The next step for Horne

Let me preface this by saying how much I love his improvement this year.  He has managed to raise his scoring avg in Big East play despite not having a true point guard.  Offensively, he is shooting a solid percentage from both the floor and 3 point land.  On the defensive end we all know how well he plays on and off the ball.  He really has shown the signs of becoming a complete big east player. 

However, I was looking at his season stats and noticed one glaring thing.  He does not get to the free throw line, which may mean he is not being aggressive and driving the ball.  He has only shot 38 free throws this year (Just over 2 a game and 1 for every 15.6 mins played).  Compare that to DJ who has shot 99 free throws already (Just over 5 a game and 1 for every 6.5 mins played).  Granted DJ has a better handle and more size but 61 free throws is a fairly big gap.  Paris has great athletic abilty and has shown the abilty to finish well around the rim in the open court.  I think if he can get to the point where he is aggressive and driving in the half court he can really expand his game.  Think about it if he can just double his trips to the line and add one pull up jumper in the lane/layup/dunk a game there is no reason he can avg at least 3 more points a game.  Maybe he doesnt have the confidence in his handle but now is the time to work on that as we are not going anywhere this year.  Teams are going to have to respect his outside shot affording him the opportunity of driving by guys who play in his face.  Hopefully Norm sees this and encourages this. 

(On a side note, this is a similar problem Mason has had when he was in his first two years and I'm not sure he fully got over it as there were many times he would just hang out on the perimeter.) 

Paris doesn't get to the FT line because he doesn't create shot opportunities.  DJ does.  I get lambasted by all the Paris fans when I say this. 

Almost all of his FT's have come from the break and three came from a foul on a trey attempt. 

His next step is to tighten up his handle.  It is very, very loose especially for a player his size.  This is probably the hardest thing in basketall to improve upon.  He's a hard worker, though.

Paris isn't a good shooter off the dribble. He often over shoots when he shoots off the dribble unless he takes it all the way. I will slightly disagree with Marillac because Paris isn't a good shooter off the dribble doesn't mean he can not create his own shot. I've seen him a number of times get space from his man only to throw up a skud.

Also Paris is a below average FT shooter. He is shooting something like 68% from the FT line this year.

Paris doesn't get to the FT line because he doesn't create shot opportunities.  DJ does.  I get lambasted by all the Paris fans when I say this. 

Almost all of his FT's have come from the break and three came from a foul on a trey attempt. 

His next step is to tighten up his handle.  It is very, very loose especially for a player his size.  This is probably the hardest thing in basketall to improve upon.  He's a hard worker, though.

100% agree.  You got to the point in fewer words regarding his handle and creating opportunities for him.  This occurs because he either cant / doesn’t have confidence in his handle or is too comfortable shooting jumpers.  He gets most of his points on perimeter jumpers and open court finishes.  I think it's quite impressive that he averages 14 a game despite only making 24 free throws.  It  shows there is still good potential for him offensively if he can add this part to his game.  Good things usually happen when you’re aggressive.

For example, look at DJ's improvement in this category this year.  Last year he played a total of 795 mins and went to the stripe 85 times.  This year he has played 646 mins and already gone to the stripe 99 times.  He has virtually the same field goal %, 3 point % and FT% from this year to last.  The difference is that he is being more aggressive.  That’s why he is averaging more than 5.5 points this year (along with playing a few extra mins pg).  Hopefully, Paris can improve his handle and do the same.   IF he can, it’s going to be hard to keep him off the court next year.     

if horne can improve his driving capability i think he can be just like jereal mcneal. go ahead and yell at me for this one

I agree with all thoughts above, but biggest reason for DJ's increase in FT attempts is that he's taking  10 shots/game this year vs 6 / game last year

I think starting 2 & 3  next year s/b Paris & DJ's to lose, although Mase would prob start on seniority

if horne can improve his driving capability i think he can be just like jereal mcneal. go ahead and yell at me for this one

I'm not going to yell at you, but I will disagree with you.  McNeal is a very special player.  He was always a guy that was heavily involved in their halfcourt offense and he has a very good handle.  He is also ridiculous defensively to the poin that I don't think Paris could ever touch. 

Jerel was always on the pro radar from day one.  He has a complete game and his only real flaw is his height.  At this point, he is soooo much stronger than Paris it's not even funny. 

Paris has big holes in his game, and I don't think he'll ever have a pro handle, strength, and certainly size. 

I agree with all thoughts above, but biggest reason for DJ's increase in FT attempts is that he's taking  10 shots/game this year vs 6 / game last year

I think starting 2 & 3  next year s/b Paris & DJ's to lose, although Mase would prob start on seniority

Sure Mase will start. For the first 2 games, and then he'll break a nail.

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on January 27, 2009, 04:58:32 PM

if horne can improve his driving capability i think he can be just like jereal mcneal. go ahead and yell at me for this one

I'm not going to yell at you, but I will disagree with you.  McNeal is a very special player.  He was always a guy that was heavily involved in their halfcourt offense and he has a very good handle.  He is also ridiculous defensively to the poin that I don't think Paris could ever touch. 

Jerel was always on the pro radar from day one.  He has a complete game and his only real flaw is his height.  At this point, he is soooo much stronger than Paris it's not even funny. 

Paris has big holes in his game, and I don't think he'll ever have a pro handle, strength, and certainly size.

you're right on size Marillac...but I wouldn't doubt Paris' handle or strength improving...let's remember how POOR a shooter he was last year!  Now he is a very good shooter when open...he worked hard at it and improved...if anyone is going to improve on their holes on this team, Id put my money on Paris

Quote from: Marillac on January 27, 2009, 06:50:10 PM

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on January 27, 2009, 04:58:32 PM

if horne can improve his driving capability i think he can be just like jereal mcneal. go ahead and yell at me for this one

I'm not going to yell at you, but I will disagree with you.  McNeal is a very special player.  He was always a guy that was heavily involved in their halfcourt offense and he has a very good handle.  He is also ridiculous defensively to the poin that I don't think Paris could ever touch. 

Jerel was always on the pro radar from day one.  He has a complete game and his only real flaw is his height.  At this point, he is soooo much stronger than Paris it's not even funny. 

Paris has big holes in his game, and I don't think he'll ever have a pro handle, strength, and certainly size.

you're right on size Marillac...but I wouldn't doubt Paris' handle or strength improving...let's remember how POOR a shooter he was last year!  Now he is a very good shooter when open...he worked hard at it and improved...if anyone is going to improve on their holes on this team, Id put my money on Paris

He is shooting the exact same percentage from three as he did last year.  I think he'll shoot around 2-7 @ WV and knock that down a bit.

I do agree with you that if anyone can improve it is Paris (and I'd add DJ).  He is smart and he is a hard worker.  The opportunity he has received in terms of minutes at STJ has been priceless.

 He could be rotting on the bench somewhere else in the conference (if he even made the team), but he is playing a key role here and has a chance to learn from his mistakes and get better in a way that you can never get unless you play big minutes.