Not an UnderStatenment, Cats take a turnover for the worse; WVU 2 ADV

[sys]

he's not that great defensively.  crazy aggressive, not crazy good.  could be crazy good, down the road a bit (a lot of people could be, but thomas seems to really, really like defending, so it's much more likely that he will be).


i got some pushback from it when i mentioned it before, but i watched him again yesterday and it confirmed my opinion - njohnson is a very good onball defender for a freshman - at least out away from the basket.  too small the closer you get.

[kso_FAN]

I think (hope?) Jevon is a much better offensive player than he's shown. He wasn't terrible in high school and frankly the kid has been through a lot on his way to this point.

When it comes to suffering, Jevon Thomas has seen plenty. When Thomas was a year old, his father cut out. When he was 12, his mother was deported. At 13, his brother and stepfather were murdered. He was raised by a sister who wasn't much older than he was.
"It was tough," he said. "It just...I don't know how to explain it. Things just didn't seem too good."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high-school/jevon-thomas-lebrent-walker-support-tough-times-thriving-long-island-article-1.150159#ixzz2sCX1QNVx

http://nypost.com/2012/07/12/well-traveled-former-st-johns-recruit-thomas-matured-looking-for-new-home/

He put up decent numbers as a high school player., granted he played at 3 high schools.

http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/2011/5/6/2155997/st-johns-2012-recruiting-tracker-jevon-thomas

[Stevesie60]

Holy cow, how has this not been posted before? I love him so hard right now, you guys.

[kso_FAN]

Holy cow, how has this not been posted before? I love him so hard right now, you guys.

Honestly, I never looked much into it, even after he committed. I had no idea he had been through so much crap. His situation is just pretty strange, not only sitting out this past year and not being able to practice until mid December, but that fact that he played HS in New York, then North Carolina, and finally Wisconsin. He's been everywhere after going through some pretty rough stuff growing up.

[Jackstack99EMAW]

I think (hope?) Jevon is a much better offensive player than he's shown. He wasn't terrible in high school and frankly the kid has been through a lot on his way to this point.

When it comes to suffering, Jevon Thomas has seen plenty. When Thomas was a year old, his father cut out. When he was 12, his mother was deported. At 13, his brother and stepfather were murdered. He was raised by a sister who wasn't much older than he was.
"It was tough," he said. "It just...I don't know how to explain it. Things just didn't seem too good."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high-school/jevon-thomas-lebrent-walker-support-tough-times-thriving-long-island-article-1.150159#ixzz2sCX1QNVx

http://nypost.com/2012/07/12/well-traveled-former-st-johns-recruit-thomas-matured-looking-for-new-home/

He put up decent numbers as a high school player., granted he played at 3 high schools.

http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/2011/5/6/2155997/st-johns-2012-recruiting-tracker-jevon-thomas

Oh man, that's awful. 

[AndrewVonLintel]

Jevon Thomas is ahead of schedule according to my Chester Frazier history book.

Freshman Chester Frazier      http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/frazier_chester00.html

13.4 min/game       20.8% FG,        15.6% 3pt,     50% FT,   1.3 pts/game  1.7 rebounds per game

Freshman Jevon Thomas     
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2306/kansas-state-wildcats

23 min/game         25.9% FG,         18.2% 3pt,     31.3% FT,  3.8 pts/game  2.6 rebounds per game

Freshman Angel Rodriguez 
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2306/year/2012/kansas-state-wildcats

21.7 min/game      36% FG              31.7% 3 pt,   68.9% FT,  8.3 pts/game  2.5 rebounds per game

[MakeItRain]

Dude I know it was a semantics argument from the start which is why I said we were basically saying the same thing from the start. Take a lap, mir.

Nope. I'm not letting you tell me what I meant. I know what I said and think since being polite isn't working try this; your assessment of "perfectly fine" is stupid.

[puniraptor]

I was happy to see will's foul troubs lead to a bunch of nigel minutes. probably didn't help us win, but I felt like he played pretty well.

[Mixed-Nutz]

Jevon Thomas is ahead of schedule according to my Chester Frazier history book.

Freshman Chester Frazier      http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/frazier_chester00.html

13.4 min/game       20.8% FG,        15.6% 3pt,     50% FT,   1.3 pts/game  1.7 rebounds per game

Freshman Jevon Thomas     
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2306/kansas-state-wildcats

23 min/game         25.9% FG,         18.2% 3pt,     31.3% FT,  3.8 pts/game  2.6 rebounds per game

Freshman Angel Rodriguez 
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2306/year/2012/kansas-state-wildcats

21.7 min/game      36% FG              31.7% 3 pt,   68.9% FT,  8.3 pts/game  2.5 rebounds per game

You could all ways tell Jevon has some issues finishing/shooting when he was at prep school. But he is better then what the level he is currently performing at. The midseason transition and taking a year off is having a toll on Jevon. Lucky for us we didn't bring him in to be a scorer.  He still is an elite level athlete with a good BBIQ. He has a very bright future, everyone should be really glad that we have him.

[Dr Rick Daris]

i'm scared he's never going to be decent at shooting the ball. he horrifyingly looks like a highschool wrestler attempting to "shoot hoops" on the court before practice on the mats. very unsmooth/unsteady looking shot that just seems rushed/scared. dunno.

[michigancat]

Dude I know it was a semantics argument from the start which is why I said we were basically saying the same thing from the start. Take a lap, mir.

Nope. I'm not letting you tell me what I meant. I know what I said and think since being polite isn't working try this; your assessment of "perfectly fine" is stupid.

What's stupid is thinking teams are "good" or "bad" at close games. Most teams are pretty close to .500 over time. Better teams generally have slightly better records in close games because their games are close due to their lead being shrunk, while bad teams are slightly worse due to coming from behind.  We're 3-3 in close games this year (defined by statsheet), which tells me that there isn't a problem.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/compare?add=frank-martin&c1=bob-huggins&c2=oscar-weber&c3=mike-krzyzewski&i=1

[sys]

flipping the coin a few more times will reveal how mentally tough the coin is.

[Cire]

Dude I know it was a semantics argument from the start which is why I said we were basically saying the same thing from the start. Take a lap, mir.

Nope. I'm not letting you tell me what I meant. I know what I said and think since being polite isn't working try this; your assessment of "perfectly fine" is stupid.

What's stupid is thinking teams are "good" or "bad" at close games. Most teams are pretty close to .500 over time. Better teams generally have slightly better records in close games because their games are close due to their lead being shrunk, while bad teams are slightly worse due to coming from behind.  We're 3-3 in close games this year (defined by statsheet), which tells me that there isn't a problem.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/compare?add=frank-martin&c1=bob-huggins&c2=oscar-weber&c3=mike-krzyzewski&i=1

What's a "good" road record?
\
This is more about home/road than close games.

Maybe better coaches play a lower % of close games?

Does oscar play a higher % of close games than someone like huggins?  Or Frank?

[sys]

Does oscar play a higher % of close games than someone like huggins?  Or Frank?

using michigan's statsheet link (+ adding in wooldridge):

k = 20.4% close games
huggins = 21.8%
wooldridge = 24.3%
martin = 24.4%
weber = 26.7%

over a 33 game season, that translates to approximately seven close games for k, nine for weber.

[michigancat]

Dude I know it was a semantics argument from the start which is why I said we were basically saying the same thing from the start. Take a lap, mir.

Nope. I'm not letting you tell me what I meant. I know what I said and think since being polite isn't working try this; your assessment of "perfectly fine" is stupid.

What's stupid is thinking teams are "good" or "bad" at close games. Most teams are pretty close to .500 over time. Better teams generally have slightly better records in close games because their games are close due to their lead being shrunk, while bad teams are slightly worse due to coming from behind.  We're 3-3 in close games this year (defined by statsheet), which tells me that there isn't a problem.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/compare?add=frank-martin&c1=bob-huggins&c2=oscar-weber&c3=mike-krzyzewski&i=1

What's a "good" road record?
\
This is more about home/road than close games.

Well, that's completely different. Our road record is poor, but we've played 5 road games and were underdogs in 4 of them. That says more about the overall quality of team than some sort of mythical mental hurdle on the road.

Does oscar play a higher % of close games than someone like huggins?  Or Frank?

oscar plays 26.7% "close", Frank 24%, Huggins 22%, Wooldridge 24%, Self 22%.

[sys]

my god, michigancat.

[sys]

btw, the statsheet definition of close is under 6 pts.  so, not tempo-free.

[michigancat]

Interestingly, this is the first season we haven't played a road or "semi-road" game in OOC in at least 20 years. I got tired of looking after that.

[Trim]

Interestingly, this is the first season we haven't played a road or "semi-road" game in OOC in at least 20 years. I got tired of looking after that.

oscar talked about that on the #oscar show.  He said with Angel having left, they didn't really want to take an L.

[michigancat]

Interestingly, this is the first season we haven't played a road or "semi-road" game in OOC in at least 20 years. I got tired of looking after that.

oscar talked about that on the #oscar show.  He said with Angel having left, they didn't really want to take an L.

yeah, I was just surprised it never happened under Wooly.

[MakeItRain]

Dude I know it was a semantics argument from the start which is why I said we were basically saying the same thing from the start. Take a lap, mir.

Nope. I'm not letting you tell me what I meant. I know what I said and think since being polite isn't working try this; your assessment of "perfectly fine" is stupid.

What's stupid is thinking teams are "good" or "bad" at close games. Most teams are pretty close to .500 over time. Better teams generally have slightly better records in close games because their games are close due to their lead being shrunk, while bad teams are slightly worse due to coming from behind.  We're 3-3 in close games this year (defined by statsheet), which tells me that there isn't a problem.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/compare?add=frank-martin&c1=bob-huggins&c2=oscar-weber&c3=mike-krzyzewski&i=1

That's fair man, I was wrong. I will still maintain that the way these road games have been lost is troubling because they have seemed to fall outside of the purview of just missing a few shots on the road.

[Mixed-Nutz]

Dude I know it was a semantics argument from the start which is why I said we were basically saying the same thing from the start. Take a lap, mir.

Nope. I'm not letting you tell me what I meant. I know what I said and think since being polite isn't working try this; your assessment of "perfectly fine" is stupid.

What's stupid is thinking teams are "good" or "bad" at close games. Most teams are pretty close to .500 over time. Better teams generally have slightly better records in close games because their games are close due to their lead being shrunk, while bad teams are slightly worse due to coming from behind.  We're 3-3 in close games this year (defined by statsheet), which tells me that there isn't a problem.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/compare?add=frank-martin&c1=bob-huggins&c2=oscar-weber&c3=mike-krzyzewski&i=1

That's fair man, I was wrong. I will still maintain that the way these road games have been lost is troubling because they have seemed to fall outside of the purview of just missing a few shots on the road.

Our inability to get a lead and build on it during road games is troubling.

[MakeItRain]

I think our inability to take care of the ball at key times is hard to deal with given our other offensive challenges. If we just had trouble shooting or just had trouble handling the ball we'd be fine.

[michigancat]

I think our inability to take care of the ball at key times is hard to deal with given our other offensive challenges. If we just had trouble shooting or just had trouble handling the ball we'd be fine.

Every possession is a "key" possession.

[MakeItRain]

I think our inability to take care of the ball at key times is hard to deal with given our other offensive challenges. If we just had trouble shooting or just had trouble handling the ball we'd be fine.

Every possession is a "key" possession.

The way we've handled the late possessions in close and tied situations the last 3 road games would indicate that this team is, likely subconsciously, having trouble thinking like computerized data machines.