Perusing the Texas hoops team stats today, several things jumped out at me that are worthy of discussion. We'll try to do this periodically - both with Texas' offensive and defensive numbers. First up, a look at the Horns' season stat totals.
Kevin Durant A couple things stand out in Durant's line. First, about a third of his shots are coming from beyond the three point line, and while his 40% success rate is solid, he's got to do more of what he did last night and score closer to the hoop. He seemed to get that last night, so hopefully we're seeing some development.
The other stat is the assist to turnover ratio - currently a lousy 16:32. One of the benefits Durant will see if he brings his offensive game closer to the hoop is double and, perhaps, triple teams. That should leave teammates open to score, bringing up his assist totals. AW's right that the offense needs to run through Durant quite a bit more. Giving him touches near or in the paint will force defenses to collapse on him, leaving openings for others. If the opposition decides to guard him one-on-one near the hoop, Durant's more than capable of scorig or getting to the line.
Jay Mason He's got the team's best assist-to-turnover ratio, which I think is a direct reflection of his willingness to penetrate the lane, while looking for open teammates. The one area of concern is the three point shot; note the disparity between Mason's three point field goal percentage (35%) and two point field goal percentage (54%). Keep getting to the rim, Jay.
JD Lewis I'd like to point out that JD Lewis is 3-for-14 from beyond the arc. You could also translate that as: "useless." Keep him on the bench, Rick.
Damion James How does Connor Atchley lead James in blocks, 16 to 9? That's a mystery to me. Well, not totally - James, as athletic as he is, has shown pretty poor coordination early this season. He's got terrible hands and - watch him rebound sometime - has so many balls bounce in and out of his grasp. I don't know that there's a lot you can do to improve that, but here's to hoping Rick's got him working overtime on concentration and coordination drills. The guy's all over the place.
Big Dex If it weren't so discouraging, it'd be funny: Dexter has 15 fouls in just 50 minutes of play. At that pace, if Rick played him to start the game and left him in, he'd foul out with four minutes remaining in the first half. Big guy's got to work on that body control.
AJ Abrams Little man's only shooting 35% from two point range, but 44% from beyond the arc. Some pure three shooters are like that, though Rick insists Abrams has a good mid-range game. I'd guess that's true, but he seems to aim the shots more when he's inside the arc. That, and when he's shooting from inside the three point line, he's frequently doing so off the dribble. That's not his strong suit - from anywhere on the court. Abrams is a lethal, quick as a hiccup, catch and release shooter, but he's far less effective when he's coming off the dribble.
--PB--