Early season Most Improved Player

This team looks a lot different this year. Some guys have stepped up at different times. Who do you think has been most improved so far?

Dom has improved every facet of his game. Has to be him, he's gone from a loose cannon who made many stupid plays to being our 2nd most trustworthy playmaker. 

Obekpa followed closely by Dom.

Branch

I thought Dom was arguably our best all-around player 2 years ago. I felt last year he took a huge step back and I immediately regretted it. This year he's playing really damn good again and has improved alot.

For anybody who hasn't seen his numbers:

10.2 PPG  7.7 RPG  2.7 APG  2.3 SPG 1.7 BPG  only 1.6 TOPG  and is shooting 58% from the field.

Dom, especially in the high post game.  Head fake and go or shooting from 12 feet and in is much improved. 

Pointer is the most improved. He's finally getting the most out of his ability. Obekpa is better, but he is still raw offensively. He needs to keep going offensively to make the league. Hopefully by the end of next season, he's more comfortable on the offensive side.

Tie between obekpa and Dom.  I lean towards obekpa because we saw many flashes of this with Dom his soph year but then something happened last year. Obekpa improvement not only on the court but his general attitude and physique as well.

Everyone talks about CO's offensive improvement.   Think about the defensive improvement for a minute. 
With the exception of Gonzaga and the bad calls including getting called for a foul Christian Jones committed, CO has basically stayed out of foul trouble.
Why? His defense has improved.  He now fronts his guy and denies him the ball.  Once the entry pass is made it radically increases the chance of a foul. 
CO has also doubled his rebounds.  And then there's the offensive improvement including the corner baseline jumper and the foul shooting.  And just wait till the guards get more comfortsble dumping back down to him on the ;pick and roll or just when he has good position down low.

D'Lo is also playing within himself...rebounding like a monster....looking to make a pass...take fewer shots and a higher percentage of good ones....playing lock down defense (Cooney etc.)  People forget D'Lo's improvement because he was so good and important to the team to begin with.

Dom Pointer, if his shooting improved as much as the rest of his game he would be first team all BE. 

I thought players don't show any improvement under Lavs and his staff? Obek, Sir, Sheed, and Dee in that order.

I am really surprised that Chris Obekpa is not winning this Poll by a huge margin.
In the 1st 2 years Chris was a offensive liability on the court. It was like playing 4 on 5 on the offensive side. The fact that he can hit the baseline jump shot from 10 to 15 feet is huge for our offense. The 10ft shot he made from the baseline in the SYR game to stop SYR run was key moment of us winning that game. His post up game is not great but at least it is an option this year. Add his improved post defense, Free Thows and attitude and he has to be the most improved player.

Dom has been great this year but the fact that he is 6'5 and in 4 years has not developed a 3 point shot makes it hard for me to vote for him.

I thought players don't show any improvement under Lavs and his staff? Obek, Sir, Sheed, and Dee in that order.

most have definitely improved from last year.  I would probably go: Dom, Greene, Obekpa, D'lo, Sheed.

Quote from: QuanMan on December 16, 2014, 09:51:13 AM

I thought players don't show any improvement under Lavs and his staff? Obek, Sir, Sheed, and Dee in that order.

most have definitely improved from last year. I would probably go: Dom, Greene, Obekpa, D'lo, Sheed.

Greene is shooting 39 percent from the floor and 31 percent from three. Last year he shot 39 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three. He has fewer assists pg this year than last by a third (1.1 vs 1.5) and twice as many turnovers (.6 vs 1.2) : his ATO last year was 3:1, this year it's less than 1:1. Forget the three good minutes he played vs Syracuse. By what metric has he improved?

I voted for Dom, but as I think about it, Dom showed very similar flashes in his sophomore year, and then regressed last year.  In any event, if we are looking at the most improved from day one until today, I think the nod goes to Obekpa, only because he did not do a lot of things well his first year besides block shots.  I also think this poll is a bit premature.  I would not be surprised that, by the end of the season, Jordan is not only our most improved player, but our best player as well, and if he is, we are looking really good for the Dance. 

I am really surprised that Chris Obekpa is not winning this Poll by a huge margin. In the 1st 2 years Chris was a offensive liability on the court. It was like playing 4 on 5 on the offensive side. The fact that he can hit the baseline jump shot from 10 to 15 feet is huge for our offense. The 10ft shot he made from the baseline in the SYR game to stop SYR run was key moment of us winning that game. His post up game is not great but at least it is an option this year. Add his improved post defense, Free Thows and attitude and he has to be the most improved player. Dom has been great this year but the fact that he is 6'5 and in 4 years has not developed a 3 point shot makes it hard for me to vote for him.

CO is hitting his foul shots at a higher rate, and turning the ball over less, but is actually shooting much less efficiently and passing the ball much less than in his first two years.
via KenPom..
            Offensive rating - effective FG% - True Shooting % - Assist Rate
'15         91.7                           38.3                       43.5                   2.3
'14        100.8                          56.2                       54.1                   7.2
'13        88.0                            45.1                       44.5                   7.6

Obekpa without question.

By comparison, Harrison and Dom are playing much more efficiently.     
In sum, Obekpa is more of a focus of our offense now, and is taking more shots, but isn't necessarily improved.     Dom and Dlo, however are playing better than in any of their 3 previous seasons.   

edit:  its worth noting however that Obekpa is also rebounding at a better rate than he did, and by that measure alone he may be more important to this team's success.   But his offensive, by and large, is not improved. 

I am really surprised that Chris Obekpa is not winning this Poll by a huge margin. In the 1st 2 years Chris was a offensive liability on the court. It was like playing 4 on 5 on the offensive side. The fact that he can hit the baseline jump shot from 10 to 15 feet is huge for our offense. The 10ft shot he made from the baseline in the SYR game to stop SYR run was key moment of us winning that game. His post up game is not great but at least it is an option this year. Add his improved post defense, Free Thows and attitude and he has to be the most improved player. Dom has been great this year but the fact that he is 6'5 and in 4 years has not developed a 3 point shot makes it hard for me to vote for him.

I voted for Phil, but this is the best answer

By comparison, Harrison and Dom are playing much more efficiently. In sum, Obekpa is more of a focus of our offense now, and is taking more shots, but isn't necessarily improved. Dom and Dlo, however are playing better than in any of their 3 previous seasons. edit: its worth noting however that Obekpa is also rebounding at a better rate than he did, and by that measure alone he may be more important to this team's success. But his offensive, by and large, is not improved.

We are only 9 games which 28% through the season this year compared to last year.
Chris Opekpa has already attempted more FT 40 compared to 37 last year he has made 23 compared to 15. increased %from 40% to 57%. Last year he only attempted 96 shots making 54, most were dunks or put backs. This year he has already attempted 54 shots making 20. His percentage might be down but the fact that he is part of the offence is what make him the most improved player. The fact that he has 82 rebounds in 9 games compared to 154 for the entire season last year just shows he has improved in all areas.
Chris is by far our most improved player and his offense has come a long way.