The 1989-1990 LMU Lions is seen as the most explosive offense of all time, led by the up-tempo offense of Paul Westhead that set the record for average points scored at 122.4 per game and games with at least 100 points scored with 28 (out of 32 total games).
Let's take a look at some non-tempo free stats and revel in the marvel that was the dynamic offense before we break down how effective it was:
- Highest point total was 157 and scored 150+ points three times in 1990
- Set NCAA tournament record for points scored with 149 in win over Michigan
- Had 3 players average over 20 points per game (Kimble at 35.3, Gathers at 29 and Jeff Fryer at 22.7)
- Lowest output was 62 points in an NCAA tournament win
Just how efficient was the uptempo offense though? This team came before Ken Pom and others were crunching the tempo fee numbers so I took the liberty to calculate some of the tempo based stats that fans love today.
- Possessions per game: 103.1 (Highest in 09-10 was 84.8)
- Efficiency margin was 13.2 points (118.8 offensive efficiency and 105.6 defensive efficiency)
Four factors:
- Offensive efficiency: 118.8: (Highest raw data in 09-10 was 116.6; adjusted was 123.5)
- Effective field goal percentage: 57.1%. Their raw field goal percentage was 51.9% (Highest eFG% in 09-10 was 57.9%)
- Offensive rebound percentage: 36.99% (Highest in 09-10 was 42.1%)
- Free throw rate: 35.89% (52% was highest in 09-10)
The efficiency was actually a little higher than I thought it would be when I started this. It would have led the nation in raw efficiency but they benefited from playing some weak teams that season not only in non-conference schedule but the weak WCC that allowed them to boost their efficiency.
We see that they were solid shooters with a decent effective field goal percentage helped by a 40% 3 point field goal percentage. Couple that with the fact that they shot 23 3's per game and their eFG% shot through the roof and helped LMU make a run to the Elite 8.
From what I heard and saw of the 89-90 LMU lions, I envisioned a chaotic game with tons of turnovers, missed shots and offensive rebounds, translating into an average offense in terms of efficiency. What we see is that it actually was a highly efficient offense (at least in terms of today's offenses).
This was a very interesting exercise for me and disproved what I thought before crunching the numbers. Any thoughts on these findings?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Sporcle: Starters on the men's champions from 2000-2009?
From time to time, I will create sporcle games to test your knowledge of college basketball. My first one is the starters of the title games from 2000-2009 (year the game was played in). Test your knowledge and post your score in the comments!
Game Here
Game Here
Friday, April 16, 2010
Shine never fades: Joe Crispin
Browsing through the NCAA vault a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a game that had inexplicably slipped my mind (being from PA and all), which was the 2000 Sweet Sixteen matchup between Temple and Penn State. I could picture one of their players but just could not recall his name before it hit me: Joe Crispin. The 6'1" guard had an excellent career and it is worthy of a revisit, whether to drum up old memories or introduce you to a solid collegiate player.
Crispin got better each year at PSU, jumping from 9.6 points as a freshman 19.5 his senior season. He was an integral member of the offense each year, as his possession percentage was never lower than 20th in the conference and hitting #1 and #2 his junior and senior season, respectively. His best individual game was likely the game against in state rival Pitt his senior season where he finished with 36 points on 13-22 shooting (7-9 from 3), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in a convincing 14 point win.
It wasn't all roses for Crispin though as he struggled through many games. In addition, his only major contribution was scoring so if his shot was off, he was not much of an asset on the court. This is seen in his sophomore season as PSU fell to Ohio State with Crispin playing 23 minutes and shooting 0-10 from the field.
His brother Jon joined him at PSU for his junior and senior season (he then transferred to UCLA) and the brothers teamed up for one of the biggest wins in PSU history (if not the biggest). As a #7 seed they faced a daunting task in their second round matchup against #2 UNC, led by Julius Peppers and Joe Forte. Joe Crispin poured in 21 points while Jon chipped in a respectable 5 points to turn a 10 point underdog into an 8 point victor. Although PSU would go on to lose in the next round to Temple, Crispin went down in PSU folklore as one of the top players to don the uniform.
It is easy to forget Crispin as Penn State is a football school and have not had much success outside of this Sweet 16 appearance this decade. This is my first player that I have spotlighted that I think was forgotten on a national spotlight. So where is Crispin now? After several different professional stops (2004 ABA MVP!) he now plays in Italy. Check out his personal website here: Joe Crispin site
Here is a video from 2000 that shows highlights from PSU - Kentucky game (Joe Crispin is #3). Crispin poured in 31 points (Jon added 26) to upset the ranked Kentucky team on the road.
See highlights here
Most popular players of the last decade
Every March, the Ali Farokmanesh's and Steph Curry's captivate America for a few weeks as they lead their teams through the NCAA tournament. That flame is often fleeting, however, as they fade back into relative obscurity most of the time. There are some players, however, that grab America's hearts through their career and are popular across the country, even if the fan has no vested interest in the team. We touched on the villains of the past decade last week, so it is only fair we recognize some of the most loved players.
Eugene Edgerson, Arizona
Much like Duke is a factory for hated players, I feel as though Arizona has had many popular players throughout the past 10-15 years or so. Edgerson is the poster child for Arizona popularity, most likely because I was enthralled with his huge afro, high socks, hustle and overall demeanor. As if he needed to justify his popularity, he joined the Harlem Globetrotters after his Arizona career was over in case anybody had any doubt.
Dominic James, Marquette
The little guy that could out of Marquette established himself as a fighter and a winner despite his below average (for basketball standards) stature. He endeared himself to many fans and much of America felt for him when he injured himself his senior season, struggled in his return in the NCAA second round and was unable to complete his career on a positive note.
Glen Davis, LSU
'Big Baby' showed that you do not have to look like a workout freak to be a good basketball player. The plump LSU forward earned popularity with his ever present smile coupled with his ferocity on the court. He was the face of the LSU final four team and he was an easy character to love from the football crazy LSU.
Gerry McNamara, Syracuse
Another Big East guard makes our most popular list as McNamara saw his career go from role player on a national title team his freshman year to leader his senior year and sparking an incredible 4 day run through the Big East tournament that fueled Jim Boeheim to say 'Without Gerry McNamara, we don't win 10 (bleepin) games this year. Not 10!' Gerry Mac was popular outside of upstate New York (save the rest of the Big East) for his masterful three point shooting and his ability to relate to every YMCA chucker across America.
Who were some of your favorite players not on your favorite team?
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Decade that was: The hated players
Continuing in our series of looking back at the decade that was, we are going to discuss the most hated players of the past 10 years. No doubt this list would look different for each person depending who you are a fan of, who played well against your favorite team and where you live in the country. However, the following players were hated all across the county for several seasons.
Disclaimer: You will see a lot of white people on this list. Is it by design? Not really but the fact of the matter is that the game of basketball today is not populated by white people. When a successful one comes through, people will find a reason to knock them. Just comes with the territory and success I guess.
JJ Redick/Greg Paulus/Jon Scheyer, Duke
America loves to hate Duke. It's part of the reason why the 2010 final was so highly rated. If you are not a fan of Duke, you were rooting for Butler. I doubt there were more than a small percentage of viewers who were neutral in this game. These three players epitomize the Duke player that has came through Durham in the past 10 years and were the center of opposing fans vile throughout the ACC season. We went through JJ's poetry,Paulus' flopping and the Scheyer face and each time that we thought we were in the clear, a new player arrived who was easy to hate. Pick the player who you hated the most out of these three but they were all equally hated across America.
Eric Devendorf, Syracuse
You should notice two themes across the players on this list: They were great players for their team and they often acted in a negative way on the court (or off it). Devendorf fits both of these qualities to a T as he hit big shot after big shot for Syracuse and often followed that up by puffing out his chest and posing for the crowd. He was already hated prior to the incident where he was accused of striking a female early in the morning and this only added to the laundry list of reasons Big East fans and national fans had to hate him. I am sure that many of his enemies had a great laugh when he jumped on the scorers table in the Big East tournament after making the supposed winning shot before it was waved off. If you asked 5 people why they did not like Devendorf, you may have gotten 5 different answers from the fact that he plays for Syracuse, is white, tattooed, hits the big shot or allegedly hit a female. Even though you may hate him, you have to respect his game play and how well he fit into Boeheim's system.
Jason Kapono, UCLA
The West Coast needs to represent and no school has been more successful than UCLA. The most hated player to play there in the last decade has to be Jason Kapono. A google search for Jason Kapono sucks brings up a whole message board relating to why he sucks so much. I remember watching each of his games at UCLA and being drawn back to one perplexing thought, "How does he play with so much hair gel? Does it not get in his eyes?" His 16.5 career PPG show that he was an easy target for PAC 10 fans, as getting in his head could be the key to stopping UCLA.
Joakim Noah, Florida
Noah definitely fits into the second trait of hated players which was shown in his on court antics and demeanor. He would yell after big baskets, dance poorly after winning titles and just have a general attitude that draws the ire of the opposing fans. Noah was the kind of player that did not have the skill level of some of the other players on the court, but he scrapped, hustled and played physical (opposing fans read 'dirty') and that is why fans did not like him. Big 10 fans immediately think of Chris Kramer as a similar player.
Greivis Vazquez, Maryland
The ultimate combo of talent and attitude to become the most hated player in the ACC not wearing a Duke uniform in a long time. I can guarantee if he did don the blue and white of the Blue Devils, the national hatred level of Vazquez would have rose to epic proportions. The changing hairstyles, the shimmy shake after a big 3 and of course the anticipation of him putting a mediocre Maryland team on his back and leading them to victory were the main reasons fans hated him. Vazquez loved to be hated and often played to the fans, quieting them after a big shot and performing his patented shimmy shake even more on the road, drawing the ire of fans. He was the reason that NC State fans drew up a sign saying 'Deport Vazquez'. Racist? Of course. But this is the type of hatred Vazquez drew in his 4 years at Maryland.
Others considered:
Luke Walton, Arizona
Chris Kramer, Purdue
Luke Harnagody, Notre Dame
Hasheen Thabeet, UConn
Disclaimer: You will see a lot of white people on this list. Is it by design? Not really but the fact of the matter is that the game of basketball today is not populated by white people. When a successful one comes through, people will find a reason to knock them. Just comes with the territory and success I guess.
JJ Redick/Greg Paulus/Jon Scheyer, Duke
America loves to hate Duke. It's part of the reason why the 2010 final was so highly rated. If you are not a fan of Duke, you were rooting for Butler. I doubt there were more than a small percentage of viewers who were neutral in this game. These three players epitomize the Duke player that has came through Durham in the past 10 years and were the center of opposing fans vile throughout the ACC season. We went through JJ's poetry,Paulus' flopping and the Scheyer face and each time that we thought we were in the clear, a new player arrived who was easy to hate. Pick the player who you hated the most out of these three but they were all equally hated across America.
Eric Devendorf, Syracuse
You should notice two themes across the players on this list: They were great players for their team and they often acted in a negative way on the court (or off it). Devendorf fits both of these qualities to a T as he hit big shot after big shot for Syracuse and often followed that up by puffing out his chest and posing for the crowd. He was already hated prior to the incident where he was accused of striking a female early in the morning and this only added to the laundry list of reasons Big East fans and national fans had to hate him. I am sure that many of his enemies had a great laugh when he jumped on the scorers table in the Big East tournament after making the supposed winning shot before it was waved off. If you asked 5 people why they did not like Devendorf, you may have gotten 5 different answers from the fact that he plays for Syracuse, is white, tattooed, hits the big shot or allegedly hit a female. Even though you may hate him, you have to respect his game play and how well he fit into Boeheim's system.
Jason Kapono, UCLA
The West Coast needs to represent and no school has been more successful than UCLA. The most hated player to play there in the last decade has to be Jason Kapono. A google search for Jason Kapono sucks brings up a whole message board relating to why he sucks so much. I remember watching each of his games at UCLA and being drawn back to one perplexing thought, "How does he play with so much hair gel? Does it not get in his eyes?" His 16.5 career PPG show that he was an easy target for PAC 10 fans, as getting in his head could be the key to stopping UCLA.
Joakim Noah, Florida
Noah definitely fits into the second trait of hated players which was shown in his on court antics and demeanor. He would yell after big baskets, dance poorly after winning titles and just have a general attitude that draws the ire of the opposing fans. Noah was the kind of player that did not have the skill level of some of the other players on the court, but he scrapped, hustled and played physical (opposing fans read 'dirty') and that is why fans did not like him. Big 10 fans immediately think of Chris Kramer as a similar player.
Greivis Vazquez, Maryland
The ultimate combo of talent and attitude to become the most hated player in the ACC not wearing a Duke uniform in a long time. I can guarantee if he did don the blue and white of the Blue Devils, the national hatred level of Vazquez would have rose to epic proportions. The changing hairstyles, the shimmy shake after a big 3 and of course the anticipation of him putting a mediocre Maryland team on his back and leading them to victory were the main reasons fans hated him. Vazquez loved to be hated and often played to the fans, quieting them after a big shot and performing his patented shimmy shake even more on the road, drawing the ire of fans. He was the reason that NC State fans drew up a sign saying 'Deport Vazquez'. Racist? Of course. But this is the type of hatred Vazquez drew in his 4 years at Maryland.
Others considered:
Luke Walton, Arizona
Chris Kramer, Purdue
Luke Harnagody, Notre Dame
Hasheen Thabeet, UConn
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Decade that was: The best players
Over the next few weeks, I will be looking back at the past 10 years of college basketball and remembering the best players, the heroes, the villains and a few other random ideas I have. For these purposes, the 10 years I will be looking at are the seasons that begun in 2000-2009. You only had to play one year in this range to be eligible but more weight was given to those who played the majority of their career in said decade.
With that, let's get to our first list of the best players this decade. I have my top 2 teams each made up of 5 players. Much like the All-American teams, no favoritism toward position was given. Also, after a long internal debate, I decided to give everyone a fair look for the list, even those that only played one year. At first, there was going to be a two year requirement but I realized it would be excluding a majority of the top players to roll through college basketball this year.
Let's get to the first team in no particular order:
G - Juan Dixon, Maryland
- 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists
MOP 2002 NCAA tournament
Dixon is definitely the first guard I would pick from the decade. Not only was he a great scorer, he was an awesome defender (2.4 steals per game, the same number of turnovers he averaged) and a leader for the Terps.
G - Jameer Nelson
-16.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists
A player with a similar style to Dixon, Nelson burst onto the scene his senior year but he was only doing what he had been doing his whole career at St. Joe's. He was a great 4 year player although he had to do most of it under the radar.
F - Carmelo Anthony
- 22.2 points, 10 rebounds
Melo left a major mark on college basketball by leading the Cuse to a national title in 2003. He went on to be in one the best draft classes in NBA history and left Syracuse fans wondering just how many titles they could have won with the likes of Anthony, Warrick, McNamara and others.
F - Kevin Durant
-25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 40% 3 point
Another freshman who had a monster year before leaving for the NBA, Durant captivated the fans of college basketball during 2007. The wiry player could score from anywhere, as he had 30 of 35 games over 20 points.
F- Tyler Hansbrough
-20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds
We touched on Hansbrough in the last post as he will go down as one of the best ACC players of all time. Hansbrough was a steady contributor for all 4 years of his career and ended his career as the leading scorer in the ACC.
Second Team:
G: Chris Paul: Wake Forest
G: JJ Redick: Duke
F: Adam Morrison: Gonzaga
F: Blake Griffin: Oklahoma
F: Shane Battier: Duke
The second team is headlined by a pair of Dukies in Redick and Battier. We have no one and dones on the list, as both Griffin and Paul stayed for their sophomore seasons before leaving for the greener pastures of the NBA. We also have a great individual rivalry between Redick and Morrison (although the two teams never met and both had their season end in disappointment).
The second team was a hard decision as their were many great players left (TJ Ford, Ty Lawson, Joakim Noah, Michael Beasley, Ben Gordon, etc).
Any egregious errors? Any changes you would make?
With that, let's get to our first list of the best players this decade. I have my top 2 teams each made up of 5 players. Much like the All-American teams, no favoritism toward position was given. Also, after a long internal debate, I decided to give everyone a fair look for the list, even those that only played one year. At first, there was going to be a two year requirement but I realized it would be excluding a majority of the top players to roll through college basketball this year.
Let's get to the first team in no particular order:
G - Juan Dixon, Maryland
- 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists
MOP 2002 NCAA tournament
Dixon is definitely the first guard I would pick from the decade. Not only was he a great scorer, he was an awesome defender (2.4 steals per game, the same number of turnovers he averaged) and a leader for the Terps.
G - Jameer Nelson
-16.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists
A player with a similar style to Dixon, Nelson burst onto the scene his senior year but he was only doing what he had been doing his whole career at St. Joe's. He was a great 4 year player although he had to do most of it under the radar.
F - Carmelo Anthony
- 22.2 points, 10 rebounds
Melo left a major mark on college basketball by leading the Cuse to a national title in 2003. He went on to be in one the best draft classes in NBA history and left Syracuse fans wondering just how many titles they could have won with the likes of Anthony, Warrick, McNamara and others.
F - Kevin Durant
-25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 40% 3 point
Another freshman who had a monster year before leaving for the NBA, Durant captivated the fans of college basketball during 2007. The wiry player could score from anywhere, as he had 30 of 35 games over 20 points.
F- Tyler Hansbrough
-20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds
We touched on Hansbrough in the last post as he will go down as one of the best ACC players of all time. Hansbrough was a steady contributor for all 4 years of his career and ended his career as the leading scorer in the ACC.
Second Team:
G: Chris Paul: Wake Forest
G: JJ Redick: Duke
F: Adam Morrison: Gonzaga
F: Blake Griffin: Oklahoma
F: Shane Battier: Duke
The second team is headlined by a pair of Dukies in Redick and Battier. We have no one and dones on the list, as both Griffin and Paul stayed for their sophomore seasons before leaving for the greener pastures of the NBA. We also have a great individual rivalry between Redick and Morrison (although the two teams never met and both had their season end in disappointment).
The second team was a hard decision as their were many great players left (TJ Ford, Ty Lawson, Joakim Noah, Michael Beasley, Ben Gordon, etc).
Any egregious errors? Any changes you would make?
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Comparison: Tim Duncan vs. Tyler Hansbrough
One of the features on this site is going to be player comparisons from different eras. I am not going to research the comparison going on, they will simply be similar players from different eras. I will then present the comparison, give my opinion and open it up for comments.
The first one is between two of the best big men to patrol the paint in the ACC: Tim Duncan vs. Tyler Hansbrough
Statsheet.com gives us their senior year comparison:
Senior Year
What jumps out at me from that single year comparison is that Hansbrough was a significantly better scorer that season. Despite the fact that he used fewer possessions (26.5 to Duncan's 29.7) and averaged fewer minutes per game, he scored the same amount of points per game (which obviously translates into a higher points per 40). This was a bit shocking for me at first, as I did not think Hansbrough was as big a factor in the offensive game his senior year but he still managed to be better than Duncan.
Obviously though, basketball is just not about points and this is where Duncan shines. He averaged 6 more rebounds, 2 more assists and 3 more blocks than Hansbrough did that season. Hansbrough was too busy adjusting his shorts to be an asset to the UNC team on the defensive end.
Duncan was a defensive force in the middle for the Demon Deacons as he won Defensive Player of the Year (national) 3 straight seasons! Although he was often the second offensive option on Wake behind Randolph Childress, he was invaluable on the defensive end.
We see similar trends throughout the careers of these two players. Let's compare the two careers side by side on a per game basis.
Duncan: 16.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.8 blocks, 2.6 turnovers, 57% FG, 69% FT
Hansbrough: 20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 blocks, (no turnover stats), 53% FG, 79% FT
As you can see, similar trends of the senior season affect the career of these players. Duncan was more of an all around force while Hansbrough made his mark 15 feet and in on the offensive end. Duncan was in double digit rebounds all but one year (freshman: 9.6) while Hansbrough reached that mark only once.
The main factor that separates these two players for me is the defense. As mentioned, Duncan was a 3 time DPOY while Hansbrough was not seen as a defensive liability but it was definitely not his strength and I think as though teams felt they could attack him with their post players.
What we have here is two of the great forwards in all-time ACC history. Team success and media hype may lead you to believe that Hansbrough was better than Duncan but this is not a team comparison here. There is no doubt (eschewing NBA comparisons) that Duncan was the better college player. He was similar on the offensive end, controlled the glass and was one of the top defensive players to play the game.
Let's go to the results:
Due to the fact that Hansbrough was a great offensive player and all he did for his team, he is no doubt going to go down as a top ACC player of all time. He can't live up to the contributions that Duncan gave to his team on both ends of the court, however, as he fell short in all other categories. This may look close in theory but the stats show that Duncan was an all around better player.
Duncan >> Hansbrough
Rating system:
= : Comparison is too close to call
> : Slight edge
>> : One player was significantly better
>>> : Call up AAA, this comparison was not even close
>>>> : Comparison was a waste of time, it's obvious who is better (hopefully it will never come to this)
The first one is between two of the best big men to patrol the paint in the ACC: Tim Duncan vs. Tyler Hansbrough
Statsheet.com gives us their senior year comparison:
Senior Year
What jumps out at me from that single year comparison is that Hansbrough was a significantly better scorer that season. Despite the fact that he used fewer possessions (26.5 to Duncan's 29.7) and averaged fewer minutes per game, he scored the same amount of points per game (which obviously translates into a higher points per 40). This was a bit shocking for me at first, as I did not think Hansbrough was as big a factor in the offensive game his senior year but he still managed to be better than Duncan.
Obviously though, basketball is just not about points and this is where Duncan shines. He averaged 6 more rebounds, 2 more assists and 3 more blocks than Hansbrough did that season. Hansbrough was too busy adjusting his shorts to be an asset to the UNC team on the defensive end.
Duncan was a defensive force in the middle for the Demon Deacons as he won Defensive Player of the Year (national) 3 straight seasons! Although he was often the second offensive option on Wake behind Randolph Childress, he was invaluable on the defensive end.
We see similar trends throughout the careers of these two players. Let's compare the two careers side by side on a per game basis.
Duncan: 16.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.8 blocks, 2.6 turnovers, 57% FG, 69% FT
Hansbrough: 20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 blocks, (no turnover stats), 53% FG, 79% FT
As you can see, similar trends of the senior season affect the career of these players. Duncan was more of an all around force while Hansbrough made his mark 15 feet and in on the offensive end. Duncan was in double digit rebounds all but one year (freshman: 9.6) while Hansbrough reached that mark only once.
The main factor that separates these two players for me is the defense. As mentioned, Duncan was a 3 time DPOY while Hansbrough was not seen as a defensive liability but it was definitely not his strength and I think as though teams felt they could attack him with their post players.
What we have here is two of the great forwards in all-time ACC history. Team success and media hype may lead you to believe that Hansbrough was better than Duncan but this is not a team comparison here. There is no doubt (eschewing NBA comparisons) that Duncan was the better college player. He was similar on the offensive end, controlled the glass and was one of the top defensive players to play the game.
Let's go to the results:
Due to the fact that Hansbrough was a great offensive player and all he did for his team, he is no doubt going to go down as a top ACC player of all time. He can't live up to the contributions that Duncan gave to his team on both ends of the court, however, as he fell short in all other categories. This may look close in theory but the stats show that Duncan was an all around better player.
Duncan >> Hansbrough
Rating system:
= : Comparison is too close to call
> : Slight edge
>> : One player was significantly better
>>> : Call up AAA, this comparison was not even close
>>>> : Comparison was a waste of time, it's obvious who is better (hopefully it will never come to this)
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