I think most of us agree that Cal has more problems on the defensive side, because our weaknesses there are preventing us from winning some or many of these games.
On the offensive side, the team seldom looks good, especially in ACC games, and we haven't played many of the better teams in this conference yet. What about the argument that we need more assists?
Assists are so important, because they always involve more than one player, and a lot of or maybe most of the time, they involve more than two players. This helps players feel like they did something to help each other, cooperate for a successful result. The best point guards I ever played with would rather make that pass for an assist than take and make the shot themselves. I feel that Jason Kidd felt that way. I played on two teams with great point guards. They both told me, "If I'm looking at you, you probably won't get the ball. But if I'm not looking at you, you will probably get the ball. So be alert." (This was after I was hit with a pass in the face.)
There are many details, but the main idea is that there are feints and trickery involved to deceive the defenders, for both the passer and the guy he selects to reward with a pass for an easy bucket. It is, or was, a big part of the fun of basketball.
When I watch this Cal team on offense, I see many plays where a player drives to the basket, and he gets stopped by the defense, forcing him to either (1)take a shot with the defender all over him, a bad shot, or (2)stop and back the ball out and look for another opening for a shot, or (3) look for a teammate to whom to pass the ball. Seldom does option #3 result in an open shot at an easy, makeable basket. What we have on this roster are very few players who look for both the shot for themselves, while at the same time looking for a teammate who might be moving into position to get open for a better shot. It often seems like the only time the player with the ball on the drive ever passes to a teammate is when he gets stopped by the defense and can't see anything better to do.
On the other hand, if the player with the ball too often takes the shot himself, failing to see a teammate with an better opportunity to score, then players will stop wasting the energy and time to try and get open for a shot. The main point is that the guy with the ball usually doesn't pass it until he first gets stopped by the defense. The assist should be an aggressive play, not a 2nd or 3rd best choice, a safety valve, so to speak.
We are playing in the ACC, currently the weakest (by far, if you believe the AP Poll) of the 4 power conferences). Cal is dead last in assists out of 18 teams in the ACC, at 10.2 assists per game, and to make matters worse, Cal is 357th in the NCAA in assists. (Those are Mark Fox numbers. Remember him?) There is only one ACC team, Duke, which is ranked in the AP Poll, and only 3 others who had received the votes to be ranked, but now have dropped out of the rankings. Duke averages 17.3 assists per game. Most ACC teams average 13 or more assists per game. Wake Forest is currently in 4th place in the ACC, and they average only 11.9 assists, but they have had the weakest Strength of Schedule in the ACC so far. Duke is in first place in the ACC, and they make 17.3 assists per game.
More important is the ratio of Assists to Field Goals made. This tells us how many baskets were the result of an assist, indicating some teamwork took place. Cal has an A/FGM ratio of 0.400, the lowest in the ACC. The first place team, Duke, has the best A/FGM ratio in the ACC , at 0.609.
I think we should be not be pursuing assists as a stat per se, but we do need to start playing together more, and start moving to get open, and when you have the ball, be looking for an open teammate. Otherwise we will not become competitive or respected in this conference.
A
On the offensive side, the team seldom looks good, especially in ACC games, and we haven't played many of the better teams in this conference yet. What about the argument that we need more assists?
Assists are so important, because they always involve more than one player, and a lot of or maybe most of the time, they involve more than two players. This helps players feel like they did something to help each other, cooperate for a successful result. The best point guards I ever played with would rather make that pass for an assist than take and make the shot themselves. I feel that Jason Kidd felt that way. I played on two teams with great point guards. They both told me, "If I'm looking at you, you probably won't get the ball. But if I'm not looking at you, you will probably get the ball. So be alert." (This was after I was hit with a pass in the face.)
There are many details, but the main idea is that there are feints and trickery involved to deceive the defenders, for both the passer and the guy he selects to reward with a pass for an easy bucket. It is, or was, a big part of the fun of basketball.
When I watch this Cal team on offense, I see many plays where a player drives to the basket, and he gets stopped by the defense, forcing him to either (1)take a shot with the defender all over him, a bad shot, or (2)stop and back the ball out and look for another opening for a shot, or (3) look for a teammate to whom to pass the ball. Seldom does option #3 result in an open shot at an easy, makeable basket. What we have on this roster are very few players who look for both the shot for themselves, while at the same time looking for a teammate who might be moving into position to get open for a better shot. It often seems like the only time the player with the ball on the drive ever passes to a teammate is when he gets stopped by the defense and can't see anything better to do.
On the other hand, if the player with the ball too often takes the shot himself, failing to see a teammate with an better opportunity to score, then players will stop wasting the energy and time to try and get open for a shot. The main point is that the guy with the ball usually doesn't pass it until he first gets stopped by the defense. The assist should be an aggressive play, not a 2nd or 3rd best choice, a safety valve, so to speak.
We are playing in the ACC, currently the weakest (by far, if you believe the AP Poll) of the 4 power conferences). Cal is dead last in assists out of 18 teams in the ACC, at 10.2 assists per game, and to make matters worse, Cal is 357th in the NCAA in assists. (Those are Mark Fox numbers. Remember him?) There is only one ACC team, Duke, which is ranked in the AP Poll, and only 3 others who had received the votes to be ranked, but now have dropped out of the rankings. Duke averages 17.3 assists per game. Most ACC teams average 13 or more assists per game. Wake Forest is currently in 4th place in the ACC, and they average only 11.9 assists, but they have had the weakest Strength of Schedule in the ACC so far. Duke is in first place in the ACC, and they make 17.3 assists per game.
More important is the ratio of Assists to Field Goals made. This tells us how many baskets were the result of an assist, indicating some teamwork took place. Cal has an A/FGM ratio of 0.400, the lowest in the ACC. The first place team, Duke, has the best A/FGM ratio in the ACC , at 0.609.
I think we should be not be pursuing assists as a stat per se, but we do need to start playing together more, and start moving to get open, and when you have the ball, be looking for an open teammate. Otherwise we will not become competitive or respected in this conference.
A
