Lack of assists by PG's cause for concern?

Malik Boothe 1.9apg in 24.2mpg
Malik Stith 1.3apg in 11.9mpg

Now granted this doesn't fall all on the PG's guys have to make shots but I'm a little concerned with the lack of distribution by the PG's. We are averaging 12.1apg as a team which is what we averaged last two years as well. (12.0apg/11.7apg)

Are we just playing better team ball? Can more guys handle the rock this year? What can we attribute this to?

 The offense (from what i've seen) is being run through DJ, not the pgs.  As well it should.  In the halfcourt, we are essentially playing 4 on 5 when Boothe is in the game. When we play in the BE, our opponents will know not to play D on Boothe.   It hasn't hurt us yet because our opponents are not as familiar with our personell as the teams in our conference will be.

It doesn't bug me as much with Stith. It's a small sample size, but he has shown he can score and handle the ball. Plus, for a freshman, he doesn't appear to be all that turnover-prone.

It does bother me with Boothe, because as boo3 said, he's an offensive black hole. If Boothe isn't going to distribute a ton (and if he's going to have a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio), he isn't good for much offensively. He's not a big threat from three and he can't finish inside. The best you can hope for when he drives is that he draws a foul. But most of the time, he either misses the layup while trying to change his shot–or the ball gets swatted into the fourth row.

I like Boothe. I thought he was a bit of a breath of fresh air when he came into the program. But he really hasn't progressed in three years. For someone with really no ability to score outside of the free throw line, they need to get more out of him.

The offense (from what i've seen) is being run through DJ, not the pgs.  As well it should.  In the halfcourt, we are essentially playing 4 on 5 when Boothe is in the game. When we play in the BE, our opponents will know not to play D on Boothe.   It hasn't hurt us yet because our opponents are not as familiar with our personell as the teams in our conference will be.

This is sort of my point. If the PGs aren't scorers and aren't facilitators then what are they?

I do know that there were quite a few missed assist opportunities for Boothe but I'm really going to shadow that next game.

I thought Boothe played very well against Fordham despite having 0 assists.

I thought Boothe played very well against Fordham despite having 0 assists.

Exactly.

Just my humble opinion, but I feel there is much that Boothe does on the floor in games that doesn’t make the stat sheet. His leadership and overall handle have improved, and I don’t think he is the defensive liability that some posters here think. Many of his passes that should result in assists come up empty because we just can’t seem to shoot straight at times. Yes we get the O board and on the second or third try the bucket, but that means 2 points and no assist, despite the fact that he made a Nash type of feed.

Do I cringe when I see him hoist a three with 20 seconds still on the shot clock? Yes, of course. Is he a lottery pick point guard, of course not. But as an earlier poster said, he’s adequate for us and on a better team he would have better assist numbers.

  I remember when Boothe was recruited he had this reputation as a great defender.  They compared him to John Lenihen from Providence.  Now that was a little point guard who dramatically affected games without much offense.  Boothe, unfortunately, hasn't lived up to that comparison.
  I'm just worried that the pg in the BE are going to destroy him. Without having to exert any energy defensively guarding him.
  At least if he played defense like many thought,  he could have some impact on a game. Right now, he has zero.

When Boothe plays fast guards too closely they get past him and are gone. I'm particularly worried about that in the BE.

I think has scored fairly well recently.
He just needs to keep them honest.

Leaving him wide open makes it hard
for the little fella to pass the ball.

WE've been bobbling some balls and missing some chippies, Burrell and Evans being the most guilty

RSHF has a point.  To be frank, there isn't another guy on this team besides maybe Stith who can bring the ball up under pressure.  It's low expectations, but Boothe can do that better than DJ or anyone else can.  If Paris had a handle, or if Dwight were a little better of a ballhandler, then they might start.

I think Boothe's speed is nice at times, but it only comes into play when the team runs.

I think the biggest concerns for Boothe should be the following in reverse order:
5. He can't shoot! Since he is a point guard this is not the worst thing in the world but def not something you want to brag about while trying to pick up chicks!

4. He is not a particularly creative passer. This is more of a problem considering he is you know a point guard. Some of this is on Norm's offense but still you can pick up more than 1.9 assists by accident.

3. The Different Strokes Curse. Dana Plato and Todd Bridges couldn't escape it so I am not sure Boothe will be able to.

2. Norm infatuation. If I am him I would be worried about Norm's texting him at 3 in the morning telling him he would look sexy and get more PT if he wore a headband and socks up to his groin.

1. Once Mase comes back Norm will eventually come to the conclusion that in order to give enough PT to DJ, Horne, Mase and Hardy, he can only afford to play one crappy point guard 15 minutes or so!

Quote from: Dave on December 15, 2009, 02:15:29 PM

I thought Boothe played very well against Fordham despite having 0 assists.

Exactly.

Just my humble opinion, but I feel there is much that Boothe does on the floor in games that doesn’t make the stat sheet. His leadership and overall handle have improved, and I don’t think he is the defensive liability that some posters here think. Many of his passes that should result in assists come up empty because we just can’t seem to shoot straight at times. Yes we get the O board and on the second or third try the bucket, but that means 2 points and no assist, despite the fact that he made a Nash type of feed.

Do I cringe when I see him hoist a three with 20 seconds still on the shot clock? Yes, of course. Is he a lottery pick point guard, of course not. But as an earlier poster said, he’s adequate for us and on a better team he would have better assist numbers.

I agree.

  I remember when Boothe was recruited he had this reputation as a great defender.  They compared him to John Lenihen from Providence.  Now that was a little point guard who dramatically affected games without much offense.  Boothe, unfortunately, hasn't lived up to that comparison.
  I'm just worried that the pg in the BE are going to destroy him. Without having to exert any energy defensively guarding him.
  At least if he played defense like many thought,  he could have some impact on a game. Right now, he has zero.

I also agree for the most part. However I think he has some positive impact on our team. He runs the break well. He is a good rebounder and defender. Definitly no John Lenihen though.

Quote from: Dave on December 15, 2009, 02:15:29 PM

I thought Boothe played very well against Fordham despite having 0 assists.

Exactly.

Just my humble opinion, but I feel there is much that Boothe does on the floor in games that doesn’t make the stat sheet. His leadership and overall handle have improved, and I don’t think he is the defensive liability that some posters here think. Many of his passes that should result in assists come up empty because we just can’t seem to shoot straight at times. Yes we get the O board and on the second or third try the bucket, but that means 2 points and no assist, despite the fact that he made a Nash type of feed.

Do I cringe when I see him hoist a three with 20 seconds still on the shot clock? Yes, of course. Is he a lottery pick point guard, of course not. But as an earlier poster said, he’s adequate for us and on a better team he would have better assist numbers.

That "he does a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet" thing is all well and good for a defensive stopper or your 7th-9th men but really is not in play for the starting point guard! Someone with a lot more free time than I have can check this, but I am pretty sure 1.9 might be the worst assist average for a BE starting point since the league was founded!
BTW, I feel RSHF contributions to the team do not reflect on the stat sheet either

That "he does a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet" thing is all well and good for a defensive stopper or your 7th-9th men but really is not in play for the starting point guard...

I know that ALMOST only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, darts and archery, but on Sunday I will try to keep a count of Malik’s ALMOST assists. You know the ones where he delivers a perfect pass inside and Sean bobbles it and loses it. Or where he lobs it perfectly and DJ clanks it off the iron. Or he goes real low to Dele and it bounces off his fingers into the defenders hands.

All I am saying is that he’s contributing more to this team than you give him credit for.

Quote from: we are sju on December 16, 2009, 11:21:00 AM

That "he does a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet" thing is all well and good for a defensive stopper or your 7th-9th men but really is not in play for the starting point guard...

I know that ALMOST only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, darts and archery, but on Sunday I will try to keep a count of Malik’s ALMOST assists. You know the ones where he delivers a perfect pass inside and Sean bobbles it and loses it. Or where he lobs it perfectly and DJ clanks it off the iron. Or he goes real low to Dele and it bounces off his fingers into the defenders hands.

All I am saying is that he’s contributing more to this team than you give him credit for.

If you notice some of my back and forth's with GFAK on BEB, I am actually not a big stat guy. Especially in basketball. Some stats just jump out at you though. Dropped passes or not, 1.9 is a hard stat to stomach from your starting PG. Now if he pounded the ball for 30 seconds and played 38 minutes a game, I am sure he would have a couple more per game but still! A starting point is SUPPOSED to accumulate some stats.
Now apart from the woeful asst avg, judging by what I saw last year and in the three televised games this year he has been hugely dissapointing! In fact he has to get some of the blame for how terrible Burrell has been these last two years. This is how I would rate the the factors in Burrell's unprecedented decline:
1. Burrell's lack of desire
2. Norm's offense
3. The fact that Boothe doesn't seem to know how to make an entry pass and his lack of penetration into the lane. He attempts to penetrate but usually leaves his feet with no idea of what to do. I think the main problem is that he is so short and he just gets bottled up in there.

If you notice some of my back and forth's with GFAK on BEB, I am actually not a big stat guy. Especially in basketball. Some stats just jump out at you though. Dropped passes or not, 1.9 is a hard stat to stomach from your starting PG. Now if he pounded the ball for 30 seconds and played 38 minutes a game, I am sure he would have a couple more per game but still! A starting point is SUPPOSED to accumulate some stats.
Now apart from the woeful asst avg, judging by what I saw last year and in the three televised games this year he has been hugely disappointing! 

Despite your criticisms someone feels that Boothe has the potential to play professionally (non NBA) after graduation.

Maybe they don’t count assists in the European league…

http://netscoutsbasketball.com/blog/2009/12/15/st-johns-rolls-over-fordham/

On St. John’s junior laden squad of athletic slashers and scorers, one player’s toughness and hard-nosed defense often goes unnoticed; he is also always the smallest player on the court.  Junior point guard, Malik Boothe is 5′9, lightning quick and a great floor general.  While he was only credited with one steal, his quick feet and active hands made Fordham’s ball handlers very uncomfortable.  Despite his small stature, Boothe grabbed 5 rebounds and dropped in 9 points.

Boothe has the quickness and handles to get into the lane and the strength and athleticism to finish drives at the rim with contact.  He runs the high pick and roll well and is a threat to drive, dish or pop from distance.  Boothe possesses a decent stroke but needs to work on his consistency from long range and the field if he wants to compete at the next level; he’s shooting just 25 percent from 3 point range and 30 percent from the field thus far.  But his competitiveness, defensive tenacity and ability to attack the rim without fear could give him the opportunity to play for a second level European, Asian, or South American team after graduation.

 

Quote from: we are sju on December 16, 2009, 12:44:09 PM

If you notice some of my back and forth's with GFAK on BEB, I am actually not a big stat guy. Especially in basketball. Some stats just jump out at you though. Dropped passes or not, 1.9 is a hard stat to stomach from your starting PG. Now if he pounded the ball for 30 seconds and played 38 minutes a game, I am sure he would have a couple more per game but still! A starting point is SUPPOSED to accumulate some stats.
Now apart from the woeful asst avg, judging by what I saw last year and in the three televised games this year he has been hugely disappointing! 

Despite your criticisms someone feels that Boothe has the potential to play professionally (non NBA) after graduation.

Maybe they don’t count assists in the European league…

http://netscoutsbasketball.com/blog/2009/12/15/st-johns-rolls-over-fordham/

On St. John’s junior laden squad of athletic slashers and scorers, one player’s toughness and hard-nosed defense often goes unnoticed; he is also always the smallest player on the court.  Junior point guard, Malik Boothe is 5′9, lightning quick and a great floor general.  While he was only credited with one steal, his quick feet and active hands made Fordham’s ball handlers very uncomfortable.  Despite his small stature, Boothe grabbed 5 rebounds and dropped in 9 points.

Boothe has the quickness and handles to get into the lane and the strength and athleticism to finish drives at the rim with contact.  He runs the high pick and roll well and is a threat to drive, dish or pop from distance.  Boothe possesses a decent stroke but needs to work on his consistency from long range and the field if he wants to compete at the next level; he’s shooting just 25 percent from 3 point range and 30 percent from the field thus far.  But his competitiveness, defensive tenacity and ability to attack the rim without fear could give him the opportunity to play for a second level European, Asian, or South American team after graduation.

Whether he can play for pay in Timbuktu has no bearing on the fact that he is a starting point guard that does not make his teamates better. His NCAA stats back this up pretty decisively!

Think Geno would have been pretty good with this current roster?

Whether he can play for pay in Timbuktu has no bearing on the fact that he is a starting point guard that does not make his teamates better. His NCAA stats back this up pretty decisively!

You mumbled something earlier about not being a stats guy. Maybe you need to attend some games and see him play in person to get a real feel for what he does on the floor.