(02-21-2021 05:55 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote: (02-20-2021 02:19 PM)holybovine Wrote: 14-10 EMU at 10 minutes. Montero is the best player on the court.
Why does Spottsville continue to play? Rob Murphy.
Cow I agree. Spottsville hustles on D and actually is our most physically strong guard, he mixes it up inside a little. That said when inserted he plays point guard and our offense reverts to the Paul Jackson days of one guy penetrating and four guys standing around and let's face it Darion has a ton less offensive skills than Paul did. Darion needs to return to CA and finish his career at a lower level school where he could be the BMOC.
Ballard works his ass off but plainly is not a D1 starter. You insert him for a few minutes against a Danny Pippen and hope his energy wears Pippen out some and draws some fouls. Derek making threes? NO. I am with you on Ballard.
We have three guys on the roster that have double digit three makes on the season. None shoot as good a percentage from outside the arc as Groce. Playing the five position, that three ball threat forces the opposing center to come out and guard him which opens up the paint for others and also allows Ty the opportunity to drive around him. So I disagree with you about Ty's shot selection.
Gibson actually has been a surprise. A Murphy player that actually has improved during the season. He has shown a great deal of promise and you hit the nail on the head here.
'79 I know you want a fresh roster and I sympathize with that. Nevertheless I would love to see what Groce, Montero, Gibson, Louder, Morgan, Binelli, McBride and James could do for another coach in a more modern system of basketball.
Thanks for your thoughts Jerry. Lots of good stuff in there to digest.
Obviously, I’m beyond frustrated with this season, and the program in general. Basketball and baseball are my sports. So, for me this hurts way more than a football program in shambles. However, I think my frustration has led me to make some unfair assessments of some of the players above.
Inspired by your post, I looked at some Torvik data to see if I was being unfairly harsh. I was shocked to find that Spottsville is basically average in offensive efficiency. He has an offensive rating of 100.3 - an average player is at 100 even. He is actually third on the team in offensive efficiency behind Groce and Ballard, with a higher usage (15.8) than I would have expected. Frankly, Murphy is right to play him a lot. He’s a far better option at the point than anyone else we have. I actually would like to see him return under the right circumstances — with a new coach who will limit his minutes to about 10 per game.
Ballard actually leads the team in offensive efficiency at 129.2 — that means he is 29% better offensively than an average player. Of course, his usage is low at 9.2%, and I think he would be exposed if he were given additional touches. His big problem is limited height and athleticism. He really struggles defensively and with rebounding. Long-term, I’d like to see him keep his scholarship and be third string at C and PF seeing 10 minutes a game.
Baseball writer Bill James once said that sometimes fans of long-term losing organizations focus their anger on their best players (most exposure as face of organization), rather than the true source of the problems (everyone else). I fear I’ve done this with Groce. He’s had a wonderful year. He has an offensive efficiency rating of 114.8, which is superb considering his heavy usage (20.8). He’s shooting 80% at the line, and is respectable from three point range (33%). He’s great at close two point shots — 66%. He’s not good at long two point shots, 39%, and that is what I was criticizing him for yesterday. But that’s nitpicking. He’s had a great year on a team with few other options. I’d love to see him come back next year playing the 3 or 4, but I suspect he’ll leave. No inside info, but he already spent an extra transfer year here, and I think he’ll want to move on with his life. He might even want to transfer to a better program. I hope he sticks around. But if he doesn’t, he’s earned it.
So, guys I hope come back with a new coach:
-Groce
-Ballard
-Spottsville
-McBride (potential and showing improvement)
-Gibson (same as above)
-Lowder. I can’t really justify wanting to see him come back statistically. He’s been terrible. But, it has been a bizarre year for him. He’s shown flashes of potential. He’s young enough to improve. And I still love his Holy Cross tape.
-Binelli. He’s fine as an off the bench three-point specialist.
These are the 7 guys I want to return. That would still give the new coach 9 (!) scholarships to work with since the Seniors (Groce, Binelli, and Spottsville) wouldn’t count against the cap of 13.
Other Thoughts:
-I have an irrational fondness for Montero that isn’t borne out by the stats, but I think it’s time for him to go. He isn’t improving, and he’s old enough to where we should not expect a breakthrough.
-I love Christian James athletically. In fact, I think he has similarities with Mac McClung. But he’s been so wretched here, I think it’s time for a fresh start somewhere else.
-We have 11 dunks this year. 10 of them are by Groce, and 1 by Morgan. That’s it.
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EMU v. Kent State Game Thread
