MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[ScotsFan]

PS. Live by the 3, Die by the 3

Actually, Wooster is the #1 three point shooting team in D3 through 2/4 games.  

Wooster has made 225 of 504 three pointers for a terrific 44.6%.

What makes this stat so impressive is Wooster's depth in 3 point shooting.  The Scots have 6 guys (including 4 of their starters) who have made 20 or more three pointers each this year.  4 of the 6 shooters (Cooper, Port, Witucky, Fulk) have each made 35 or more three pointers this year.  Van Horn and Johnson are the 5th and 6th players each with more than 20 made.

It is very hard for an opponent to defend the three point shot when Wooster usually has 3 or 4 players on the floor at any time who can hit the shot.  Moreover, the Scots are so unselfish that they swing the ball to whoever is open for the best shot.

Witucky not scoring, Port not health or in sync and Wooster still comes away with a win on the road. I cannot imgaine a game where all the shooters will be off and they still can take it to basket (port and johnson).

I think wooscotsfan and WoosterFAN touched on something very key regarding this Wooster team.  It is their depth with guys that can light it up from the outside.  To have 4 guys in your starting lineup to have hit 20 or more 3's on the season goes a long way in spreading out opposing teams defenses.  And to have 6 total players with 20 or more 3's, it's rare that there aren't at least 3 players on the court at the same time who can dial it up from long distance. 

Another key stat that wooscotsfan pointed out is the percentage of 44.6% that the Scots are hitting from beyond the arc.  That is nearly a full percentage point better than the record season percentage at Wooster  of 43.7% set back in 89-90.  And they are hitting at this unbelievable percentage while they are on their way to breaking the record for 3 pointers made in a season which is 245 in 02-03.  Incedentally, that year Wooster also set the record for attempts at 610.  That number will certainly fall as well, but Wooster will have been far more efficient than they were 2 years ago.

Lastly, a lot has been made about how uncanny it was that the Scots came out scorching hot (and that might be an understatement) last Saturday.  I'm sure that we're not likely to see a performance quite that good again, but with the number of good shooters that Wooster has on this team, I'll echo WoosterFAN's sentiments in that we're also not likely to see all of them be ice cold at the same time either.  And also WoosterFAN, you mentioned that Port and Johnson have the ability to take it to the basket when their shot might not be falling from the outside.  I think you forgot someone else who has that ability in James Cooper.   I'd say it's pretty safe to include him in that category as well.

[David Collinge]

On the Witt Students' "F U Wooster" chant: Scotsbrod, I thank you for trying to give Witt students the benefit of the doubt, but that was indeed the chant.  As a Wittenberg student (and a very active member in the athletic department), I was embarassed.  Not only because of what was heard in the arena, but the fact that so many people were chanting it, it actually was able to be heard (from what I've been told) in the background of our radio broadcast (was it audible in the Wooster/D3 broadcasts as well?). 

I listend to both the Wooster (live) and D3hoops (archived) broadcasts, and I did not hear this chant (lucky for me.)  I did hear the "we can't hear you" chant which came from the Wooster fans.  If I remember the configuration of the HPER center, the Wooster fans would have been yelling towards the broadcasters (but from across the gym), while the Witt students were below the broadcasters and yelling away from them.  That might account for why I didn't hear it.  It also might be my bad hearing...

Outstanding post, jscwittfan.  Thank you.

[Warren Thompson]

Warren, do the students at LebVal not invent ways to feel superior? 

Of course they do (stunted development isn't limited to certain NCAC institutions).
And one wishes they would always be as inventive in class. 

[woosterbooster]

Wooster's three-point numbers are as follows:


Kalamazoo                 11-30
Stout                     17-36
Methodist                  9-29
Emory and Henry            1- 3
Denison                   15-32
Earlham                    5- 9
Oberlin                   13-29
Wittenberg                11-27
Westminster               12-24
BW                        11-30
Thiel                     20-37
New Jersey                 6-17
Washington and Jefferson  13-25
Allegheny                 15-34
Wabash                     9-21
Hiram                      9-24
OWU                       10-18
Kenyon                     3-15
Earlham                    8-14
Allegheny                 15-27
Wittenberg                12-23


While they've had only one outing that I'd call poor from behind the line (Kenyon at 3-15), there are certainly a few others that, if they came against top-notch opponents, would put them in a difficult position to win the game.

They've shot over .500 from behind the line in 7 of their 21 games.  Their average mark is 10.7 for 24.  Their totals in the two games against Wittenberg are 23-50 or 11.5-25 per game, which is .460, only slightly higher than their season average of .446.

This only indicates to me that, very probably, game three will be more of the same, a very tight and competitive game.  Should Wooster falter from behind the arc, they might be in trouble.  But their numbers show that it's unlikely they'd fall very far, and even at 40% against Wittenberg, that might be enough to do the trick, as in game 1 they were only 11-27.

[imderekpoe]

I think that one of the interesting things this points out is that the percentage has been trending up throughout the season and is currently at its highest.  While I'm not saying that Wooster won't have an off night the rest of the season, I think that it would be a huge mistake for any team to pin their hopes on the Scots being cold from long range.  Four of the last 5 games have been over 50% (56%, 57%, 56%, and 52%)!  I'm not a big stats junkie, but those seem like pretty remarkable numbers when you're putting up over 20 attempts per game.

For the most part, when the Scots haven't hit from outside they have been able to get scoring inside from Vandervaart, Will, and as mentioned earlier from Port, Johnson, and Cooper.  It looks like what it takes is for the Scots to be cold from long range, and for the opponent to have a dominating inside game.  Can you say Baldwin-Wallace? 

[kiltedbryan]

Never underestimate an undergraduate's ability to act like the south end of a northbound horse.   

How did you think we pass our classes?   

[kiltedbryan]

Figured I'd address some of the issues that have been brought up.

I know DC already said this, but thanks for an excellent post about the game/side issues, jscwittfan.  If I could award karma, I would have given you a point.

Also, good point that Witt is still 19-2, and has only lost to one opponent (albeit twice) all season.  That's a great year in the making, and I expect that Wooster and the Great Lakes region isn't done hearing about Witt yet this year.

[kiltedbryan]

Does the band still play the "Are You from Wooster?" song?

But of course!   

[jimmychitwood15]

As a Witt fan, that was the most frustrating game I have ever watched. It was a classic game of Wooster's backcourt vs. Wittenberg's frontcourt. As jscwittfan stated earlier they were simply trading 3s for 2s in the first half and that was the difference as they tied the 2nd half. I do give credit to Wooster for not letting Witt pull closer than 5 points for the entire 2nd half.

My question: Why in the world isn't the ball going inside to Russ or Borchers EVERY single possession before anyone even THINKS about shooting?? (except maybe Kenny Brady) If they kick it out after being doubled for a 3, great, but the ball NEEDS to start inside! There were a couple VERY questionable shots at crucial times in the 2nd half by underclassmen. Those younger kids need to realize how powerful and downright unstoppable their post game is...

As far as defending Wooster's 3s... the on ball screens and penetrate and kick really hurt the Witt guards in the 1st half. Too many times the guards over committed on Wooster penetration giving up wide open looks, which resulted in the 9 for 12 shooting from the arc in the first half. I give Wooster credit for making the shots but more often than not there was little to no shot contest on many of those 3 attempts.

The on ball screens were caused a confusion as well. All same size ball screen should be switched. The big-on-small screens... the smalls needed to work hard to get over the top of the screen, thus forcing the ball handler farther away from the basket, while the big hedges with a hand in the shooter's face until his teammate recovers. Yes, easier said than done and I'm SURE this wasn't from a lack of a defensive game plan from Coach Brown but more of a lack of execution on game night.

All just game night observations, would love to see game film on that one...

[DenisonFan]

Jimmy:
I can agree with you more about getting it to the guys who can shoot the damn ball.
Russ: .569   Boarchers  .653  and his free throws approach JJ numbers.

Same with Denison:
Hodkinson .603 and Hern .479

Give the ball to the guys who are the best shooters on the team.  Instead we have Krantz a freshman taking 18 shots and he is at a hard .368.  WHAT IS THAT??

I blame the coachs.  Your twin towers should be the first and second and third option with every time the court.  Who is going to stop them?

Same with Denison.  Instead they have guys that maybe shoot it in the low 400's on a good night. 

Obviously you have to have some kind of inside outside game.  But when you need to have a basket.  Who is your best chance?  I would think it is the guys who shot it best.

Very confusing.

[smedindy]

Of course, though, with Denison, the issue is that everyone knows who option #1 and #2. Wabash went zone to stop them, and that's why Krantz HAS to shoot.

So, instead of forcing the ball inside, and causing turnovers, why not then move the ball around for the open look. Hern had six turnovers because he was trying to force it in when Hodgkinson was doubled by Zimmer and Lytle (see my post a while back on the game). Hodgkinson only had four shots in the first half because he never had a chance to get the ball thanks to the D. Gognat had four turnovers trying to force it inside in the first half.

I'm sure that's not a rare game plan, either, by Big Red opponents.

I don't recall Krantz being a total ball hog tail gunner. I typed in every shot and never said "man, he's shooting a lot". He took four long ones late as they were shooting the three balls then. Other than that he took shots after 15, 20 seconds of a posession, maybe more, because nothing was happening inside. The offense seemed stagnant and some of the players weren't working to get open and away from the double teams.

So it's not coaching, it's execution - though it may be coaching if he can't motivate some kids to play defense and not worry about their points and stats.

[DenisonFan]

Smed:
I agree with you.  If the guys are not executing the offense there is nothing any coach can do.

So shouldn't the coach call a time out and ride herd on his team to run the offense and get open??

Instead just do nothing and let the team go down the tubes.

What does points and stats have to do with anything.  The best shooters should shot the ball the most in any game.  So it is your contention that any team should just give it to freshman to shot it 18 times a game??  Come on.

If the team isn't doing what the coach wants them to do.  Sit em down.  But at Hodgkinson at 37 minutes and Hern at 35.  Ghiloni couldn't have been to upset.

[woosterbooster]

Two more computer simulations:

Wooster 73, Lawrence 70.  Played on a neutral court.  Wooster, trailing 40-32 at the half, came back to win a thriller.

http://arkski.com/~jwood/Wooster-Lawrence.jpg

Wooster 121, BW 112.  Played in Wooster.  BW didn't relinquish the lead until late in the second half.  Torii Davis went for 40, but in the end the Scots three-point shooting prevailed.

http://arkski.com/~jwood/BW-Wooster.jpg

[Pat Coleman]

Wooster and B-W played in reality already. What do we learn in a simulation?

[woosterbooster]

Well, if the simulation engine is accurate, and you could run off multiple replays, you'd be able to see if the actual game result was a fluke or not.  Given only one replay of the game, and with a simulation that is good but suspect in some (such as it doesn't deal with individual defense except in the area of steals and blocks) areas, it's basically just for fun.