Austin and I had a conversation tonight where he pointed out some of the Cat's early season stats . He peaked my interest so I took a closer look at how things are with the first ten games in the book and one of the toughest stretches (UNC, UCONN, IU) behind them. It's now becoming clear what the rotation will be heading into conference play next month.
J. Wall
18.1 Points, 4.1 Rebounds, 7.1 Assists, 35.1 Minutes
P. Patterson
16.8 Points, 9.6 Rebounds, 0.7 Assists, 1.0 Blocks, 32.6 Minutes
D. Cousins
14.2 Points, 8.3 Rebounds, 0.4 Assists, 2.2 Blocks, 19.4 Minutes
E. Bledsoe
11.1 Points, 2.1 Rebounds, 3.0 Assists, 29.1 Minutes
D. Dodson
9.0 Points, 2.7 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists, 18.9 Minutes
D. Miller
7.7 Points, 3.2 Rebounds, 2.0 Assists, 28.1 Minutes
Other Notables:
D. Orton
3.8 Points, 3.3 Rebounds, 1.6 Blocks, 14.8 Minutes
R. Harris
2.0 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 1.1 Assists, 17.4 Minutes
A couple of things jump out right away. Cousins is averaging nearly a double double and isn't even averaging a half of basketball. If he continues to get better and can some how learn not to get into foul trouble he could join Wall in the league next season. I don't think we have seen the potential that this young man possesses. Similarly, Dodson is averaging 9 points a game and he is playing even less minutes than Cousins. If he improves on the defensive end and his shot selection gets better, he'll start to eat some of Darius' minutes.
Harris is only averaging a bucket per game yet is still getting time on the floor. It's clear that his rebounding and defense is what is earning approval from Coach Cal and I think he'll get better offensively as the season goes on.
Of course other things aren't as surprising. Wall and Patterson are both well above 30 minutes a game and their stats show it. Still Cal would love for Patterson to get closer to 20 points a game. I think as the team continues to learn the DDO more efficiently they'll score more and we'll see a lot of those points go to Patterson. Bledsoe is third in minutes played and is averaging over 11 points per contest. He just hasn't been consistent yet, but a lot of that has to do with some nagging injuries that have slowed him down early in the season.
Any way you look at it, the rotation has become much tighter in the last few games as Stevenson, Harrellson and Hood have only seen spot duty recently. I still think Stevenson could get a few more minutes here and there, but he has to be ready to contribute consistently when Cal calls his number. As for Hood and Harrellson, I think they are both a year away from contributing on a regular basis. Of course there is still the mystery that is Deandre Liggins and who knows what impact, if any, he will have on the rotation moving forward. Still, a solid 8 man rotation, with four other capable players, makes for a deep roster. A deep roster typically makes for a deep March run. Let's hope this proves true for the Cats.
18.1 Points, 4.1 Rebounds, 7.1 Assists, 35.1 Minutes
P. Patterson
16.8 Points, 9.6 Rebounds, 0.7 Assists, 1.0 Blocks, 32.6 Minutes
D. Cousins
14.2 Points, 8.3 Rebounds, 0.4 Assists, 2.2 Blocks, 19.4 Minutes
E. Bledsoe
11.1 Points, 2.1 Rebounds, 3.0 Assists, 29.1 Minutes
D. Dodson
9.0 Points, 2.7 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists, 18.9 Minutes
D. Miller
7.7 Points, 3.2 Rebounds, 2.0 Assists, 28.1 Minutes
Other Notables:
D. Orton
3.8 Points, 3.3 Rebounds, 1.6 Blocks, 14.8 Minutes
R. Harris
2.0 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 1.1 Assists, 17.4 Minutes
A couple of things jump out right away. Cousins is averaging nearly a double double and isn't even averaging a half of basketball. If he continues to get better and can some how learn not to get into foul trouble he could join Wall in the league next season. I don't think we have seen the potential that this young man possesses. Similarly, Dodson is averaging 9 points a game and he is playing even less minutes than Cousins. If he improves on the defensive end and his shot selection gets better, he'll start to eat some of Darius' minutes.
Harris is only averaging a bucket per game yet is still getting time on the floor. It's clear that his rebounding and defense is what is earning approval from Coach Cal and I think he'll get better offensively as the season goes on.
Of course other things aren't as surprising. Wall and Patterson are both well above 30 minutes a game and their stats show it. Still Cal would love for Patterson to get closer to 20 points a game. I think as the team continues to learn the DDO more efficiently they'll score more and we'll see a lot of those points go to Patterson. Bledsoe is third in minutes played and is averaging over 11 points per contest. He just hasn't been consistent yet, but a lot of that has to do with some nagging injuries that have slowed him down early in the season.
Any way you look at it, the rotation has become much tighter in the last few games as Stevenson, Harrellson and Hood have only seen spot duty recently. I still think Stevenson could get a few more minutes here and there, but he has to be ready to contribute consistently when Cal calls his number. As for Hood and Harrellson, I think they are both a year away from contributing on a regular basis. Of course there is still the mystery that is Deandre Liggins and who knows what impact, if any, he will have on the rotation moving forward. Still, a solid 8 man rotation, with four other capable players, makes for a deep roster. A deep roster typically makes for a deep March run. Let's hope this proves true for the Cats.
I'm curious as to where Liggins will end up in the rotation. He shouldn't be behind in terms of the offense, because he has been practicing with the team. If he can play Harris like defense, he will get some clock.
ReplyDeleteHarris like defense? Ummm... Harris moves like his feet are stuck in a snow drift back home...
ReplyDeleteHey Book, did you listen to the Coach Cal show this week. He said the only reason Harris was playing was because of his D. He talked about how he shot air balls and couldn't hit a three, but got PT because he played good defense and rebounded well. Also said if Miller and Dotson could play "Harris like" defense,(or snow drift defense) they would get Harris' minutes.
ReplyDeleteHArris is like having a defensive coordinator out there. he knows where to be and how to switch on defense. And like you said, he helps out a lot on rebounding. Harris looks awkward on offense, but I don't think it has anything to do with his athletic ability.
ReplyDeleteAs for Liggins, I don't know if he is going to crack the rotation. It might take an injury for him to get a chance. Liggins is better with the ball than Harris, but he isn't a good shooter and was prone to making boneheaded mistakes. Liggins might not fit in with this team if he can't help out on defense.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know what has been keeping him off the court... He was obviously available to play Saturday and only got 40 seconds. It may be that Cal was waiting for these next three scrub games to try to find a role for Liggins. He is stuck between positions. Cal says he isn't a PG and that Miller is the third string PG.
I think his role could be to help Bledsoe out with the ball handling duties when Wall needs a rest. If nothing else, I hope that he can allow us to keep Wall's minutes down just a little bit so he will be fresh for March.