• Well South is gone and it will be interesting to see who the next shooting guard will be. Also we need a point guard.

oskidunker said:

---

• Well South is gone and it will be interesting to see who the next shooting guard will be. Also we need a point guard.

---

And we need a CENTER. Not sure any of the bigs on the roster will improve enough to be the one.

OB, your prcis of the article is interesting, but it also shows the limits of team-wide statistics. We may shoot 33.8% from three, but if you look at individual stats, Bradley is shooting 38%, Anticevich 37% and Kuany 36% (but a very small sample). Everyone else except Brown (31%) is below 30%. If teams run Bradley and Grant off the line, the only way to increase 3-pt shooting is to have bad shooters take more shots.

As for the problem with long 2's, I think that reflects two things: the fact that we tend to run the shot clock down and need to take poor shots late in the clock too often and players like Grant having difficulty getting off a 3-pt shot quickly enough and then moving inside to avoid the defender. Hopefully, with better shooters next year (hope, hope) the floor can be opened up more and we can get better shots.

Finally, as for Bradley driving and having to shoot "contested" 2's ( know, not your comment), is 2-pt % is 48%. Hardly chopped liver.

UrsaMajor said:

---

OB, your prcis of the article is interesting, but it also shows the limits of team-wide statistics. We may shoot 33.8% from three, but if you look at individual stats, Bradley is shooting 38%, Anticevich 37% and Kuany 36% (but a very small sample). Everyone else except Brown (31%) is below 30%. If teams run Bradley and Grant off the line, the only way to increase 3-pt shooting is to have bad shooters take more shots.

As for the problem with long 2's, I think that reflects two things: the fact that we tend to run the shot clock down and need to take poor shots late in the clock too often and players like Grant having difficulty getting off a 3-pt shot quickly enough and then moving inside to avoid the defender. Hopefully, with better shooters next year (hope, hope) the floor can be opened up more and we can get better shots.

Finally, as for Bradley driving and having to shoot "contested" 2's ( know, not your comment), is 2-pt % is 48%. Hardly chopped liver.

---

I agree about team wide statistics and that is why I said I'd like to see it broken down individually. However, people keep saying how our players can't shoot threes. That is only half the question. Can they shoot far twos? Stats indicate no.

Now here is another point. Out of the last 10 teams Fox has coached, 9 of them have had a higher than average share of far twos. The one that was lower was in 2012 and it was about the 35th percentile. The last 5 teams have had a very high share of far twos (like 85th to 90th percentile). So it isn't an issue with Cal or with the current players. 10 years of data indicates the offense Fox runs results in a high percentage of far twos.

As a note, the website that write for California pulled the data from allows you to sort the data per category. If you sort for share of close 2's, it sorts high to low, like high share is good. If you sort for share of threes, it sorts the same. If you sort for far 2's it sorts low to high, like low share is good.

As for your comment about Bradley, 48% is a reasonable efficiency rate on this team. Yeah, his threes are more efficient, but his twos are one of the most efficient shots on the team.

oskidunker said:

---

When he is making shots we have a good chance of winning. Not fond of playing Brown and Austin at the same time. I was hoping the preferred walk in who can shoot would get some time.

---

+1 You need to have a PG so you have play one, but why ever play both? Reminds me of some Ben Braun lineups.

calumnus said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

When he is making shots we have a good chance of winning. Not fond of playing Brown and Austin at the same time. I was hoping the preferred walk in who can shoot would get some time.

---

+1 You need to have a PG so you have play one, but why ever play both? Reminds me of some Ben Braun lineups.

---

Cal was short of wings this season to begin with, and the problem began when South was starting to slump in the conference season. It was compounded with the injuries to JHD, and his inability to provide any offense when he did play. On a balanced team, Bradley's normal position would be shooting guard, but he had to play a small forward, because we had no one else to play it, except Kuany, who was so raw and inexperienced. If Thiemann had arrived ready to play center, then Kelly might have been able to move to a more natural position, power forward, and Anticevich could have been the small forward. In any case, the front line was also thin, with only Thorpe in reserve, another very raw and inexperienced player. Klonaras saw some playing time but clearly not a D1 level wing, at least not as a freshman. Maybe he can develop some. This team was so thin, all the parts had to play well for Cal to challenge for the title, or even the top half. I think Fox did not see enough that he liked in Orender or Alters, and maybe he felt they might provide some scoring, but would give away too much, either on D or athleticism, to see many minutes. His best option was to play Brown and Austin together some of the time, when South was tired or shooting bricks. What made it work, sort of, was that Austin began playing better on defense and offense as well. We still have a lot of holes to fill, either with good improvement from roster players, or new scholarship players coming in. We need improved play and more depth at several positions.

calumnus said:

---

oskidunker said:

---

When he is making shots we have a good chance of winning. Not fond of playing Brown and Austin at the same time. I was hoping the preferred walk in who can shoot would get some time.

---

+1 You need to have a PG so you have play one, but why ever play both? Reminds me of some Ben Braun lineups.

---

Because when South isn't producing you might as well go with defense and ball control.