: Orlando. Tracy McGrady is the man on the game. Almost as good as me! |
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| Jeff (benton): How difficult is it to stay on top of school work and concentrate on basketball? |
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Sylvester Willis: It all depends on your instructors. I mean, it's hard, but if you have professors who are willing to work with you, it's usually no problem catching up. |
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| Kandi (Kinmundy): How come you're the only player from the Sweet 16 team to not get your last name on you ring? Instead you have "Sly" on it. |
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Sylvester Willis: How did you know that?! They asked me what I wanted on my ring. That's what I wanted! |
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| Todd (O'Fallon, IL): When basketball recruits are on campus for a visit - do the players have much contact with the recruit - looking forward to seeing you do some high step'n after a slam in the SMS game. |
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Sylvester Willis: When recruits are on campus, they get to hang with us. We take them out and show them what the campus has to offer. |
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| Gabe (Carbondale): How do you feel about the issue on if athletes should get paid for playing?
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Sylvester Willis: We should! That's how I feel. I know they're trying to preserve the whole amateur aspect, but we put in so much time. We are getting an education, so it's not like we're getting the short end of the stick, but it would be nice to get a little stipend, because I'm broke! |
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| Bob (Monroe): Do you think Carney should get more minutes? |
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Sylvester Willis: (Laugh) He is on scholarship now, so he's got to step his game up! |
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| Brenner (Carbondale): Does the upcoming game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee mean more to the players because the school is Weber's alma mater? |
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Sylvester Willis: I didn't even know that was his alma mater until you said it. This is a big non-conference game for us, though. |
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| Todd (C-dale): Yo Sly, Whats up man? I think the best part of your game is throwing down dunks off of missed shots. How about some more of those? |
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Sylvester Willis: The last couple of weeks, I've been working on my perimeter game. You might see a couple of threes tomorrow. Let somebody else put down my misses! |
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| Todd (Melrose Park): Can you tell us about how Ryan Walker and Tony Young have looked in practice since fans can't see them play in games? |
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Sylvester Willis: They've really improved. Personally, I know how tough it is to redshirt and come to practice and know you're not going to play. Ryan can really shoot the ball, and Tony plays so hard, he can probably be a defensive stopper for us along the line. |
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| Heath (St. Louis): Do you think this loss to Bradley was a wake up call and will motivate you to play well down the stretch? (Similar to late last year, when you lost to ISU & SMS on back to back road games) |
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Sylvester Willis: It was kinda sad that you need a wake-up call. Better for it to happen now than during the conference tournament. Hopefully, we can regain our focus and toughness and put together another streak. |
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| Terry Adams (Peoria): Would you have like to have known the outcome of the Creighton-Wichita game when it ended? Do you think it would have helped down the stretch against Bradley? |
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Sylvester Willis: We talked about it in the lockerroom. It may have helped us, but things like that shouldn't matter. We should take care of business. I felt worse knowing Creighton lost, because we could have had first by ourselves. We just have to take care of our opportunities now against Southwest tomorrow. |
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| Brian P. (Carbondale): Does the constant media bombardment ever get on your nerves? |
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Sylvester Willis: What constant media bombardment? There's a couple cameras after practice. I appreciate anybody who wants to ask me a question. It makes me feel special. |
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| Brad (Des Plaines): How are you guys going to be able to win next season with the loses of Kent and Jermaine? |
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Sylvester Willis: Hmm. They're going to be tough to replace. Coach always talks about them being the franchise and building this program up, but right now we just have to take advantage of them while they're here. |
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| Moderator: That will do it for tonight's chat session. Thanks for all the great questions. On behalf of Saluki fans, thank you Sly for spending time with us. More chats are planned, so keep checking back to SIUSalukis.com.
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