I have not had a lot of time to post recently since I have had a lot of things going on, but wanted to post a few things after last nights big win to bring the team to 6 ACC wins and a current 10th place standing in the ACC.
The Horton factor
This has been one of the most debated players on this forum in the last few years.
As of today,
Horton is #1 in the entire ACC in free throw percentage at 93%. Horton is #2 in the entire ACC in 3 point shooting percentage at 49% from 3. He is also averaging 12 points per game with an ORTG power rating over 110 against all ACC conference team. And in only playing 8 games, 6 of those games have been on the road. Let's put it simply, his return has been big. Horton has been averaging 28 minutes per game since his return. Those minute numbers have been pushing 40 minutes per game during the last 3 ACC wins, and in return, he is averaging just under 21 points per game in those wins. Equally important, he has been quite a bit better on defense this year as opposed to last year.
Sticking with efficiency, Jamarius Burton is staying the course and currently has an offensive ORTG power rating of 110 in ACC Conference play. He is also the 4th best free throw shooter in the ACC at 88%. Burton is also our leading scorer in ACC Conference play at 14.3 points per game, is shooting 46% in ACC Conference play and 40% from 3 in acc conference play. His presence has also been big and he still remains our most steady and most consistent player and team leader. He would easily fit in with the old successful Pitt teams of the past.
Femi Odukale is still very much an inconsistent player much like Gilbert Brown and even Brad Wanamaker were at times earlier in their careers. I still think as of today, Femi still has the highest ceiling on the team if he can get things together mentally. Currently in ACC play, Femi is shooting 41.3% from the field, 35.3% from 3, 67% from the free throw line, and is averaging just under 12 points pre game with 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. His ORTG offensive power rating is sitting at 98 which is getting better. Femi made some big time passes last night against UNC to find open players, both to find open 3 point shooters and into the paint for easy layups. His game leading 9 assists was a huge lift to the offense. I think more experience and playing time with his current teammates should help him cut down his turnovers in the years to come. While Femi has a turnover TO % of 22% which is just ok, there is plenty of room for improvement with his assist to turnover ratio in the future. I still think he has a ton of potential.
John Hugley is averaging 14 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game in ACC play. For the most part, he has been more productive than just about anyone had expected preseason. It's harder to grade John because he has seen more double and triple teams this year than probably any other player in the country. But like Femi, he needs to work on his mental game a bit more and understand that he is going to get doubled a lot and needs to make decisions much faster than he currently does. John is shooting 42% from the field and is averaging 3.5 turnovers per game in conference play. Simply put, those numbers are both quite bad for a center which is why his ORTG power rating remains at 94 in conference play. However, given our teams circumstances this year, the lack of 3 point shooters and spacing for him to operate, there is plenty of room for improvement to improve these stats. His upside is good and he still has a craft of getting the opposing teams bigs in major foul trouble.
The hidden stat which is going to be much trickier to replace in the offseason is Mo Gueye who has been much better on offense than anyone had expected. Gueye is shooting 38% from 3 point range in ACC Conference play. He also has 28 three point buckets in conference play, which is almost twice as many in conference play for every other player on the roster not named Horton. Defensively, he has 40 blocks on the back end at 2.5 blocks per game in conference play and has been a steady defender. Replacing him will not be an easy task, he was pretty darn good against UNC last night on the road including his 3 point baskets against them.
If this unit holds together with Sibande, we need 2 key significant additions in the off season to propel us to a potential bubble team or better. 2 is the bare minimum to get us there, but 3 is much more ideal. I like how the 4 some of Horton-Burton-Odukale-Hugley is rounding into form and coming together.
Im not sure what to expect in the next 4 games, but I think a 2-2 record to close out would have a lot more people feeling better going into next season. We will be favored against Georgia Tech and a pretty small underdog against Miami. As I said months ago, I think depending on the draw, we are going to be a dangerous ACC Tournament team that can win some games and this is a tournament I am greatly looking forward to watching.
Great win against UNC and keep it going, H2P
The Horton factor
This has been one of the most debated players on this forum in the last few years.
As of today,
Horton is #1 in the entire ACC in free throw percentage at 93%. Horton is #2 in the entire ACC in 3 point shooting percentage at 49% from 3. He is also averaging 12 points per game with an ORTG power rating over 110 against all ACC conference team. And in only playing 8 games, 6 of those games have been on the road. Let's put it simply, his return has been big. Horton has been averaging 28 minutes per game since his return. Those minute numbers have been pushing 40 minutes per game during the last 3 ACC wins, and in return, he is averaging just under 21 points per game in those wins. Equally important, he has been quite a bit better on defense this year as opposed to last year.
Sticking with efficiency, Jamarius Burton is staying the course and currently has an offensive ORTG power rating of 110 in ACC Conference play. He is also the 4th best free throw shooter in the ACC at 88%. Burton is also our leading scorer in ACC Conference play at 14.3 points per game, is shooting 46% in ACC Conference play and 40% from 3 in acc conference play. His presence has also been big and he still remains our most steady and most consistent player and team leader. He would easily fit in with the old successful Pitt teams of the past.
Femi Odukale is still very much an inconsistent player much like Gilbert Brown and even Brad Wanamaker were at times earlier in their careers. I still think as of today, Femi still has the highest ceiling on the team if he can get things together mentally. Currently in ACC play, Femi is shooting 41.3% from the field, 35.3% from 3, 67% from the free throw line, and is averaging just under 12 points pre game with 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. His ORTG offensive power rating is sitting at 98 which is getting better. Femi made some big time passes last night against UNC to find open players, both to find open 3 point shooters and into the paint for easy layups. His game leading 9 assists was a huge lift to the offense. I think more experience and playing time with his current teammates should help him cut down his turnovers in the years to come. While Femi has a turnover TO % of 22% which is just ok, there is plenty of room for improvement with his assist to turnover ratio in the future. I still think he has a ton of potential.
John Hugley is averaging 14 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game in ACC play. For the most part, he has been more productive than just about anyone had expected preseason. It's harder to grade John because he has seen more double and triple teams this year than probably any other player in the country. But like Femi, he needs to work on his mental game a bit more and understand that he is going to get doubled a lot and needs to make decisions much faster than he currently does. John is shooting 42% from the field and is averaging 3.5 turnovers per game in conference play. Simply put, those numbers are both quite bad for a center which is why his ORTG power rating remains at 94 in conference play. However, given our teams circumstances this year, the lack of 3 point shooters and spacing for him to operate, there is plenty of room for improvement to improve these stats. His upside is good and he still has a craft of getting the opposing teams bigs in major foul trouble.
The hidden stat which is going to be much trickier to replace in the offseason is Mo Gueye who has been much better on offense than anyone had expected. Gueye is shooting 38% from 3 point range in ACC Conference play. He also has 28 three point buckets in conference play, which is almost twice as many in conference play for every other player on the roster not named Horton. Defensively, he has 40 blocks on the back end at 2.5 blocks per game in conference play and has been a steady defender. Replacing him will not be an easy task, he was pretty darn good against UNC last night on the road including his 3 point baskets against them.
If this unit holds together with Sibande, we need 2 key significant additions in the off season to propel us to a potential bubble team or better. 2 is the bare minimum to get us there, but 3 is much more ideal. I like how the 4 some of Horton-Burton-Odukale-Hugley is rounding into form and coming together.
Im not sure what to expect in the next 4 games, but I think a 2-2 record to close out would have a lot more people feeling better going into next season. We will be favored against Georgia Tech and a pretty small underdog against Miami. As I said months ago, I think depending on the draw, we are going to be a dangerous ACC Tournament team that can win some games and this is a tournament I am greatly looking forward to watching.
Great win against UNC and keep it going, H2P
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