Help...What else can we do?
With the Final Four starting today and the Jayhawks no longer playing, I'm having a hard time getting motivated to watch basketball. Anyone else? Sure, we can all root for the "mid-major" to knock off one of the most successful programs of the last decade. Of course we can all root against Duke...which means you are rooting for Bob Huggins. Maybe that's not a bad thing, Joe Posnanski had a great post about Huggins earlier in the week. If you can't get yourself to care or cheer for a team today, I can't blame you. However, I'm guessing a lot of you will be still be watching. If you are, care to help us out?
Once Kansas was knocked out of the tournament, I've been trying to think of things that happened this year with the basketball team that we didn't cover. A lot of questions have popped up in the comments on various posts and a lot of them can't be answered accurately by us or anyone else with the information available. For example, there was a very good discussion in the comments about Cole Aldrich and his jump shot this season. Labbadabba found some great information at statsheet but I'm not convinced it's the best we can do. KC's report card on Brady Morningstar also brought up some good questions and discussion about his play. Does he feed the post better than everyone else on the team? How about his hustle? I can remember different times this year where he got a hand on a loose ball and knocked it to a teammate, something that helps the team win but doesn't show up in a box score.
So I'm asking you guys for ideas and thoughts on how to better cover games next year. Below I've listed a few ideas that I can think of right for right now.
Ideas
- Shot charts (pdf) for each game. If they're online anywhere, I haven't been able to find them. It's something that would be fairly easy to track as long as the game is on television. If we had somewhat accurate shooting data, we'd be able to answer how many jumpers Aldrich really shot this year. We would have information about where certain players shoot the highest percentages. I read something like this and wish I could compare it to the guys and team I care about. What about something like this?
- Specific instances of plays that benefit the team but don't show up in the box score. What plays could be added or tracked that will help us recognize each player's contribution on the court. I'm guessing I'll use some form of my plus/minus next year to track each player's stats, so should I add in a bonus category that rewards players for smart plays? A player making a pass to the post because he recognized a mismatch is something that could be counted. Tipped loose balls that end up in the hands of a Jayhawk could be counted. And as much as I hate "false hustle", getting on the floor could count. I don't remember seeing many Jayhawks diving for loose balls this year but I don't have anything to back that up.
- Defensive matchups are another thing I'm really interested in right now. Brady Morningstar is often described as a great perimeter defender, while Tyrel Reed has been described as a defensive liability at times. Is there anything we can do that will help prove that point? Can we chart where he forces his man to shoot or how often he keeps his man from getting to the basket or getting a rebound? We can and it will take a little work. If there's interest in it, I'm all for it. Think a consistent focus on VoC type posts.
- Possession analysis similar to this. There were times this year where the offense seemed to stall for the Jayhawks and if I had all the games on DVR, we could look to see if the ball stopped moving. Maybe touches by a certain player really helps the offense because he allows things to develop or makes a great pass that puts players in a good position to attack the defense or maybe a player holds the ball and kills the offense.
You might be wondering why post this now instead of October or November as we're gearing up for basketball season. First, basketball is still fresh in our minds and maybe you'll see something in the remaining three games that interests you. Second, football still takes up a lot of interest early in the year. Basketball starts slow with the non-con games and we're slow in getting our minds to switch gears sometimes.
Asking for your help, share any and all comments.
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one of the things I've noticed
One of the things I noticed toward the end of the season that intrigues me is this: How frequently does a guard fake a 3, get his defender off the ground, and go around him for either a pull-up jumper or a layup? It seemed to me this season that there were quite a few opportunities for a player as fast as Tyshawn to go right around his defender because he was lunging at a shot.
Reed really picked it up at the end of the year, mainly because defenders assumed he would take the shot and felt comfortable leaving their feet. When it happened from the corner, when he drove, likely a post defender would come off of Morris or Cole to prevent Reed from getting an unguarded layup and he would dish, or they wouldn’t come off fast enough, knowing what would happen if they did, and Reed got the layup and sometimes a foul.
I loved seeing it, and I’d love to see a stat on what the result on those plays were…a basket? A foul? An assist?
I like it.
This would fit in well with the possession stuff. Once player A gets the ball, what does he do with it- pass, stationary dribble, penetrate and force the defense to react.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Year Long Ratings System?
I know Keegan does this at KUSports, but maybe you guys could rate each players performance after games (using a stats-based approach), and then keep a running tally as the season progresses. Something like 10 points for a first place, 9 for second, etc.
It could be interesting to see how your ratings compare to his, since yours would be more objective.
"Here are our top priorities: recruit, beat Missouri, recruit, win the North, recruit, win the Big 12, and in most cases if you win the Big 12 then you're playing for a National Championship. And then we're going to recruit."
by KennyGregoryRockThaCradle on Apr 3, 2010 1:39 PM CDT reply actions
Another good one.
Actually really like this one, just have to figure out a rating system.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Also
I really like the defensive analysis idea, and think that should be added into any potential ratings system.
And maybe some occasional analysis nationally could help us contextualize where the team is at. For example, how does Tyshawn Taylor compare to other point guards on Top Ten teams? As we get closer to the tournament, how do we compare overall to teams that are looking at similar seedings to us?
"Here are our top priorities: recruit, beat Missouri, recruit, win the North, recruit, win the Big 12, and in most cases if you win the Big 12 then you're playing for a National Championship. And then we're going to recruit."
by KennyGregoryRockThaCradle on Apr 3, 2010 1:47 PM CDT reply actions
FYP
As we get closer to the tournament, how do we compare overall to teams that are going to be seeded dramatically lower than they should and then put in our bracket?
Here's an example of something I'm think about.

Duke’s 1st half against West Virginia. Could also use different colors for a shot that is made off an assist or a shot created individually.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.

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