After taking a deeper dive into this one I'm pretty impressed with this hire. I tend to look at coach's impact based on performance vs coaching tenures immediately before and after.
Byington's rep as an offensive mind is well deserved. The decrease in offensive performance with his successor was staggering, dropping 191 spots! in PPG ranking. You may think this is due to overall pace, and thats partially true; but remarkably despite increased FGA, there was also a GREATER rise in FG % . AKA this guy runs some effective s***. That being said, the delta in defensive efficiency was equally brutal, with only two bright spots in accordance with his rep: perimiter defense ( 3p%) and steals per game. This makes me think this is likely a team that will live or die by having a very effective rim protector inside.
In his James Madison era ( a longer sample here at 4 and 4) we see a learning creature. An almost identically remarkable increase in offensive performance across the board - again 191 spots! in ppg and similar jumps in 2p and 3p %. But the defense actually improved in PPG. Perimeter D still vastly improved under Byington but as was the case at georgia southern, and a huge increase in steals as a consequence. A worrisome decrease in ranking of opponents assists per game- perhaps a testament to his risky style of D that leaves weaknesses inside. Would like to see how that translates to the big man talent we have in this league.
Overall though the dude is as advertised, a great offensive mind who pushes the ball up the floor and schemes good open shots at a far greater clip than his contemporaries. 3 out of the last 6 years he's in the top 15 in PPG in the NCAA. The concerns are on D but it seems like in the JMU era he unlocked something to make his overall defensive strategy more effective despite its inherent weaknesses.
Looking at all this has left me far more positive about the higher and excited about the aggressive brand of basketball we'll be seeing next year.
Byington's rep as an offensive mind is well deserved. The decrease in offensive performance with his successor was staggering, dropping 191 spots! in PPG ranking. You may think this is due to overall pace, and thats partially true; but remarkably despite increased FGA, there was also a GREATER rise in FG % . AKA this guy runs some effective s***. That being said, the delta in defensive efficiency was equally brutal, with only two bright spots in accordance with his rep: perimiter defense ( 3p%) and steals per game. This makes me think this is likely a team that will live or die by having a very effective rim protector inside.
In his James Madison era ( a longer sample here at 4 and 4) we see a learning creature. An almost identically remarkable increase in offensive performance across the board - again 191 spots! in ppg and similar jumps in 2p and 3p %. But the defense actually improved in PPG. Perimeter D still vastly improved under Byington but as was the case at georgia southern, and a huge increase in steals as a consequence. A worrisome decrease in ranking of opponents assists per game- perhaps a testament to his risky style of D that leaves weaknesses inside. Would like to see how that translates to the big man talent we have in this league.
Overall though the dude is as advertised, a great offensive mind who pushes the ball up the floor and schemes good open shots at a far greater clip than his contemporaries. 3 out of the last 6 years he's in the top 15 in PPG in the NCAA. The concerns are on D but it seems like in the JMU era he unlocked something to make his overall defensive strategy more effective despite its inherent weaknesses.
Looking at all this has left me far more positive about the higher and excited about the aggressive brand of basketball we'll be seeing next year.
