Buzz Williams has some work to do with names. (USA Today)
Buzz Williams rarely finds himself confused, especially when it comes to his own team. What has made Marquette successful during his tenure as head coach is understanding the ins and outs of his players and being able to communicate both on a personal and business level.
He’s had his fair share of J’s and D’s, as we ridiculously documented here.
But Buzz Williams is confused.
On this year’s team, names have become a difficult obstacle to overcome.
Consider that the roster includes these bunches of players:
- Derrick Wilson, Duane Wilson and Jamil Wilson
- Jameel McKay and Jamil Wilson
- Juan Anderson and Jajuan Johnson
That has made it tough for the coaching staff to call out players during practices, and Williams, though having fun with it, admits he’s still adjusting to the similarities in names.
“I struggle,” Williams told Paint Touches, laughing. “The one I struggle with, I call Jameel McKay, it was ‘J-Mac,’ and now I’ve shortened it to ‘JK.’ And he’s a JUCO guy, he doesn’t care what you call him, he’s fine. Jamil, our players call him ‘Yee,’ because that’s what Junior [Cadougan] came up with. And I tried Yee, thinking that would be one ‘J’ I didn’t have to worry about, so I just call Jamil, ‘Jamil.'”
“The one that sticks me is Juan and Jajuan, because Jajuan is really good, and Juan and Jajuan have been on the floor a lot already. And I get jammed up, because I want to say ‘Juan,’ and so I’ve tried on Jajuan to call him ‘JJ.’ That’s been OK.”
So let’s review:
- Jameel McKay used to be J-Mac, but now he’s JK
- Jamil Wilson is called “Yee” by the players, but Buzz just calls him Jamil
- Jajuan Johnson is JJ
- Juan Anderson is simply Juan
As for the two point guards with D.W. initials, assistant Isaac Chew said it’s something the staff is working on. Williams simply calls Derrick Wilson “Derrick” and Duane Wilson “Duane,” but Derrick Wilson has kept his “D-Wil” nickname, while Duane Wilson is simply “Duane.”
Yeah, this is going to be confusing…
Paint Touches 
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