Conference stats...who should shoot more and shoot less ?

[the Blades]

things that stand out... of the guys who can create their own shot....

..............................GP-GS... Min/G... FG%... 3PT%... FT%... R/G ... A/G... STL... BLK... PTS/G
Miller, Shonn.........14-14.. . 27.1..... 566.... .357.... .848..... 5.4...... 0.7..... 18 .... 13....... 13.0
Purvis, Rodney......14-4..... 26.9 .... .378.... .348.... .679...... 2.4..... 1.3...... 14...... 1....... 10.8
Gibbs, Sterling......14-14.....34.7.... .377.... .425..... .878..... 1.8..... 2.6........ 8....... 1....... 12.5
Hamilton, Daniel..14-14.... 32.1.... .310.... .290.... .853...... 9.5..... 4.6...... 13...... 6....... 10.4
Adams, Jalen.........14-7..... 24.4.... .443.... .111..... .870...... 2.4...... 1.7..... 17...... 6........ 7.7
Brimah, Amida.......7-5...... 18.7..... 583.... .000.... .818..... 3.4....... 0.1...... 2..... 14........ 5.3
Calhoun, Omar.....14-3.....15.1..... .400.... .321......833.... 1.9....... 0.8....... 7........ 2....... 4.1
Facey, Kentan......13-4...... 12.2.... .577.... .000..... .667.... 3.7....... 0.3....... 2 ..... 14....... 2.8
Cassell Jr., Sam.....5-0........ 3.6.... .333.... .400..... .000..... 0.4...... 0.0....... 0 ....... 0........ 1.2
Nolan, Phillip...... 14-5...... 12.9... .545.... .000..... .800..... 2.1...... 0.2....... 4....... 5........ 2.0
Enoch, Steven.......11-0..... 5.5.... .455.... .000..... .000..... 1.4...... 0.1....... 0....... 0........ 0.9

 

[anon_65nwv98c2idwc]

I hate seeing all those FT% numbers skewed by Rodney. It was nice to see a 3 go in for Jalen on Saturday, even in a loss. We need his outside game down the road, but his driving WAY more this year. He has such a great knack for getting to the hoop and is getting better at drawing the and 1.

Has Sterling seemed off to you guys for the last few weeks? Seems like he is not shot hunting at all. I tried to watch how they have been defending him and I dont see a ton of difference, but I am no coach by any means.

 

[the Blades]

My take is Sterling ( less drives/ more 3's) is way better when D-Ham or Jalen set him up in motion for his shot. Jalen is the guy we need to see create going to the hoop when the shot clock is running down. And D-Ham would be much better served just rebounding and staying under control facilitating, while only taking what the offensive flow gives him for shots. And feed the beast Miller down low.... earlier in the shot clock ( and often ) when possible.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Hard to believe Hamilton has shot 29% over 14 AAC games. He isn't that bad a shooter as those stats would suggest. But this is what happens to your stats when you take too many contested shots and you don't shoot well off balance.

 

[USNA90]

I actually don't mind seeing Hamilton take a three early in the shot clock, as long as it's an open look. It drives me crazy when they pass up an open look, drive into the lane, get stopped, kick it back out for another open look, pass it up again for another drive into a crowded lane, and eventually settle for a contested 25 foot shot with the clock running out. As far as Miller is concerned, it seems like they forget about him as an option after the first few minutes of each half. He can do a lot once he gets the ball in the post, and it's just surprising that he seems to disappear as an offensive option for long stretches.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

One of the reasons Miller isn't getting the ball is he gets double teamed a lot. He is the only inside threat on UConn and so a double team is really a reasonable defensive strategy. When he is played man to man he should get the ball, but I saw him getting doubled a lot. Other teams know what he can do and what the other UConn bigs can't do.

Regarding Hamilton, I would like to see him take open 3s, but most of the shots he takes are not open looks. He seems to be fond of taking contested shots off of drives, and that is why he is shooting what he is shooting. But more recently he has been picking his shots a little better.

Why Gibbs does not get more open looks at 3 is a mystery. He and the team need to do better to get those shots.

 

[UConnFamily]

Hamilton just needs to square up more and stop fading away. Also he shouldn't shy away from contact when going to the hoop.

Gibbs issue with not getting open 3s is his off the ball movement. He did better later in the Cincinnati game finding open areas in the corner for teammates to kick it to him

 

[the Blades]

Bottom line with Hamiton ( at 31% in the AAC) is he takes alot of off balanced, rushed and just plain bad shots. It also seems like 3 out of 4 times he rebounds and tries to go end to end something bad happens. I thought he was slightly better last year driving the lane in the half court. He still is able to penetrate but it's rare that he ever looks to wide open guys at the 3 point line when he gets jammed up on his drives or as said above takes it all the way in to draw contact. The lobs don't seem to be there as much because teams have scouted for that. But if he can recapture what a better shot is maybe his % will go up vs. teams beside the early season cupcakes.

So maybe Draft Express now ranked # 52 (and #33 by nbadraft.net) as a 2017, had it right and he needs to shoot less unless he's squared up and learn to play to his strengths as a 6'-8" playmaker:

"Hamilton's issues here are two-fold. For one, he takes quite a few off the dribble jumpers in the mid-range area, about 2.5 per game, and only hits 34% of them (.709 PPP), which is not a very attractive proposition. Secondly, he is a very poor finisher when he does venture closer to the basket, hitting just 46% of his “inside the paint” attempts last season. Hamilton is one of only handful of players in college basketball to attempt more floaters than lay-ups in the half-court according to Synergy Sports Technology, which tells you something about his struggles getting all the way to the basket. His combination of an average first step, a significant lack of upper and lower body strength, and poor explosiveness make it very difficult for him to convert plays in traffic at a high rate, and help explain why he gets to the free throw line so infrequently. Hamilton's struggles also translate to the open court, where his raw decision making skills are reflected in his gigantic 30% turnover rate and overall mediocre 0.7 points per possession in transition, one of the lowest rates in all of college basketball."

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

That's a really good scouting report on Hamilton. But he isn't the only poor finisher on the team. All of the perimeter players on this team are weak to average finishers, with Jalen Adams being the best. But I have also seen Jalen fail to finish drives when he gets bumped or a little bit of contact, which I think he will eventually adjust to and become a good finisher. Purvis, Hamilton and Gibbs are all weak finishing their drives. Gibbs like Hamilton doesn't have a great first step and when the defense converges and contests and stops the drive he is not good shooting off balance with contact. Purvis has an explosive first step but he can't make layups and his handle gets him into trouble when he has to change speed or direction to avoid contact. They are an imperfect group of players. We got badly spoiled by the finishing abilities of Kemba Walker and even Ryan Boatright, who both had the requisite toughness to go to the hole, get hammered and finish off their drives.

 

[the Blades]

Very true, that's why I'd love to see D-Ham more as a playmaker to set up Gibbs and Purvis from outside, he has the better handle even at 6-8 to break guys down... they are the better outside shooters.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

The other thing is when you have a team constructed like UConn whose system is premised upon defense and transition offense, if your personnel can't finish, the system doesn't work too well. Hamilton and Adams can improve their finishing by improving their strength. It's probably too late now for Purvis and Gibbs.