M. Basketball. Bulldogs Win C-USA Opener over Golden Eagles

[skilldawg]

He's still shooting 42% from beyond the arc. Among the ones with significant attempts, he's second on the team (Boykins is just under 44%). Speedy also has the highest ft%. I think he needs to look for the 3 earlier in the possession (if open). Then, if he has a clear lane to the basket on the break, go ahead and lay it up. I agree that his scoring the ball might open up better assist options.

Tonight may very well be a night that we need some scoring out of Speedy.

[dawg80]

Like 20 pts....

[gabzooks]

What else is he going to do with the ball if he's not shooting it or rebounding it? It's not that difficult to PASS a basketball. Some of you guys are placing waaaaaay to much value onto this "assist" stat.

I think this is Speedy's issue too.

[gabzooks]

I think you are wrong. We beat Oklahoma: Speedy had 7 points. We beat Georgia: Speedy had 3 points (a huge game clinching 3) and Raheem wasn't really playing then. This team is at its best when Speedy is not scoring. When Speedy is scoring, that means the other guys are struggling. He took two shots @ USM.

Speedy needs to increase his scoring a little when Alex and Raheem are on their game, but his main role is getting the ball to those guys. At USM, Speedy set up the three for Raheem all night by driving to the basket and kicking to Raheem.

Speedy's role is to distribute, defend, run the floor, and step up on offense when the other guys are struggling. It is unfair to say he did not have a good night simply because he did not score.

We lost alot of personnel from the team that accomplished the above. It's just not the same team anymore. This year, I think, we'll need Speedy to contribute more points-wise.

[HogDawg]

I think his goal this season is to be #1 in NCAA assists. There are times when he's on a breakaway with no opponent in site and he'll pass to get the assist.

He is currenlty 2nd behind NSU player. Last year he finished 2nd.
Assists Per Game Leaders - Top 100 Qualified

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	MPG	AST	APG	TO	TOPG	AP40M	AST/TO
1	Jalan West, G	NWST	13	32.7	102	7.8	34	2.6	9.6	3.00
2	Kenneth Smith, G	LT	14	30.8	107	7.6	38	2.7	9.9	2.82
3	Brett Comer, G	FGCU	16	30.6	119	7.4	44	2.8	9.7	2.70
4	Kris Dunn, G	PROV	14	31.0	104	7.4	59	4.2	9.6	1.76
5	Shannon Scott, G	OSU	15	28.5	111	7.4	37	2.5	10.4	3.00
6	Tyler Strange, G	WEBB	15	31.7	105	7.0	27	1.8	8.8	3.89
	Kahlil Felder, G	OAK	15	39.3	105	7.0	68	4.5	7.1	1.54
8	P.J. Hardwick, G	ARST	10	34.3	69	6.9	23	2.3	8.0	3.00
9	Nigel Williams-Goss, G	WASH	14	35.1	94	6.7	42	3.0	7.6	2.24
10	Christopher Anderson, G	USD	16	31.6	105	6.6	51	3.2	8.3	2.06

Okay.....so do we want Speedy to be like the NSU player, or like the Top 20 Point Guards in the nation I posted about in post #109??

[HogDawg]

Tonight may very well be a night that we need some scoring out of Speedy.

Oh....why is that? I thought you all said we didn't need any scoring out of Speedy? You guys make up your mind.

[Dawg06]

Like I said, Southern Miss is the worst team in C-USA right now... UTSA beat Southern Miss by 20 points tonight! Dumpster. Fire. In. The. Burg.

[skilldawg]

Oh....why is that? I thought you all said we didn't need
any scoring out of Speedy? You guys make up your mind.

Now you r just being obtuse

[skilldawg]

It's interesting that both games that you mentioned above were from LAST year. That was a vastly different team, with Raheem out of the lineup. Different chemistry too.

I think you and I simply have a difference of opinion on this. Below is an article outlining the Top 25 College Point Guards in the nation this year. (Admittedly, it's one man's opinion, but the data and stats are telling.) Overall, these Top 20 Points guards average right at 13 points per game (actually 12.975) and 4.05 Assists per game. By contrast, Speedy is averaging only 5.0 points per game, with 7.6 assists. And of course he produced ZERO points against USM, which was my point all along.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ketball-season


Again, it's just my opinion, but I don't think we are getting the Points Per Game production out of Speedy that we need to be successfully BALANCED. IMO, Speedy needs to be contributing another 5-7 points per game for us to be at our best. If he does that, we'll see better free throw shooting, and the other guys (especially Raheem) will have have more open looks.

I know you may think I am beating a dead horse here, but I somehow missed this post earlier in the week.

... and don't get me wrong, I do love to see Speedy score.

But those numbers you posted don't dispute that Speedy is a top 20 caliber guard when you look at total production.

The top 20 average 4.05 assists per game and 12.975 points per game. If you calculate what the assists contribute and add it to the points you come up with a value of 21.48 points per game (4.05 X 2.1 + 12.975) The 2.1 is arbitrary, but I think fair, considering that some assists will be for a 3 pointer.

Speedy's value is 21.72 (7.6 X 2.2 + 5) Again, the 2.2 is arbitrary, but I think probably conservative, given the greater muber of total assists and the number of 3 point plays that Speedy generates.

Factor in the number of steals that Speedy gets, therefore taking away scoring opportunites for the opponents and his numbers more than stand up. In fact, I think he outperforms the so called Top 20. Bleacher Report just falls into the same trap that so many basketball fans fall into with over-emphasizing the points scored.

And with that, this episode of fun with math is concluded.