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Former Kentucky Wildcat Derek Willis is apparently not a fan of the NBA’s G-League.
Willis, who plays for the Detroit Pistons G-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, had quite the comment about the G-League at Rupp Arena during the Kentucky vs. Alabama game on Saturday.
From Jeff Drummond at Cats Illustrated and Kyle Tucker of SEC Country:
Derek Willis on the PA during the break with a not-so-subtle message (maybe) to current Cats. “It’s a grind. The G League sucks.”
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) February 17, 2018
Derek Willis on the court during the timeout and says a regrettable thing that makes Rupp Arena laugh: "The G League sucks, but I'm OK with it right now."
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_SEC) February 17, 2018
Willis was not picked in the NBA Draft last year, despite showing substantial improvement in his junior and senior seasons at Kentucky. However, he caught on with the Detroit Pistons and has been trying to earn a roster spot while playing in the G-League.
Willis is averaging just under 12 points per game while pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting at a 35 percent clip from three, lower than his senior year percentage of 37.7 percent and his junior year when he shot better than 44 percent.
The G-League obviously isn’t the ideal place for anyone who wants to play in the NBA but for several players it is an important step to landing an NBA contract. Hopefully Willis impresses an NBA team enough to bring him up to an NBA roster.