Pointer team stats
- Thread starter Red.Fans
- Start date
Generally no. Branch isnt a great outside shooter but he is able to make plays from the perimeter so its ok for him. Do you think pointer helps us being out around the 3 point line?
beast of the east
Active member
Only in the context of a motion offense. No question he isn't a threat from out there, but the wings are better entry passes to the post, etc. If he is continually 20 feet from the basket I have a problem, too.
Of course everyone isn't a great shooter, but what excuse is there for him not improving on his skill set there over the years? His shooting and his handle are abysmal to the point where as others pointed out, it's like being 4 vs 5 on offense when he's on the floor. Now I'm not trying to trash the guy, I love his energy, his defense, heart, and what he brings to the team. But you gotta call it like you see it.
FG% for SjU guards:
Branch 46.8
Greene 42.8
Jordan 40.6
Harrison 39.1 (by the way lowest on the team except for the walk-on)
(also by the way Hooper 39.6%, second worst on the team except for the walk-on)
(also by the way SirDom at 46.3% which makes him our worst "big" (they all have higher shooting percentages than the guards, for obvious reasons) but our second-best shooting "guard." And yes I know it doesn't make sense but that's what the numbers are).
3pt% for SJU players:
Greene 41.5%
Hooper 38%
Harrison 37.%
Branch 28.6% (and it goes south from there).
I have excluded Balamou and Bourgault from both of the above, they don't have enough minutes for their stats to mean anything.
Not sure there is a reason to be saying "no no no" when your second best shooter and your best 3 point shooter takes a shot. Arguably your best shooter since Branch won't take a jump shot unless he is open by at least 6 feet.
Greene also leads the team with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.0 (your next-best regular players are Jordan and Pointer at 1.6, Branch at 1.5, then Harrison at 1.2.
Sorry to hijack a Pointer thread (though there is some Dom info in there), but the knocks on Phil are just a joke at this point.
IMHO nearly 100% of the crap Phil takes amounts to "he isn't a point guard." Well, it isn't his fault that Coach decided to play him there for extended minutes. I guess the same people would be critical of Jakarr if Coach decided it was a good idea to play him at the point even though it isn't his natural position. I think it's to Phil's credit that he showed up, didn't whine (or get suspended as several other players have), did the best job he could, and was largely responsible for winning a few early-season games when the rest of the team hadn't quite showed up to play yet.
When played in his natural position, he is a very solid contributor and is totally underrated and underappreciated by much of our fan base. It's hard to understand how the same folks who are apologists for D'Angelo when he plays like a chucker (see his numbers) are critical of Phil for taking shots when the numbers show that he's actually the better option. Maybe it's that he doesn't have tattoos and doesn't glare at people. I dunno.
He's a good kid, a good player, and I'm glad he'll be part of the team for 4 years.
beast of the east
Active member
Moose, You're just not nice!
It makes complete sense. He doesnt shoot the ball!
On the one hand he is getting knocked for not having a good handle and on the other he is getting knocked for not driving the lane. The reason why I added "FTA" on the list of stats because to my mind this is an important stat to indicate how powerful a player is offensively, and it is also related to Turnovers for a slasher. ONE of the benefits of driving the lane is attracting shooting fouls. This has the double whammy of putting the opponent into foul trouble and getting "Free" Throws. A good free throw shooter who drives the lane is that much more of an asset. This is one of the benefits of Harrison who gets knocked for being a "volume scorer" and people look at his FG% to prove their misguided point. What they are missing is the FTA figure and in the case of Harrison it is both admirable and considering his FT% a major asset so if you look at his FG% but fail to consider his FTA you are not considering the full picture. Anyone that knocks Harrison for being a volume scorer for us and critiques his FG% without considering how many points he puts up for us at the line is blowing hot air.
For Dom it is not so clear cut but his FTA is on the positive side at 4th on the team / 5th minutes. Being 4th in TOs though it is about a wash if those TOs are coming when driving the lane. LMF mentioned Phil's Assist/TO ration but failed to to put this in the perspective of a guard being 3rd in minutes (even after missing a full game) that he is 6th in assists while Pointer mostly considered a front court player at 2nd in assists with considerably less total minutes.
My opinion is that Dom is playing the role given to him. The coach is not asking him to drive the lane in a similar way that Green has been asked to shoulder much of the PG duties. I don't like seeing Dom hang out on the perimeter and I don't like Green running the offense. I think both could be more useful crashing the boards and being a lot more active off the ball and making the opposing defense work harder. Green is a much more important asset when he is playing with Jordan and/or Branch. He looks good off the ball and has hit some big shots for us. With the ball at the top of the offense we suck. He also looks good when he is going aggressive to the hole which I've only seen a couple of times.
Good debate, fellas.
Moose, you leave Gift out of this, you bully.
Obviously I kill Dom more than anyone, but I will say that there has been a lot more motion in our offense the last half-dozen or so games. It has resulted in Dom getting off the perimeter more often. Dom has more offensive rebounds in that span than he's had all year, but he' skill way below where he should be. My crusade is paying off. I can't fault him for not shooting when he gets the ball out there, but I agree that his lack of ability to hit a shot really hurts our offense given that we can't properly space the floor--something I've noticed the team has really improved at when Dom is not in the game or when a defender is stupid enough to guard Dom on the perimeter. There is nothing he can do out there that one of our guards can't do better. He is not needed as a safety valve or a wing-forward. The fact that we haven't see him land an alley-oop dunk in the half court this year speaks volumes...what about a put-back slam? I would like him to be like Khyle Marshall...that kid can't shoot a lick, he has limited driving ability and you'll rarely see him take more than a few dribbles...but he still he manages to drive and score a handful of times every game with those restrictions, and he's a menace on the offensive glass. He had two put-back dunks in the first half against us and he averages 2.5 offensive boards a game at 6'6.
It's important to remember when we talk about Dom's shortcomings that the alternative is Branch, a kid who is pretty much the exact opposite. He's always under control, he can drive extremely well, he can hit an open shot, he plays his position the right way, and he stays within his abilities (too much actually). I actually think Branch has a very nice looking outside shot, he just doesn't take a lot of threes. He's pretty money from his mid-range, though. I love what he brings to the floor and how the ball moves so much better when he's in the game and confident. What drives me nuts about him sometimes is that he is so relaxed (lazy/fancy pass here and there) that he isn't aggressive as he should be. We are a better team when we have three dribble threats on the floor. Our best lineup by far is Jordan-Branch-Harrison-Sampson-Obekpa.
As for Greene, I like way he is evolving and the way guys are now quick to get the ball from him to allow him play off the ball more. He's still feeling out his niche, but we will need that 41.5% from three (probably over 50% with feet set) and a couple drives/ floaters every game going forward. He's big, big asset.
Moose, you leave Gift out of this, you bully.
Obviously I kill Dom more than anyone, but I will say that there has been a lot more motion in our offense the last half-dozen or so games. It has resulted in Dom getting off the perimeter more often. Dom has more offensive rebounds in that span than he's had all year, but he' skill way below where he should be. My crusade is paying off. I can't fault him for not shooting when he gets the ball out there, but I agree that his lack of ability to hit a shot really hurts our offense given that we can't properly space the floor--something I've noticed the team has really improved at when Dom is not in the game or when a defender is stupid enough to guard Dom on the perimeter. There is nothing he can do out there that one of our guards can't do better. He is not needed as a safety valve or a wing-forward. The fact that we haven't see him land an alley-oop dunk in the half court this year speaks volumes...what about a put-back slam? I would like him to be like Khyle Marshall...that kid can't shoot a lick, he has limited driving ability and you'll rarely see him take more than a few dribbles...but he still he manages to drive and score a handful of times every game with those restrictions, and he's a menace on the offensive glass. He had two put-back dunks in the first half against us and he averages 2.5 offensive boards a game at 6'6.
It's important to remember when we talk about Dom's shortcomings that the alternative is Branch, a kid who is pretty much the exact opposite. He's always under control, he can drive extremely well, he can hit an open shot, he plays his position the right way, and he stays within his abilities (too much actually). I actually think Branch has a very nice looking outside shot, he just doesn't take a lot of threes. He's pretty money from his mid-range, though. I love what he brings to the floor and how the ball moves so much better when he's in the game and confident. What drives me nuts about him sometimes is that he is so relaxed (lazy/fancy pass here and there) that he isn't aggressive as he should be. We are a better team when we have three dribble threats on the floor. Our best lineup by far is Jordan-Branch-Harrison-Sampson-Obekpa.
As for Greene, I like way he is evolving and the way guys are now quick to get the ball from him to allow him play off the ball more. He's still feeling out his niche, but we will need that 41.5% from three (probably over 50% with feet set) and a couple drives/ floaters every game going forward. He's big, big asset.
Ray Morgan
Well-known member
Although Branch is starting to look OK, if the Branch you described (money from mid range and always under control) showed up instead of the real branch we have seen, our ticket to the tourney would already be punched. Has has show some real signs of life. But earlier this year (and a few times recently) he had some drives that were abominations and spin moves 30 feet out that resulted in turnovers. I have to admit that he is on the verge of changing my mind about him.