It's important to watch games and eliminate some things that a month ago were deemed as gospel. Two important points or things to consider before we see the repeated comments about what's needed etc.
Ron Harper Jr...stat line looks still very spotty but it's been very good IMO......we had fans saying "stop shooting 3's, his shot is flat, he's not a good shooter".......or "only take 2 pointers".....his stat line is 23.3% from 3....its actually very deceiving.
From the start of the season through Maine, Harper shot 5 of 36 from 3....that's over 12 games, which isn't a small sample size but enough to make fans wonder....is Harper a good shooter??
Since the restart of B1G, Harper Jr is shooting 9 of 24 from 3, which is a very good 37.5% from 3 point land. Over a sample of 7 games but something to consider if he stays on this pace, RU becomes more effective. Each 3 he makes, adds offense to a team still sorting out where points come from.
I don't know how you measure impact but at 48-46 vs PSU, Harper took a 3 that pushed the lead to 51-46....a key basket that was early in the shot clock and in rhythm.
We add Montez Mathis....who obviously has been mentioned in other threads, but increased playing time, staying out of foul trouble and attacking the basket, has his numbers looking different.
Since the restart of B1G play vs Maryland, he's shooting 36 out of 81 from the field, which is 44.4% from the field. That includes a deceiving 4-15 from the field vs PSU, where he had a couple of shots challenged at the basket and a rushed 3 against the shot clock.
But he was also told, "don't shoot 3's".....which i get it....he's not a pretty jump shooter or launcher from 3...BUT, you cannot crowd him, because he can drive around his defender, so he will get space to shoot....and in these last 7 games, shooting a very solid 6 of 16 from 3.....the same 37.5% from 3 as Harper Jr........2 in the ugly Purdue game, one to start the Maryland game and 2 yesterday vs PSU....another 3 in the Norrhwestern game as well.
More important than the 3's, Mathis has been attacking the basket and drawing fouls, which is more important than making the 3s...when you attack the basket, get downhill towards the basket, you do the following to help the team win games....
A) you add fouls to the defender, which makes coaches make adjustments. Coaches hate having key players get into foul trouble.
B) Mathis forces referees who somehow seem to forget to call fouls against our opponents at times....i could argue that on at least 5 or 6 of Mathis drives, he was fouled while making the basket or dunk and didn't get the " And 1"...
C) RU gets in the bonus quicker. So when Geo Baker is fouled late in games, he's shooting FTs under 8 minutes in the game vs sometimes not getting to the line much later in the game.
D) What Mathis also does is allow RU to set up defensively. The bigs catch their breath, the team can exhale. I know he's not shooting 80% from the line in these recent 7 games, he's at 65.7 or essentially 2 out of 3 from the line....all things considered with the defense and pressure he places on the opponents, I'm not going to worry about FTs just yet.
Add in Geo coming alive in the last 2 games and suddenly a game turns into 7 3s made instead of 4 or 5. A 6.5 point underdog wins by 4....a solid 8 to 9 point underdog vs Nebraska wins by 7.
I don't know if these stats are sustainable or how teams will adjust but as long as Geo draws attention, Harper and Mathis will thrive.....and if they attack Mathis, it will open up Geo.
Add in a couple of baskets from Shaq Carter and 7 to 9 rebounds and then Eugene finds a couple of baskets and FTs and you have a different feel of what's happening. It's no longer the Eugene and Geo show. It's a more balanced attack.
The overall stat line for the season is what it is....but carving out what impacts wins or changes the perception is what Harper and Mathis are doing. Their production limits empty possessions or shot attempts landing elsewhere when they were earning less playing time.... A few other tweaks yesterday found quality minutes and shots for Kiss and McConnell.
The staff and players are working very hard to tighten up loose ends, while developing players in the system, against very good competition. This isn't Boston University or Columbia, Drexel, with all respect to those programs...this is against our peers and bodes well for the rest of the season.
Ron Harper Jr...stat line looks still very spotty but it's been very good IMO......we had fans saying "stop shooting 3's, his shot is flat, he's not a good shooter".......or "only take 2 pointers".....his stat line is 23.3% from 3....its actually very deceiving.
From the start of the season through Maine, Harper shot 5 of 36 from 3....that's over 12 games, which isn't a small sample size but enough to make fans wonder....is Harper a good shooter??
Since the restart of B1G, Harper Jr is shooting 9 of 24 from 3, which is a very good 37.5% from 3 point land. Over a sample of 7 games but something to consider if he stays on this pace, RU becomes more effective. Each 3 he makes, adds offense to a team still sorting out where points come from.
I don't know how you measure impact but at 48-46 vs PSU, Harper took a 3 that pushed the lead to 51-46....a key basket that was early in the shot clock and in rhythm.
We add Montez Mathis....who obviously has been mentioned in other threads, but increased playing time, staying out of foul trouble and attacking the basket, has his numbers looking different.
Since the restart of B1G play vs Maryland, he's shooting 36 out of 81 from the field, which is 44.4% from the field. That includes a deceiving 4-15 from the field vs PSU, where he had a couple of shots challenged at the basket and a rushed 3 against the shot clock.
But he was also told, "don't shoot 3's".....which i get it....he's not a pretty jump shooter or launcher from 3...BUT, you cannot crowd him, because he can drive around his defender, so he will get space to shoot....and in these last 7 games, shooting a very solid 6 of 16 from 3.....the same 37.5% from 3 as Harper Jr........2 in the ugly Purdue game, one to start the Maryland game and 2 yesterday vs PSU....another 3 in the Norrhwestern game as well.
More important than the 3's, Mathis has been attacking the basket and drawing fouls, which is more important than making the 3s...when you attack the basket, get downhill towards the basket, you do the following to help the team win games....
A) you add fouls to the defender, which makes coaches make adjustments. Coaches hate having key players get into foul trouble.
B) Mathis forces referees who somehow seem to forget to call fouls against our opponents at times....i could argue that on at least 5 or 6 of Mathis drives, he was fouled while making the basket or dunk and didn't get the " And 1"...
C) RU gets in the bonus quicker. So when Geo Baker is fouled late in games, he's shooting FTs under 8 minutes in the game vs sometimes not getting to the line much later in the game.
D) What Mathis also does is allow RU to set up defensively. The bigs catch their breath, the team can exhale. I know he's not shooting 80% from the line in these recent 7 games, he's at 65.7 or essentially 2 out of 3 from the line....all things considered with the defense and pressure he places on the opponents, I'm not going to worry about FTs just yet.
Add in Geo coming alive in the last 2 games and suddenly a game turns into 7 3s made instead of 4 or 5. A 6.5 point underdog wins by 4....a solid 8 to 9 point underdog vs Nebraska wins by 7.
I don't know if these stats are sustainable or how teams will adjust but as long as Geo draws attention, Harper and Mathis will thrive.....and if they attack Mathis, it will open up Geo.
Add in a couple of baskets from Shaq Carter and 7 to 9 rebounds and then Eugene finds a couple of baskets and FTs and you have a different feel of what's happening. It's no longer the Eugene and Geo show. It's a more balanced attack.
The overall stat line for the season is what it is....but carving out what impacts wins or changes the perception is what Harper and Mathis are doing. Their production limits empty possessions or shot attempts landing elsewhere when they were earning less playing time.... A few other tweaks yesterday found quality minutes and shots for Kiss and McConnell.
The staff and players are working very hard to tighten up loose ends, while developing players in the system, against very good competition. This isn't Boston University or Columbia, Drexel, with all respect to those programs...this is against our peers and bodes well for the rest of the season.
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