Non-Conference Player Grades

[SB Shock]

With approximately a third of the season complete, here is wherre I would rate the player and their contributions to this point.

Note: All national rankings from KenPom

Markis McDuffie B+
SHJ B-
Morris Udeze C
E. Stevenson C
D. Dennis C-
J. Burton C-
R. Torres D
R. Brown F
PBC F
Midtgaard F

Discussion

Markis McDuffie (Grade B+) 18.8 ppg, 5.1 Rbds

He has protected the ball (140th in turnover rate), gets to the line (214th) and creates turnovers (tied with Erik Stevenson w/14 steals. He is putting together the season that the Shox needed, but he not able to take over the game which keeps his grade from an A.

Jaime Echenique (Grade B) 9.8 ppg, 6.1 Rbds

40th in Defensive rebound % (26.6%)
125th in Offensive rebound % (11.9%)
88th in Blk%,
404th in steal %
205th in 2Pt FG% (62%)
Best Team defensive Rating (91.8)

In the last half of non-conference, he seemed to found his role and was becoming a force to be reckoned with until his injury. He is the bright spot in newcomers. His one weakness is his stamina to stay on the court. Shockers are a better team offensively and defensively when he is playing - but he is only playing 44% of the minutes available. For WSU to have to get better, they need him on the court, and he needs to get to the place where he can stay on the court for longer periods of time. He also needs to reduce his turnovers (19.3%).

Samajae Haynes-Jones (Grade B-) 12.1 ppg, 3.1 assist/g

Besides McDuffie, he is the only legitimate 3pt shooter on the team at the moment (37%). When he plays under control and looks to pass first, he helps the team. When he gets selfish, he usually takes poor shots, gets blocked and turns the ball over. WSU needs the game that he played against Providence (15 pts, 8 assists).


Morris Udeze (Grade C) 4.2 ppg, 3.4 Rbds

98.3 Defensive Rating (3rd on team)
56% FG is 2nd on the team
8.4% offensive rbd (had he played more, he would be nationally ranked)

He has shown the ability to be a rim protector. Needs to become a better defensive rebounder. He has shown the ability to get offensive rebounds but struggles at time to put them back into the basket. His FT shooting has to get better.


Erik Stevenson (Grade C) 8.5 ppg, 5.2 Rbds

293rd in Def. Rbd%
404th in Stl%
2nd best on team Defensive Rating (96.6)

We have seen flashes - 21 pts vs Rice, 18pts vs Baylor, but since those games, he has only averaged 5.2 ppg. He ranks 404th in Steal %, but only has 2 steals in the last 4 games. His turnover rate is 19.1%. Shox needs more consistency on the offense side from him and cut down on his turnovers. ds


Dexter Dennis (Grade C-) 6.4 ppg, 4.4 Rbds

He is actually 2nd on the team in 3pt% in limited attempts (37%). Much like Stevenson, we have seen glimpses 19pts vs Alabama and 11 points vs Rice but was struggling in his last 3 games before his concussion in the S. Miss game.


Jamarius Burton (Grade C-) 4.9 ppg, 3.9 Rbds

428th in Offensive Rbd%
393rd in Assist Rate (20.8%)

If there was any bright spot in the VCU game it would be Burton with his 12pts, 8 rbd, 3 assists. But his turnover rate for the season is 24.2%. But he is getting better in protecting the ball.


Ricky Torres (Grade D+) 3.2 ppg, 2.6 assist/g

279th Assist Rate

Turnover Rate is 30.7%. He had 7 in the VCU game, 6 in the Southern Miss. 24 turnovers in last 4 games. He is 4th in taking 3pt shots, knocking down 8%. WSU has a long history of pulling in JUCO PG with much success. None of them had a turnover rate greater than their assist rate.


Rod Brown (Grade F) 1.5 ppg, 1.6 Rbd

I was really expecting that he would be one of the "surprises" this season. Having been here for a year, I was expecting him to be a solid contributor. He has had the opportunity the last 2 games with Dennis out and hasn't shown much.


Asbjorn Midtgaard (Grade F) 1.1 ppg, 0.8 rbds

I was really expecting more. Maybe not Echenique more, but at least Uduze level. If he can't get on the court now, there is not much future for him. His metrics are actually better than PBC for his limited time, but he seems to be in the doghouse. With Echenique out doesn't even seem to be in the conversation.


Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler (Grade F) 1.0 ppg, 1 rbd

A big guy who doesn't seem to care about rebounding and has "motor" issues. The team is not in the position to have "projects". He probably has a limited window to show something.

[asiseeit]

Here I go again. In terms of minutes played (39) AM has played what amounts to one game. 4-8 from
the field 50%, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots while altering several more. That's an F ? No way. I'll give him
at least a C and more PT. I'll give JE an A- and MU a C+. I'll give IC and incomplete for now. At power forward
I'll give MM a B and RB a D only because of defense. I'd give ES a C because he has not shot the ball well,
I'll give DD a B- and JB a C-. SHJ is hard to grade cause he is so up and down but a B- on offense with a D on
defense so overall a C- to a C area. I'd grade RT a D- on both ends of the court. Back court defense a solid D
for the starting guards combined. For the team as a whole overall a C+ with JE on the court and a D+ when not.

[JVShocker]

Uhhhhh, Did I miss the coaches grade in there?

[asiseeit]

thread is for "players"

[shoxlax]

I would probably give Brown a little better than a F. He is an undersized 4 who can’t shoot past six feet. Give the coaches a poor grade for recruiting such a player but Rod has had more good minutes than the other two Fs you gave.

Maybe Ashbjorn should get an incomplete. The rest of the grades are about right

[ShockTalk]

Are you guys rating some of these players as true freshmen in their first 12 D-I games or as somewhat experienced/seasoned players?

Wonder what grade FVV would have gotten in his first 12 games and he had the luxury of a 5th year senior to learn from? 13-35 (.371) FG / 3-10 (.300) 3pt / 23 assists-22 turnovers. Oh yeah, he averaged only 6.75 mpg against VCU, DePaul, Iowa, and Tennessee while playing 17.9 mpg against NC Central, W Carolina, Howard, Tulsa (they weren't good), Air Force, N. Colorado, Charleston Southern, and Southern Miss.

News Flash: HCGM requires basketball skills knowledge for giving an "F" player more minutes. During IPBC's first 6 games, he only played a total of 8 minutes (1.33mpg). What is going on in Coach's mind over the last 6 games with him playing IPBC 53 minutes (8.33 mpg).

[ShockerFever]

Are you guys rating some of these players as true freshmen in their first 12 D-I games or as somewhat experienced/seasoned players?

Wonder what grade FVV would have gotten in his first 12 games and he had the luxury of a 5th year senior to learn from? 13-35 (.371) FG / 3-10 (.300) 3pt / 23 assists-22 turnovers. Oh yeah, he averaged only 6.75 mpg against VCU, DePaul, Iowa, and Tennessee while playing 17.9 mpg against NC Central, W Carolina, Howard, Tulsa (they weren't good), Air Force, N. Colorado, Charleston Southern, and Southern Miss.

News Flash: HCGM requires basketball skills knowledge for giving an "F" player more minutes. During IPBC's first 6 games, he only played a total of 8 minutes (1.33mpg). What is going on in Coach's mind over the last 6 games with him playing IPBC 53 minutes (8.33 mpg).

Thank you. 100% agreement.

It's mindboggling to me how much of the fanbase doesn't understand what's going on. Just a spoiled bunch at times.

Seeing SHJ get B's, while true freshmen are getting C's is even more puzzling. It isn't all about the points. Christ.

[Shockm]

Even with his hiccups and mistakes, SHJ is one of the best players on this team. You don't know what you are talking about. Maybe on other teams he doesn't deserve the minutes he is receiving but on this team. he does.

[Shockm]

Are you guys rating some of these players as true freshmen in their first 12 D-I games or as somewhat experienced/seasoned players?

Wonder what grade FVV would have gotten in his first 12 games and he had the luxury of a 5th year senior to learn from? 13-35 (.371) FG / 3-10 (.300) 3pt / 23 assists-22 turnovers. Oh yeah, he averaged only 6.75 mpg against VCU, DePaul, Iowa, and Tennessee while playing 17.9 mpg against NC Central, W Carolina, Howard, Tulsa (they weren't good), Air Force, N. Colorado, Charleston Southern, and Southern Miss.

News Flash: HCGM requires basketball skills knowledge for giving an "F" player more minutes. During IPBC's first 6 games, he only played a total of 8 minutes (1.33mpg). What is going on in Coach's mind over the last 6 games with him playing IPBC 53 minutes (8.33 mpg).

The problem with fans giving out grades for points, and rebounds is that it leaves out defense positioning on both M/M and Zone defenses. It leaves all the times a player doesn't know what to do on offense and runs the wrong play, offensive IQ such as spacing, reversing the ball, moving the ball on passes, movement W/O the ball, assists, etc. etc.

NEWSFLASH: Marshall has already said that part of the reason Poor Bear hasn't received more playing time is that he isn't more attuned to what the offense/defense is doing and where he should be in the offense and defense. Obviously, the reasons for minutes to some players is that they have a higher IQ than others.

[shoxlax]

If it is consistent value to the team and one is grading on a curve, I’m okay with the grades so far. But if you grade on production expectations and factor lack of experience, then I would say it is almost impossible to do so.

[wusphlash]

Here I go again. In terms of minutes played (39) AM has played what amounts to one game. 4-8 from
the field 50%, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots while altering several more. That's an F ? No way. I'll give him
at least a C and more PT. I'll give JE an A- and MU a C+. I'll give IC and incomplete for now. At power forward
I'll give MM a B and RB a D only because of defense. I'd give ES a C because he has not shot the ball well,
I'll give DD a B- and JB a C-. SHJ is hard to grade cause he is so up and down but a B- on offense with a D on
defense so overall a C- to a C area. I'd grade RT a D- on both ends of the court. Back court defense a solid D
for the starting guards combined. For the team as a whole overall a C+ with JE on the court and a D+ when not.

You know that I agree with you on Asbjorn. Shoxlax also has a valid point that an letter grade might be hard to give based on limited time. I'm repeating myself but I still feel he has been judged much more harshly by the coaches than any other player on the team. Thus the 39 minutes. Jaime clearly earned the most minutes and Morris had some really good moments but Asbjorn should have received more than Gregg allowed. Just my opinion.

[WstateU]

Non-Conference Fan Grades

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[Aargh]

Grading Fr basketball players is about the same as putting Fr students in a 3rd or 4th year calculus class and giving those students a grade based on how they perform against the other students.

[wufan]

Here’s my evaluation:

McDuffie:
our stud! When he’s on he keeps us in every game and gives us a chance to win. All-conference level performer.

SHJ:
The best guard on the team. He’s a replacement level player with his decision making. I’m glad we won’t be relying on him in the future.

Jaime:
Dominating, yet soft. Opportunity to be All-conference next year.

Stevenson:
He’s the closest to ready freshman on the team. Needs to knock down shots on a consistent basis so as to be a fourth scoring option.

Dennis/Udeze/Burton:
high potential keepers. These guys should be averaging 10 minutes per game as freshman, but are forced into much bigger roles.

Torres:
High potential disappointment. I like his game. He has a chance to be very good. His turn overs and distance shooting is a problem.

Brown/Chandler/Midtgaard:
high potential projects. Limited minutes and performance indicate that they are not yet ready for D-I, but they could be high level performers as upperclassmen if they make it that long.