Below are 2 excerpts from a post I made on January 1. The first presents some random "stat" observations:
Against the non-conference opponents, we carved out a few noteworthy statistics (Reminder: 363 D1 Teams) and the comments in bold italicized print are updated through yesterday's game:
- Robbins is 6th in the country in blocked shots @ 2.8 per game which is “remarkable” since his minutes have been constrained by his coach [Now, ranks in a tie for 3rd in the country @3.0 blocks per game (tied with Castleton and Jackson-Davis, although technically ahead of them because he plays far fewer minutes per game than the other two players)];
- Stute is 19th in the country in terms of % of made “3’s” @ 47.1% (even with his horrendous 1-8 night versus Alabama A&M) [39th in the country at about 40%];
- Stute is 32nd in the country in terms of # of made “3’s” per game @ 3.1 [129th in the country @ 2.4 per game];
- The team is 16th in terms of blocked shots per game [39th in the country, as the impact from Robbins missing games shows up here];
- The Dores 12.8 assists per game ranks 246th [294th in the nation @ 11.8 per game];
- The team’s 5.2 steals per game ranks 323rd [337th in the nation @ 4.9 per game];
- Turnovers per game @ 12.6 per game ranks 208th [near the bottom];
- The team has 166 assists and 164 turnovers . . . not a formula to generate success on the court [295 Assists and 278 Turnovers];
- The team is 215th in “3” point shooting % (@33.3%), or 8.4 per game, which means that Stack’s assertion that they have to hit 10-12 “3’s” per game in SEC games appears to be a “hope for” strategy to find success going forward [while the numbers (see below) say take more “2’s”][241st @ 33.2% and 8.2 per game]; and
- The team is (a woeful) 263rd in free throw % @ 68.3%, although a couple of players have moved their individual averages up to the mid-70’s range, plus to add to this poor performance, the Dores only make 10.8 free throws per game [179th @ 71.6%].
And, now I will answer my own questions raised on New Year's day below to see how "wrong" or off-base I was, although playing with and without Robbins makes some of these questions difficult to answer:
Can Stute stay out of foul trouble and try to do something else on the court other than shoot “3’s”?
Yes, staying out of foul trouble, and generally, no, re "other than" shoot "3's",
although he does get asome boards for the team.
Can the coach allow Robbins to play 25-27 minutes per game and against other good big men stay out of foul trouble?
Yes
Are Wright’s back and/or other ailments healed up, and, if so, can he become a consistent force on the court, e.g., move his PPG up, get his “3” point % up to the mid-30’s, etc? Y
es , a fairly consistent force, again when healthy, but still a work in progress re "3" % @ 30.4%
Can Lawrence show up consistently and limit his all too frequent “mindless” and, at times, errors?
Has raised the level of his game substantially, although a little inconsistency still present (yesterday's game)
Can Manjon maintain his stellar shooting from “2” and get some effective support from Lewis (in order to keep Thomas out of the point guard role!)?
Ezra's quickness and speed plus not turning the ball over and getting more comfortable against D-1 competition is showing up big time which , in turn, has upped his minutes and,in combination with Lewis playing a little, has kept Thomas. largely, at the "2" guard
Can Smith emerge as an effective performer in conference play?
Yes, in very key spots recently
As an unexpected “bonus” (which might make a difference in a game or two), can Ansong give his team a consistent “energy” boost off the bench by grabbing some boards, running the floor and hitting an occasional bucket?
Way off here
Can “Q” get back to how he played last year as opposed to what we have observed this season (albeit only a little better)?
As long as "Q" is a back-up, that maximizes his effectiveness from a team perspective
What do I expect out of SEC play? Beyond the stats and the win-loss record to date, not much as . . .
- We have no “go to” scorer; Wrong, it's Liam or Lawrence
- We do not have enough players who can score; Wrong, we do
- We only have one consistent threat from deep; Generally, true, but Liam begs to differ
- We are a below average shooting team from “3”; True
- We have no dominant rebounder; We rebound as a team
- We do not have a stand out passer on the team; Ezra begs to differ
- We do not have an accomplished driver who can either or both finish and dish; Ezra begs to differ
- We do not have a “lock-down” defender on this team; True and
- We do not play stand out defense as a team. When we need to do so, we can, but generally, true
theathletic.com
vanderbilt.rivals.com
