College Basketball 2013-2014

[Guest]

wow, we stole that one

[Guest]

i really really hate listening to people from New York City call my teams' basketball games.

 

it's like listening to a sports betting ad for like 2+ hours.

[mul21]

It's so nice to watch a team have a clue as to what they want to do down the stretch and on the last possession and actually execute a play to score.

[Guest]

It's so nice to watch a team have a clue as to what they want to do down the stretch and on the last possession and actually execute a play to score.

 

it's because they have a go-to player that can get to the hoop whenever he wants to.

[bukie]

Ray Rice is better than I expected him to be to this point. I like Hill and Nunn, but when they're on the floor they really drag the offense down. Abrams has a little too much Brandon Paul shot selection in him as well.

[illiniguy]

Ray Rice is better than I expected him to be to this point. I like Hill and Nunn, but when they're on the floor they really drag the offense down. Abrams has a little too much Brandon Paul shot selection in him as well.

With less of the shot making ability.

[XZero771679666304]

Ray Rice is better than I expected him to be to this point. I like Hill and Nunn, but when they're on the floor they really drag the offense down. Abrams has a little too much Brandon Paul shot selection in him as well.

 

I'm not going to lie, there's a part of me that really dislikes Abrams. He's a good slasher, but he really gets carried away sometimes. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if Tate started taking more and more of Tracy's minutes.

[bukie]

Abrams actually has the lowest true shooting % on the team, at 40 (which is really bad), with a 33.3 eFG%. Rice has the same usage rate as Abrams, takes a slightly higher % of the shots than Abrams, and has an eFG% of 52.6, with a true shooting % of 57.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

Ray Rice is better than I expected him to be to this point. I like Hill and Nunn, but when they're on the floor they really drag the offense down. Abrams has a little too much Brandon Paul shot selection in him as well.

 

I'm not going to lie, there's a part of me that really dislikes Abrams. He's a good slasher, but he really gets carried away sometimes. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if Tate started taking more and more of Tracy's minutes.

 

Last night and the Valparaiso games were the only two that I have seen much of so far. Tate wasn't much of a factor in the Valparaiso game, but I felt like last night I got to see a little bit of what everyone else has been saying about him. I was really impressed with his court vision and his decision making. I definitely wouldn't mind him taking some minutes away from Abrams.

[XZero771679666304]

Abrams actually has the lowest true shooting % on the team, at 40 (which is really bad), with a 33.3 eFG%. Rice has the same usage rate as Abrams, takes a slightly higher % of the shots than Abrams, and has an eFG% of 52.6, with a true shooting % of 57.

 

I hadn't looked at the numbers that closely, but even to the eye he's an inefficient offensive player, and one who fancies himself one of the top scoring options. Tate at least seems content to be a distributor, and he's better at it than Tracy already.

[bukie]

Some other early Illinois stats (against the 320th ranked schedule, so take them with several grains of salt):

 

- Rice has a usage of 25.6% and an Offensive rating of 129.9 (average is about 100), good for 19th in the nation among players with at least 24% usage.

- Abrams has a usage of 25.4% and an offensive rating of 94.4, which is...outside the top 250 players with at least 24% usage (considering there are usually 2 or fewer per team, that is not good)

- Both Ekey and Egwu are among the top 200 players in the country in offensive rebounding percentage, and both are very efficient offensive options, though each has a usage of about 16% (role players). Egwu is 43rd in the nation in block rate.

- Tate leads the team in assist rate at 32.5%, good for 69th in the nation. Abrams isn't bad at 22.5%, still among the top 500 assist rates in the nation.

- Tate also among the team leaders in turnover rate at 17.4%, the only players on the team worse being Bertrand at 22.7%, Morgan at 27.5%, and Nunn at 29.3%. Rice and Egwu are among the lowest turnover rates in the nation at 8.2% and 7.5%, respectively.

- Abrams is the best on the team at avoiding committing fouls, at an average of 1.7 per 40 minutes. Nunn averages 5.1 fouls per 40 minutes.

- Everyone on the team has been 75% or better from the foul line except Nunn (who is 1 for 2 on the year).

[Guest]

Abrams is a bulldog and, despite the numbers he put up last night, still made a key steal and played good defense.

[XZero771679666304]

Abrams is a bulldog and, despite the numbers he put up last night, still made a key steal and played good defense.

 

I appreciate those qualities about him, but it would be so much nicer if he realized his limitations. He's probably the 4th or 5th best offensive option of the starters, and should really limit himself to 5-7 FGA per game. I just think we're a better offensive team with Tate on the floor.

[bukie]

He plays good defense without fouling, but he's not the offensive threat he thinks he is, unless he's facilitating for others, who can actually shoot.

[Guest]

i agree with you guys that he needs to drive and dish more, rather than looking for his own shot. Tate did a great job of finding Egwu a few times, but he's not a guy that is even a threat to shoot, whereas, Abrams has been known to knock down a few shots.

[bukie]

Abrams wasn't a good shooter his freshman year, and as his shot rate has gone up, the shooting number have actually gotten worse. Tate can't shoot from range, but at least to this point he knows that and isn't taking those shots (6 shots on the year over 15 feet).

[Guest]

Abrams wasn't a good shooter his freshman year, and as his shot rate has gone up, the shooting number have actually gotten worse. Tate can't shoot from range, but at least to this point he knows that and isn't taking those shots (6 shots on the year over 15 feet).

 

But Tate isn't a threat to score at all and he can't take it strong to the hoop like Abrams is known to do. basically, Tate has been a pretty good passer and primary ballhandler for a freshman, but he'll only get better.

[XZero771679666304]

Abrams wasn't a good shooter his freshman year, and as his shot rate has gone up, the shooting number have actually gotten worse. Tate can't shoot from range, but at least to this point he knows that and isn't taking those shots (6 shots on the year over 15 feet).

 

But Tate isn't a threat to score at all and he can't take it strong to the hoop like Abrams is known to do. basically, Tate has been a pretty good passer and primary ballhandler for a freshman, but he'll only get better.

 

He doesn't have to be a threat, and frankly that isn't nearly as beneficial to the team as consistently facilitating the actual scorers on the team. We have enough "threats". And being a good passer and ball handler is what we need the PG to be, not a guy who hits the occasional shot. And was we move forward and guys like Hill and Nunn develop, the "threat" that Abrams poses will become more and more irrelevant.

 

Bottom line is that by consistently taking shots, Abrams is doing more harm than good.

[Guest]

If the primary ballhandler isnt a threat to score, it seriously limits his effectiveness.

[XZero771679666304]

If the primary ballhandler isnt a threat to score, it seriously limits his effectiveness.

 

So does being a woefully inefficient scorer. What I am saying is that you're overstating how much of a threat he is. In fact, I think using the word "threat" is being generous. If you have two options who really aren't scorers, I'll take the one who realizes it.

 

If Tracy were to scale back his attempts and take only high percentage shots while focusing primarily on being a distributor, he'd be much more of an asset.

 

I'm wondering what's going to happen to Abrams' PT when Starks comes on board. With Starks, Rice, Tate and Nunn, I don't see him having much of a role.

[SouthSideRyan]

You forgot Cosby, but I can't see a way your senior point guard gets relegated to the end of the bench

[XZero771679666304]

You forgot Cosby, but I can't see a way your senior point guard gets relegated to the end of the bench

 

Yeah, left him out. And that's why I'm curious to see what happens w/Abrams, because while he is a senior, it's hard to imagine him getting the bulk of the PT at the point guard position with Starks added to the mix, and we've got shooting guards out the wazoo. I'm not saying he'll be anchored to the bench or anything, but he's either gonna lose quite a bit of time or Groce is going to have get creative.

[bukie]

In other B1G news, Minnesota trails Chaminade at the half in the Maui invitational, after losing their first two games.

[SouthSideRyan]

You forgot Cosby, but I can't see a way your senior point guard gets relegated to the end of the bench

 

Yeah, left him out. And that's why I'm curious to see what happens w/Abrams, because while he is a senior, it's hard to imagine him getting the bulk of the PT at the point guard position with Starks added to the mix, and we've got shooting guards out the wazoo. I'm not saying he'll be anchored to the bench or anything, but he's either gonna lose quite a bit of time or Groce is going to have get creative.

 

It depends on what kind of lineup Groce runs out there. Assuming Paul and Black play the 4, you've only got 7 guys for 3 guard positions. I imagine you'll have 2 PGs on the court at all times.

[illiniguy]

Stupid Quentin Snider. That spot should have been his. He was the score first pg that we really needed.