Alleyne:
36.3 mpg; 13.5 ppg; 31.3% fg% on 12.0 fga/game
Aluma:
36.0 mpg; 16.5 ppg; 43.1% fg% on 14.5 fga/game
Cattoor:
33.0 mpg; 9.0 ppg; 39.4% fg% on 8.3 fga/game
Mutts:
32.3 mpg; 10.8 ppg; 52.9% fg% on 8.5 fga/game
Murphy:
30.8 mpg; 3.0 ppg; 20.8% fg% on 6.0 fga/game
Maddox:
13.8 mpg; 4.5 ppg; 66.7% fg% on 2.3 fga/game
N'Guessan:
10.8 mpg; 1.3 ppg; 16.7% fg% on 3.0 fga/game
Pedulla:
4.8 mpg; 1.5 ppg; 33.3% fg% on 1.5 fga/game
Ojiako:
3.3 mpg; 0.7 ppg; 50.0% fg% on 0.7 fga/game (does not even include 0 minutes vs Xavier)
So what does all this mean?
Obviously everyone has been on Storm Murphy for struggling. Yes, he has been very poor against quality competition thus far. The numbers show it all, except not really since he has been bad on defense too. However, it's not just him. Alleyne has been inefficient, especially from inside the arc. He is also playing way too many minutes at >36 mpg. Similar deal with Cattoor, he has no business playing 33 mpg. Those guys are (1) not quite good enough to play >30-32 mpg and (2) way too tired in the 2nd half.
Clearly, we all know that the bench isn't getting much use. Most of us agree that Maddox should be getting more minutes. IMO he should get ~20 mpg, which will (1) help save Alleyne and Cattoor's bodies to keep them more productive and (2) help us score the ball, since he seems to be a lights out shooter. N'Guessan needs to step up. He plays good defense and brings good energy, but he has been horribly inefficient in a somewhat small sample size. 16.7% from the field is beyond poor. Need to get him going, which could then allow him to take more minutes/pressure from our starting bigs. Even though Pedulla and Ojiako are still question marks, I think they need to play more than 3-5 mpg, because if nothing else, they can keep the starters fresh (and develop for next year when they will be needed).
Hoping to see some improvements going forward from both coaching and players. We'll need to if we want any chance at dancing in March.
Comments
LET'S GO....
HOKIES!!
Definitely agree on Maddox. I'd like to see Ojiako get around 8-10 minutes a game, Aluma seems gassed and plays too soft inside especially late in games.
Honestly every starter other than Mutts could be capped at ~30 min.
IMO. Maddox, Pedulla, N'Guessan, and Ojiako should get a few more minutes. The starting five seem to be really gassed in the second half. This should be a good nine man rotation. Also we need to get more paint touches. Our three point shooting appears to be better when the assist comes from the inside out versus from around the horn. On a good note free throw percentage and turnover numbers are in the OK range. Our FT average through nine games is 71%. All college basketball in 2019-2020 was 70.8%. Yes, I too, would prefer to be above average but... And we are averaging about 10.3 TO's per game. This is good, but I'd rather see 10 or less.
At this point, vs longer post defenders, Ojiako may a better low post scoring option given Aluma's struggles finishing. Just get him the ball low left post and he's not bad. Could also then play Aluma at the 4. Post D would be far better as well.