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It is always interesting after a season to dissect the stats, and see where we improved, held fast, or slid back to the negative. Ford really likes to harp on the edges, trying to squeeze every advantage the team can garner to create wins, so he has to be fairly pleased with the 2019 campaign as a whole.

Big picture wise, we improved in most of the offensive categories that first pop out. In comparing 2019/2018, we hit 71.7 ppg/67.4 ppg, so a bump to the good. Compared to 2018, we averaged 58/54 shots per game, so a bump up is a positive. Strangely enough, we bumped down in threes attempted, 488/630, but with the game differential it becomes 15.7 attpg/17.5 attpg.

Rebounds were static at 39.7rpg/39.8rpg, as were fts at 13.5/13.7 ftmpg. We marginally improved in turnovers, at 12.8/12.9 topg, markedly improved in steals at 7.5/7.1 stpg, and 14.5/13 assists per game, our best season for assists in the last 18 years.

I can’t stress enough how good a job Collins did at PG for a true freshman. To see a 4.3 ppg jump, a drop in turnovers per game, an increase in steals per game, and an increase of 1.5 assists per game, while pushing the pace to get 4 additional shots per game, really show how a superior facilitator PG can manage a team into significant improvement.

The second deep drilling for analysis is how Ford adjusted using French offensively. We were all concerned about how he could handle his ft woes.

In 2018, our big 5 made 409 fts, with this breakdown. Bess 139, isabell 98, Goodwin 72, foreman 58, French 37. French shot 106 fts.

In 2019 our big 4  made 291 fts, with this breakdown. Perkins 119, Goodwin 77, French 51, Collins 44. French shot 155 fts.

french’s 2019/18 split for fga was 307/303 for the two years. He had a similar number of shots in the paint but was fouled at a rate of 1.5 times more often, roughly.

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I expect our number of 3 pt attempts would have been higher last year and will be higher next year if Jimerson plays the entire year.  Also add in a higher yearly total for Perkins (who gained minutes and confidence as the year progressed) and a fair number from Lorentsson and expect a decent increase in the number of attempts.

Now if we could just get HF's FT % up to 50-55% that would really help!

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On the projection side, I see Ford sliding into a little more of his OSU player usage pattern. He liked the solitary big/four out a lot, but he would switch to two bigs, or big guards to supplement rebounding as needed. With our rooster, I see these groupings to flex between the true bigs/forward bigs as he likes. Again, I tagged the offensive stats as it is easier to flex time off scoring as the engine vs superior teams.

Bigs...min/fga/fg%
Linssen...(656)/(228)/(60)        
Bell...449/85/47              French...958/307/52

PFs.             Perkins...845/345/44.           Goodwin...1113/404/47.          Hargrove...311/98/52

SFs                              Jimerson...249/83/47.           Thatch...94/27/33.          

                     
PG                                Jacobs...663/153/42            Collins...969/150/37

Departed             Weaver/Hankton...570/145/37

Diarra, Strickland, and Lorentsson will all be fighting for minutes.

I would expect For to split the non-conference splitting time between playing either two from the first group, or second group, at a single time. We have to get Linssen established, and figure out how to play a double high screen, and high low effectively, with two bigs in the game.

Ford also needs to figure out whether Strickland and Lorentssen fit better into the second or third group of forwards early on.

We are going to match up far more effectively against teams with multiple bigs this year.

 

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1 hour ago, Sheltiedave said:

french’s 2019/18 split for fga was 307/303 for the two years. He had a similar number of shots in the paint but was fouled at a rate of 1.5 times more often, roughly.

It is nice when the eye test & logic match up with what the stats show.  As more and more teams realized French couldn't make FTs, they'd just hack him when he got the ball in the paint.  Good news for SLU is that French actually shot better from the field this past season.  Bad news is that all of those FT attempts at such a low rate is a huge drag on French's offensive efficiency.

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