A Road Win At Last
by thecassino on Feb 14, 2010 10:54 AM PST
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PrintI think I speak for everybody when I say: finally. Last night was a must win game for the Dawgs and they played good basketball for nearly the entire game. The lone lapse was to kick off the second half when they allowed Stanford to pull close, but the leaders of the men in purple closed out the game in exactly the manner you'd hope for. There was a stretch where Quincy Pondexter assisted three straight baskets, including a huge three by Isaiah Thomas as time was running down on the shot clock to ice the game. Pondexter also had a highlight reel hustle play where he knocked the ball away from Landry Fields, dove on the floor to gain possession, then flipped it to Darnell Gant who went in for the transition dunk. These are the types of senior plays this team needs to continue to be competitive on the road.
Two key stats in this game: the Cardinal shot just 11/24 from the free throw line, while the Huskies turned the ball over a season low 5 times. Two tough things for any team to overcome, home or road, and Stanford was no exception
Every Husky starter scored in double figures except for Abdul Gaddy, with Thomas leading all scorers with 20. Justin Holiday added 10, Matthew Bryan-Amaning scored 11 and Q-Pon scored 18. Gaddy had a really heady play in the game. The pace was quickening and getting a little too hectic, and when the Huskies got the ball back from the Tree Gaddy looked to push up the floor and he lost control of the ball (might have nipped off of a big man's shoe). As Gaddy chased it down he dove to save it from going out of bounds, but it looked like it was going to be a sure turnover. Then, instead of grabbing the ball, Gaddy slapped it upcourt to a teammate (I want to say it was Thomas), who found MBA slashing into the lane for a layup and the foul. It was really fun to watch such a heads up play from such a young player.
Yet again Tyreese Breshers was crippled by foul trouble, which gave Darnell Gant the opportunity to play big minutes. He contributed solidly with 4 points and 5 rebounds. For whatever reason, the team seems to play better when Gant is on the floor (as evidenced by his team high +/- of +16), but he has struggled to get minutes. Maybe Coach knows something I don't, but Gant seems to give the team a little more attitude in the paint, and it seems like he should be getting the minutes that have been going to Breshers.
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Gant
The team definitely plays better with Gant on the floor. He was playing good defense at the end of the game and had some inside presence. He needs to get more minutes down the final strech of games for us to make it to the tourney. The team needs to find a way to get him more involved.
That was the best road game in a long time. I feel like the team is starting to come together and play smarter basketball and as a team. I feel good about our final 5 games after yesterday. Hopefully it is not too late.
Totally disagree with you on Gant.
He has no offensive presence (worst shooter on the team, we have at least four better offensive rebounders, doesn’t score from inside or draw fouls). His defense is mediocre at best, he’s a better defender than Breshers, to be sure, but MBA and Holiday are much better at defending.
We lack a big man who can do it all, but Gant is not the answer.
In games Gant gets more than 10 minutes, his +/- stats:
@Stanford: +16 (team high)
@UCLA: +8 (team high)
Stanford: +7
@Arizona: -4 (2nd highest)
Oregon: +4 (team high, only player with a positive plus/minus)
Oregon State: -1
You might not like his skills, but again, for some reason the team plays better when he is on the floor.
+/- isn't the end-all be-all of basketball stats, and a lot of it doesn't have anything to do with how he plays.
It’s virtually useless over small sample sizes (ie: one game).
Which is why I gave you 6 games
And when it’s consistently the best on the team, that says something (that for the third time: the team plays better when he’s on the court).
Don’t knownwhat you mean by adjusted plus/minus. If you mean Roland Rating, that has problems of it’s own, but basically says the exact same thing about Gant. He still lead the team in three of those games, and was 2nd in the UCLA game.
Gant is one of the better face up shooters on the team actually
he’s struggled this year, but he’s got a great jumper from inside 17 feet. He’s our most consistant post defender, he tends not to commit stupid fouls and doesn’t make a ton of mistakes. He doesn’t have the offenseive post moves, but his defense is enough to warrant him gettting 15 mintues a game. He keeps things in check and makes those around him better.
Most consistent post defender?
He fouls more than MBA, gets less blocks, less rebounds, and less steals.
Great jumper? He’s got the worst FG% on the team.
Please back up what you say with something other than your wrong observations.
He also turns the ball over less and assists more often
Defense though, isn’t something that can be measured entirely by statistics. It doesn’t show up when MBA goaltends. You can’t lookin a box score and count how many times MBA was out of position and didn’t help on a dribble drive (it’s a lot, probably the worst part of his game). Gant does a lot of things that MBA probably never will: he denies entry passes, rotates quickly, can guard every position (remember, he’s the guy Romar went to to guard James Harden last year), keeps good defensive positioning, and doesn’t as often leave his man unguarded going for blocks.
Thank you...
More fouls than MBA and less blocks doesn’t mean bad defense. You’ll tend to have more fouls when you’re playing tough, hard-nosed defense and trying to take charges and make plays that MBA doesn’t. He’s very consistent, not flashy and not great, but consistent. At this stage with MBA’s mediocrity and Bresher’s tendency to commit stupid fouls, he may be our best option as a low post defender.
And am I alone in remembering a bunch of people on this blog praising Darnell’s shooting ability from inside 17 feet before this season started?
Even if he is a better defender than MBA or Breshers, his lack of ability to shoot is a real killer.
He has no post presence on offense. Good teams will figure out that he can’t shoot and can’t post up anyone and that will allow them to overplay other players.
It has been this year...
I hope he can turn it around because he showed a good jumper last year. He took way to many bad shots, but he can shoot. He’ll be a Jr. next year and there will be no excuse for the poor shot selection.
Gant
I think you need to keep working him in there. I think the kid has some potential and totally agree that he’s working through a slump. He’ll work through it and the team will be better for it. GO DAWGS!!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
The thing that makes Gant a better option than MBA at times is that he doesn't use possessions.
His low usage rate and low TO rate mean that he allows people who should be taking shots to get looks, and doesn’t interrupt the offense as often as MBA with ill-advised attempts that fall outside of his skillset.
by Spider Jerusalem on Feb 15, 2010 4:47 AM PST reply actions
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