ACC Conference Games Only through 10 games
Points Per Game
Champ- 19
Toney- 12.9
X-12.9
Horton-11.5
AKC-6.3
Odukale- 6.3
ACC Shooting Percentage
Champ-53%
AKC- 51%
Odukale- 47%
Toney- 42%
Horton- 42%
X-35.5%
ACC 3 point shooting percentage
AKC-50% (only 2 attempts)
Champ-44.5%
Horton-40%
Odukale-30%
X-25%
Toney-25%
ACC ORTG Offensive Power Rating
Champ-123.8
AKC-115
Horton-110.5
Toney-105
X-100
Odukale-90
We have a solid base of 6 players on this roster as of right now (Hugley would have been 7). As I’ve mentioned in the past, it takes generally 8 players with an ORTG over 100+ to be NCAA Tournament worthy. We have a starting 5 unit playing at a pretty good level for the most part. My biggest gripe with the offense is the lack of use of AKC and AKC’s lack of touches in the offense. There is a reason AKC’s ORTG offensive power rating is very high and has been all season long. He has shot the ball well in 9 out of 10 total ACC games now. And he did it again against Virginia when we finally fed him the ball.
Horton has been pretty hot in ACC play shooting the ball. As he continues to build confidence, I think his game will expand and he will be considerably better in the years ahead. With an ORTG currently over 110+ in ACC play, Horton is now exceeding efficiency expectations and should be getting even more shots in the offense. From where we were a few years ago, we have a good base of 6 players to build off of in the future.
It should also be noted, Xaxier Johnson leads all the P6 in assists and he should still focus more on passing and much less on 3 point shooting. X should make it a personal goal next year to try to lead the country in assists.
I also find that, Femi Odukale’s 47% shooting percentage against ACC competition is very impressive coming off a broken arm as a true freshmen. He is going to be big time down the road.
Rebounds per game
Champ- 11.4
Toney-6.2
AKC-3.8
X-3.3
Horton-3
Odukale-2.8
All 6 players have a DR rebound percentage over 10+. Champ is at a DR of 26.7, which is just short of Blair. We have won the rebound battle in 7 out of 10 ACC games. We got outrebounded by Duke by 1 rebound. We got outrebounded by Louisville by 19 rebounds without Champ and Toney both missing that game. We got outrebounded by UNC. This is considerable improvement over the last few years, but needs to be better.
Pomeroy Team Offensive Rating-74
Pomeroy Team Defensive Rating-79
The defense has really fallen. We don’t attack the passing lanes as much and are not pressuring to force turnovers as much which has hurt the defense and AKC has dialed down the pressure to watch his fouls. We don’t have any depth to consistently extend pressure. And Champ’s defense has started declining again due to stamina again (maybe the injury too), the same trouble he had last year. He continues to jog back on defense and give up wide open 3’s which have killed us in our defensive transition game.
Biggest Recruiting Need: Center, and its not even close. Almost every time Brown comes in our team falls apart. I remember watching the Notre Dame game and the moment Jeffress and Brown checked in together I knew we were in big trouble when the game was tied. A few minutes later we were down 10 from a huge substitution error from Capel and then the team fell apart and quit. Then we put Collier in and that lead ballooned even further for Notre Dame. Same thing happened with Virginia today as soon as Brown entered, we got outscored and our lead was gone.
Hugley’s situation is unfortunate and its his own fault, but we desperately need to address this issue. We have a very real chance with 2 prime targets, Reid and Troare. My understanding is, and it has been, that Pitt and Ohio State have been the leaders for Reid dating back to about October. Michigan, Virginia and a few others have been lurking. My information, a long with minimal intel from Jerry Meyer along with the Lexington Herald, seems to align. As mentioned, he could still skip college but what an opportunity for both us and Reid at the same time. The last time I thought 1 single recruit was this important to the rest of the entire team in the future as Reid is, was Danny Green. And had we gotten Green our 2009 team wins the National Title. We have a giant hole at center with Brown and 1 single player puts this current team on a whole new level.
I want to see this team close strong and try to win 4-5 more ACC games. A few games ago I had mentioned I was seeing significant problems with our defense and that trend is getting worse. It might be worth a gamble to insert Sibande (who has struggled) and extend defensive pressure to 3 /4 to full court in spurts to try to get some more turnovers and transition points as we are not forcing enough turnovers lately. I would also go small ball most of the way because this team has been a disaster with Brown. Today’s box score BPM efficiency is one of the biggest outliers for 1 player against everyone else I’ve ever seen.
Horton- +5.4
Champ- +3.3
Johnson- +3.5
AKC- +2.5
Odukale- +1.7
Toney - (-1.5)
Brown- - (-23.5)
The 22 point swing between AKC and Brown in the Wake Forest game was bad enough. This is worse.
At 5-5 in the ACC, it feels good to be competing for an NCAA Tournament bid and playing in games that actually matter. And with what Im seeing, with a significantly improving team offense as the season continues and a spiraling downward defense, Im not sure what to expect with how we close the season. What I do know is, we are going to need depth players to really step up if we are going to win at least a few games down the final stretch.
Points Per Game
Champ- 19
Toney- 12.9
X-12.9
Horton-11.5
AKC-6.3
Odukale- 6.3
ACC Shooting Percentage
Champ-53%
AKC- 51%
Odukale- 47%
Toney- 42%
Horton- 42%
X-35.5%
ACC 3 point shooting percentage
AKC-50% (only 2 attempts)
Champ-44.5%
Horton-40%
Odukale-30%
X-25%
Toney-25%
ACC ORTG Offensive Power Rating
Champ-123.8
AKC-115
Horton-110.5
Toney-105
X-100
Odukale-90
We have a solid base of 6 players on this roster as of right now (Hugley would have been 7). As I’ve mentioned in the past, it takes generally 8 players with an ORTG over 100+ to be NCAA Tournament worthy. We have a starting 5 unit playing at a pretty good level for the most part. My biggest gripe with the offense is the lack of use of AKC and AKC’s lack of touches in the offense. There is a reason AKC’s ORTG offensive power rating is very high and has been all season long. He has shot the ball well in 9 out of 10 total ACC games now. And he did it again against Virginia when we finally fed him the ball.
Horton has been pretty hot in ACC play shooting the ball. As he continues to build confidence, I think his game will expand and he will be considerably better in the years ahead. With an ORTG currently over 110+ in ACC play, Horton is now exceeding efficiency expectations and should be getting even more shots in the offense. From where we were a few years ago, we have a good base of 6 players to build off of in the future.
It should also be noted, Xaxier Johnson leads all the P6 in assists and he should still focus more on passing and much less on 3 point shooting. X should make it a personal goal next year to try to lead the country in assists.
I also find that, Femi Odukale’s 47% shooting percentage against ACC competition is very impressive coming off a broken arm as a true freshmen. He is going to be big time down the road.
Rebounds per game
Champ- 11.4
Toney-6.2
AKC-3.8
X-3.3
Horton-3
Odukale-2.8
All 6 players have a DR rebound percentage over 10+. Champ is at a DR of 26.7, which is just short of Blair. We have won the rebound battle in 7 out of 10 ACC games. We got outrebounded by Duke by 1 rebound. We got outrebounded by Louisville by 19 rebounds without Champ and Toney both missing that game. We got outrebounded by UNC. This is considerable improvement over the last few years, but needs to be better.
Pomeroy Team Offensive Rating-74
Pomeroy Team Defensive Rating-79
The defense has really fallen. We don’t attack the passing lanes as much and are not pressuring to force turnovers as much which has hurt the defense and AKC has dialed down the pressure to watch his fouls. We don’t have any depth to consistently extend pressure. And Champ’s defense has started declining again due to stamina again (maybe the injury too), the same trouble he had last year. He continues to jog back on defense and give up wide open 3’s which have killed us in our defensive transition game.
Biggest Recruiting Need: Center, and its not even close. Almost every time Brown comes in our team falls apart. I remember watching the Notre Dame game and the moment Jeffress and Brown checked in together I knew we were in big trouble when the game was tied. A few minutes later we were down 10 from a huge substitution error from Capel and then the team fell apart and quit. Then we put Collier in and that lead ballooned even further for Notre Dame. Same thing happened with Virginia today as soon as Brown entered, we got outscored and our lead was gone.
Hugley’s situation is unfortunate and its his own fault, but we desperately need to address this issue. We have a very real chance with 2 prime targets, Reid and Troare. My understanding is, and it has been, that Pitt and Ohio State have been the leaders for Reid dating back to about October. Michigan, Virginia and a few others have been lurking. My information, a long with minimal intel from Jerry Meyer along with the Lexington Herald, seems to align. As mentioned, he could still skip college but what an opportunity for both us and Reid at the same time. The last time I thought 1 single recruit was this important to the rest of the entire team in the future as Reid is, was Danny Green. And had we gotten Green our 2009 team wins the National Title. We have a giant hole at center with Brown and 1 single player puts this current team on a whole new level.
I want to see this team close strong and try to win 4-5 more ACC games. A few games ago I had mentioned I was seeing significant problems with our defense and that trend is getting worse. It might be worth a gamble to insert Sibande (who has struggled) and extend defensive pressure to 3 /4 to full court in spurts to try to get some more turnovers and transition points as we are not forcing enough turnovers lately. I would also go small ball most of the way because this team has been a disaster with Brown. Today’s box score BPM efficiency is one of the biggest outliers for 1 player against everyone else I’ve ever seen.
Horton- +5.4
Champ- +3.3
Johnson- +3.5
AKC- +2.5
Odukale- +1.7
Toney - (-1.5)
Brown- - (-23.5)
The 22 point swing between AKC and Brown in the Wake Forest game was bad enough. This is worse.
At 5-5 in the ACC, it feels good to be competing for an NCAA Tournament bid and playing in games that actually matter. And with what Im seeing, with a significantly improving team offense as the season continues and a spiraling downward defense, Im not sure what to expect with how we close the season. What I do know is, we are going to need depth players to really step up if we are going to win at least a few games down the final stretch.
