Nigel Williams-Goss: You can’t play at this level if you don’t have the confidence to be in it

22/Dec/18 13:57 December 22, 2018

Antonis Stroggylakis

22/Dec/18 13:57

Eurohoops.net

Nigel Williams-Goss discussed his role as a floor general with Olympiacos, his team’s winning streak and the hard work he’s been putting. Often in extra hours.

By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net

Olympiacos guard Nigel Williams-Goss is certainly pleased with how his team has been performing these last two weeks in EuroLeague.

Following a loss to Zalgiris Kaunas, Olympiacos beat then-fourth-placed team Anadolu Efes and completed the double-round week with a pair of wins: One over Barcelona on the road, and then a rout over Gran Canaria in Piraeus.

“It’s all about building good habits. Consistency.” Williams-Goss told Eurohoops. “We knew that the first part of our schedule was the toughest. And we knew that if we are in an at least “OK spot” after that first part, we knew that the second part of this schedule would get more in our favor. It’s about taking care of business now and the short-term goal is finishing the first half of the season with a 10-5 record.”

It wasn’t just the victories themselves though but the diversity with which Olympiacos performed and how David Blatt’s squad adjusted against these two teams by implementing two completely different brands of basketball to win these matches.

Against Barcelona, the “Reds” had quite possibly their top defensive outing this season to force their opponents into scoring a season-low 60 points and finishing the game with a historic franchise-low 43 in PIR.

Olympiacos flipped the switch the other way vs. Gran Canaria, going all guns blazing for 78 points after the first quarter and 98 overall plus a EuroLeague franchise-record of 29 assists en route to dominating their opponents.

“I feel that one quality of us is that we can play at a slower pace and defend, like we did vs. Barcelona, but we can also score a lot as we did with Real Madrid and Gran Canaria,” Williams-Goss said to Eurohoops. “There are a lot of good teams in EuroLeague. Each team has its own strengths and we can adapt to them.  I feel we are a pretty complete team and we are trying to get better each day.”

Williams-Goss averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals over 27 minutes in these last two matches. David Blatt kept him on the floor for a team-high 33 minutes vs. Barcelona during which the American guard was a +10 for his squad. The 24-year-old player also had a key six-minute stretch that spanned over the third and fourth period when he scored five points and dished out three assists to help his team assume and retain control with a double-digit lead.

“We won those two games. And I was on the court for 33 minutes against Barcelona. Obviously, I was doing something to help my team win cause the coach trusts me to be out there. And what I’m trying to do is be solid for the team. We have many different guys who can make plays for the team, including myself. It’s all about making the right plays at the right time.”

Perhaps what is mostly standing out in Williams-Goss’ performances so far is how well he distributes the ball in relation with how unlikely he is in committing turnovers, despite his lack of experience in top-level basketball.

The former Gonzaga player is currently ranked fourth among EuroLeague guards/ball handlers and fifth overall in assist/turnover ratio with 4.36 assists (second-best in Olympiacos behind team captain Vassilis Spanoulis’ 5.4) for 1.36 TOs per game (32.1.05% ratio). It’s quite a percentage, given also that Williams-Goss operates as one of the main offense generators on a team with high aspirations while being a rookie in EuroLeague and just in his second season as a professional player.

“I think from a point guard position, assists/turnover ratio is huge,” Williams-Goss said to Eurohoops. “Especially since I play a lot of minutes and I have to be good with the ball. take care of the ball. I feel I put a lot of work in my own time and studying film. To help the team win games.”

“[Olympiacos]It’s a high-level club but then again I consider myself a high-level player. And again, I don’t think you can play at this level if you don’t have the confidence in yourself to play at this level. I try to get better each and every day. I’m just trying to continue getting better and find different ways to help my team,” Williams-Goss added.

“Each and every day,” and sometimes during extra hours. Following the match vs. Anadolu Efes and a 2/9 shooting from the field, Williams-Goss stayed in the gym to work overtime with a couple of shooting drills.

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