RE: men's basketball vs akron
With Nuga out two of our big strengths are no longer strengths. Three point shooting and rebounding. We're a team without an identity right now. So do we change things up to try to get good at those things again? Or look for a new identity?
Right now, Pippen and Gio are the only guys I feel good about shooting a three. Someone else is going to have to get going or the season's probably going to fizzle. Here's what our shooters look like.
Pippen: 114 attempts, 32.5%
Nuga: 96 attempts, 38.5%
Gio: 63 attempts, 49.2%
Jordan: 41 attempts, 26.8%
Hernandez: 20 attempts, 5.0%
Jacobs: 18 attempts, 33.3%
Hamilton: 11 attempts, 9.1%
Beck: 8 attempts, 62.5%
Pippen, Gio, Nuga, and Beck have attempted 281 threes and we're averaging 1.17 points per attempt. All other players have attempted 105 threes and we're averaging 0.57 points per attempt. That's a massive drop off. We're less than half as effective when anyone else shoots.
So the question is how do we fix our loss in three point efficiency when none of the lower volume guys look poised to step up? I don't think the answer can be one guy. Here's some thoughts.
1. Based on Jacobs juco career I think his volume of shots is right around where it should stay. 12-38 threes over two JC seasons.
2. Gio's volume needs to increase. His percentage will likely drop, but when you're searching for shooters and the guy that's third on your team in attempts is near 50%, he probably needs more looks.
3. Jacobs and Gio have the same number of assists and Jacobs has one fewer turnover. Gio appears to be a better spot up shooter than off the dribble. This leads me to think we could shift to Jacobs running the point more heavily without losing much, allowing Gio to spot up more.
4. Gio's mindset probably needs to be reconditioned a little to understand that the "right basketball play" isn't always the best decision. Frequently the ball starts moving around the perimeter and he catches it at the elbow extended with a defender a step behind and quickly swings it to the wide open guy in the corner. This is 100% the right basketball play. However, when that open guy in the corner is 1-20 from three, Gio taking the lightly contested three is the better decision. This shift in mentality would probably be tough for a PG to make, but it would be a big improvement I think.
4. Encourage Beck to shoot more. Do I want him taking 5 threes a game? Probably not. But for his career he's attempted 64 threes and is shooting 35.9%. Also, he's been pretty effective at driving this year and is often guarded by a bigger guy. So he's being given a cushion when he catches it outside the arc.
5. Can anyone else step up? To me the obvious answer here is Jordan. He has to be the guy to step up. 4th on the team in attempts but only shooting 26.8% is pretty bad. In his two JC seasons he was 95-240 (39.6%) from three. So it seems like he has it in him to step up. It's now or never.
6. We need good shot selection and part of that is knowing if you should be taking the shot. Hernandez is now 1-20. In their careers, Hamilton is 3-20 and Bainbridge is 1-23. Right now if any of these three are open, it's because the opponent wants them to shoot it. Pippen's shot selection sometimes needs some help too, but often he's trying to bail us out from stagnant possessions, so it is what it is.
7. Too bad TK Smith and his 142-383 (37% with crazy volume) in two JC seasons isn't still around. Playing a tight rotation often means guys aren't ready, or they've already left if you end up needing them because of injuries.
To summarize. More looks for Gio. Jacobs runs the offense more to allow Gio more spot ups. More looks for Beck. Jordan needs to step up. Everyone else, know you're role.
The other giant loss we have with Nuga out is rebounding. He's a great rebounding guard and made us special on the glass. Of our remaining guards, only Jacobs is a plus rebounder. Not sure there's a great answer here, but of players that have played at least 25 minutes, VCD is #1 on the team in rebounds per 40 minutes and O'Neal is #2. Bainbridge is ahead of only Hernandez and Gio. So any additional minutes at the 3, 4, 5 need to be going to VCD or O'Neal not Bainbridge.
Since all but one of our remaining guards aren't plus rebounders we either accept we're an average rebounding team or we play more 3 big lineups. We've been doing a lot of it with Beck at the 3 this year. Might be time to feed VCD some minutes at the 3 when Beck's off the court. He won some contested rebounds last night.
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