Roster Observations

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Reflecting a bit on the season today and wanted to share a few roster observations I've made at this point since we actually have some tape on some of our newcomers. . 

 

Anfernee McLemore has taken a step forward with his game this season. He is LEADING the SEC in blocks per game and is 6th nationally. What makes him so good is is quickness off the ground. He has good instincts to go along with it and he is becoming a great undersized rim protector. Additionally, he is extremely efficient in his shot selection. Shooting 59% from the floor (even with the occasional ill-advised 3pt attempt). He is shooting a blistering 88% from the foul line and averaging just under double digits. His play has moved him into the starting lineup over Spencer, and I think that is the right call by CBP. 

 

Chuma Okeke has not disappointed at all. He is as advertised, and then some. He has amazing potential as a 4 man, with size and good touch offensively. What I did not anticipate was how well he can shoot the ball. Shooting 50% from three-point-land and 72% from the foul line (which I expect to improve some).His rebounding is solid and improving, and he is just short of averaging 10pts per game. I think he is still finding his way a bit, but has the potential to fully find his footing and become one of our best players as league play approaches. 

Desean Murray has also been as billed, leading us in rebounding and scoring efficiently. He is averaging 9pts and shooting 55% from the floor in the process. I still have my doubts about his size as we get into league play against some larger rosters, but the combo of him and Okeke at the 4 allow us to play big or small at that spot. I think he is showing us pretty much what he has, and wouldn't expect much more out of him than we have already seen. 

Mustapha Heron continues his steady play., leading us in scoring at 17 pts a game and pulling down 6 boards a game. He has struggled a bit early on, he has really come on in the last three games, shooting  43% from deep (compared to 18% the first 4 games) and averaging nearly 17 pts (compared to 10 pts the first 4 games). I expect him to continue to play well. 

Bryce Brown has stepped forward this season in multiple ways. His confidence is off the charts, maybe too high at times, as he is looking to create much more.  He is neck and neck with Heron for leading the team in points at 17 per game, shooting 35% from 3 and 86% from the free throw line. Unlike last year, however, he has made and attempted more 2s than 3s. He is driving to the basket, shooting mid range jumpers, and is third on the team in assists (the top two are both point guards). To top it off, he has been our best on ball defender this season and seems to have embraced that role. I hope to see him be a little better on his choices to drive vs shoot, and think that would increase his shooting percentage. He has one of the nicest jumpers in the game and though he is doing well penetrating this season, that is not his strong suit. I hope to see a bit more driving from Heron and a bit more shooting from Brown. 

Jared Harper and Davion Mitchell have held down the point position well. I was worried about this spot with the loss of Johnson, but Harper has improved his turnovers, shot selection and defense, and Mitchell has handled the back up spot well. I am still concerned how they will perform in league play as the competition gets stiffer and the point guards get larger, but am optimist they will continue to progress. 

Malik Dunbar has pretty good numbers, 48% from the field, 40% from 3, at 6 pts a game in only 10 minutes per. I think he can earn more minutes if he were to be more aggressive rebounding the ball, as he is only averaging around 1 per game. With us being small in the post, our wings have to produce rebounds to get more minutes. I would hope to see him continue to improve, and do not believe we have seen all the tools he has to offer to this point. 

Horace Spencer started the first five games or so, but is losing his hold on that starting spot as McLemore continues to develop. Spencer hasn't developed much offensively this season, and I'd like to see him embrace his strengths and play more to them. Spencer needs to focus on moving more without the ball and cutting to the rim on offense, while focusing on better positioning and rebounding on defense. Defensively he has 8 blocks on the season (1/3 of what McLemore has), but he seems to chase every block he can. This puts him in terrible rebounding position. He simply needs to be better about deciding when to go for the block and when to play position defense and then attack a rebound. This is one area specifically where his poor rebounding is NOT about effort. His effort is high, it is simply being counterproductive to his ability to rebound by taking himself out of plays. If he doesn't correct this, it will continue to cost him minutes as the season progresses.  The last two games he has only averaged 12 minutes per, compared to the first two games where he played 16 and 21 minutes respectively. 

 

Here are some areas that have improved greatly as a team:  Currently, we are 39th in the nation from the charity stripe at nearly 77%, compared to last season when we shot 67%. Currently we are ranked 16th in rebounds per game, at 42 per compared to 36 per game last season. Last season we had three players average double figures, Heron 15, Purifoy 11, and Harper 11. This season we also have three with Heron 17, Brown 17 and Harper 10, but we have three more averaging 9+ in Okeke, McLemore and Murray. 

We are allowing 73 points per game as compared to 79 last season, as well as, scoring 88 compared to 80. Some of these statistics are certain to trend downwards as competition stiffens, so the challenge is for our guys to play mentally tough basketball. 

[Auhud08 596]

Knock on wood but this team seems to be gelling really well. Ive always like mclemore bc of his effort but he was obv down the the depth chart last year behing wiley and spencer. I think he and chuma are the biggest keys to this teams success. 

Always enjoy your write-ups @JwgreDeux

[AUGoo 2,659]

[Timeslider 6 269]

Good analysis, appreciate the effort and time you put into breaking down the team for people like me who are just a casual BB fan. 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

Good stuff here.

[Tiger 8,817]

Hey @JwgreDeux what are your thoughts on if Wiley and Anfernee can play together? Can Anfernee play the 4? We already have Chuma and Desean eating up most of the minutes there and I suppose Pearl prefers a 4 who has more of a perimeter skillset than Mclemore has (even though hes added a little bit of a 3 point shot to his game). I love what Mclemore brings to the table but obviously Wiley's size can't be duplicated

Edited December 7, 2017 by Tiger

[around4ever 4,139]

Nice post! Or was it a book?  

 ?  ?

J/k.  Great points. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

On 12/7/2017 at 12:35 PM, Tiger said:

Hey @JwgreDeux what are your thoughts on if Wiley and Anfernee can play together? Can Anfernee play the 4? We already have Chuma and Desean eating up most of the minutes there and I suppose Pearl prefers a 4 who has more of a perimeter skillset than Mclemore has (even though hes added a little bit of a 3 point shot to his game). I love what Mclemore brings to the table but obviously Wiley's size can't be duplicated

His game fits the 5 better in this system. He could absolutely play the 4, but that would pull him away from the basket more on defense and we would probably lose some of his shot blocking. I would expect him to back up Wiley if/when he comes back and Spencer to lose minutes. Remember that if Purifoy also comes back he may end up with some minutes at the 4 as well.