MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[John Gleich]

The most amazing thing to me is how high he can leap for his size.  Though I don't know the numbers his vertical is incredible and he hangs in the air like smog over Los Angeles.  We're very fortunate to have him.

The fact that there was some anticipation in the gym Saturday when he got a steal and a breakaway speaks to that... he elevated HIGH and laid it in, but it seemed like he was close to throwing it down.

[palum]

Congrats to WW they won impressively last night.  Their defense on Gerber bringing the ball up was effective and I think it caused few unforced errors on P-ville like throwing the ball out of bounds or the ball bouncing off a players foot or leg.  WW did a good job of denying Cross the ball and he wasn't much of a factor till late in the game.  P-ville never seem to get into a offensive rhythm for many reasons but one was WW defensive pressure they didn't let up.  Being a Platteville grad living near WW I've had to buy a few lunches today    

[havej]

palum - good assessment as I watched on the internet.  Merg's ball pressure is 2nd to none in the league.

As far as the various comments on how much Q Young has improved - all valid points.  Take out the recent outburst in a 40 point blowout of EC (and I know they all count) and his FG% is flat and his PPG is down.  I would give more validity to the higher 3 point FG%, but his attempts per game have dropped in that area from last year.  If his attempts were up, I'd be more inclined to agree that it's improved because it would have become a bigger part of his arsenal and would have added balance to his game.  Besides, if he misses his next four attempts, he's the same as last year.

Last, his FTAs per game are down 37% on a per game basis.  This in spite of the new rule changes limiting hand checking and the use of the forearm.  All things the same, his FTAs should be up but defenses are probably giving him more space and making him shoot over the top.

[02 Warhawk]

palum - good assessment as I watched on the internet.  Merg's ball pressure is 2nd to none in the league.

As far as the various comments on how much Q Young has improved - all valid points.  Take out the recent outburst in a 40 point blowout of EC (and I know they all count) and his FG% is flat and his PPG is down.  I would give more validity to the higher 3 point FG%, but his attempts per game have dropped in that area from last year.  If his attempts were up, I'd be more inclined to agree that it's improved because it would have become a bigger part of his arsenal and would have added balance to his game.  Besides, if he misses his next four attempts, he's the same as last year.

Last, his FTAs per game are down 37% on a per game basis.  This in spite of the new rule changes limiting hand checking and the use of the forearm.  All things the same, his FTAs should be up but defenses are probably giving him more space and making him shoot over the top.

I really dislike these types of arguments. Only because you can pretty much say that about anyone in the league. "Take out their best game, and their season doesn't look as good." Well no kidding.

If you take out Q's worst game, then he's having a tremendous year! How about that?    Also, Q did manage to shoot 50% against the No. 1 team in the country.

[AppletonRocks]

Do you guys believe in the +/- stat?   Start the 3 beer minimum conversation now..................

[havej]

02 Warhawk - not an argument, a point.  I'm not confrontational, just bringing facts and data.  The sample size is smaller right now, so at the end of the year the statistical comparison based on the raw numbers will have more meaning as you well know.

His efficiency as I'm sure you checked out is about the same, scoring about 1.4 points per shot attempt which is obviously very good.  However, and again, I'm sure you reviewed, his true shooting % has improved from 58.2% to 61.6% which is also admirable.  But we'll see how these stack up after 10 more WIAC games. 

Your point about shooting 50% against Point reinforces some of my logic - he scored 2 points in 17 minutes in the first half of that game while "his" team was getting blown out by 20.  He took a grand total of 1 shot.  Whatever happened after that was just basically for the box score.  In my opinion, leaders of teams and all conference players are more assertive and "put their teams on their back" if needed while facing a tough conference opponent on the road.

[badgerwarhawk]

As a WARHAWKS supporter I'm very pleased with the improvement in many of our players.  Not to take anything away from Quardell, KJ or Eric but if I had to chose just one player who I think has improved the most I'd have to go with Reggie Hearn.   He held his own against Cross last night and his scoring has gone from 3.7 points to 13.0 points while his rebounding has increased from 2.6 to 4.8.  Admittedly some of that is due to an increase in playing time but my eyes tell me he's a much better player than he was last year. 

[havej]

Appleton - on the subject of +/- do you recall who led the WIAC last year?  And as a hint, he was not a first team all conference selection.

[AppletonRocks]

Not sure I know if the stat is posted by the WIAC, I assume they have the data.   I know some coaches swear by it and others view it as a chance stat, especially for non-starters. 

Let me take a guess--Jordan Giordana.   

[Greek Tragedy]

Your point about shooting 50% against Point reinforces some of my logic - he scored 2 points in 17 minutes in the first half of that game while "his" team was getting blown out by 20.  He took a grand total of 1 shot.  Whatever happened after that was just basically for the box score. In my opinion, leaders of teams and all conference players are more assertive and "put their teams on their back" if needed while facing a tough conference opponent on the road.

I'm gonna have to disagree here. Yes, the boxscore says Point was blowing out Whitewater at halftime and Young was just 1-1 in the first half. But, to say what happened after that was basically for the boxscore is inaccurate. Whitewater came out of the locker room and was on fire, pressing and forcing turnovers. They turned a 20-point game into a 10-point game in just over two minutes.
Young was a big part of that.

Rebound
3-pointer
Steal
Layup
Free throw

Though Point did build the lead back up to 15-19 most of the 2nd half, Whitewater did cut it down to single-digits several times. Put it this way, to me at least, our lead did not feel very comfortable. Whitewater battled the whole game, even when they were down huge. It definitely wasn't just adding to the boxscore.

[havej]

A Rocks - regarding +/-, Jim Stocki from PV was the WIAC leader last season.  To your point, I don't believe the WIAC tracks this - the information was posted late last February by a "DMJ Sports" who listed the top 10 in the league.  He also posted the top impact players in the league last year based on an algorithm that I believe many D1 schools also utilize.  Found it interesting as many of the leaders were players you probably wouldn't have guessed without following their performance very closely.

[badgerwarhawk]

I would be interested in seeing this.  Could you post a link to the website?

[havej]

BW - best I can do for you is this:

1)  The top 10 +/- guys are listed on page #953 of this board

2)  The best "algorithm" guys by team are also listed on #953, with the top 10 in this category listed on #954

[voice]

In baseball news... Congratulations to former UW-Stevens Point right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmerman Who has signed a two-year deal with the Washington Nationals avoiding arbitration. Zimmerman will make $7.5 million in 2014 and $16.5 million in 2015.

[Greek Tragedy]

Wow! Whats the catch? His salary more than doubles in year 2??? Probably will try to sign him to an extension before 2015? Congrats!