http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2015-01...I read Mike DeCourcy a lot, and flipped through the Mid-Season All American list. In doing so, a couple players and their games caught my eye:
Delon Wright: "He still is not a long-range shooter, but has improved to the point where it’s at least a remote threat. In transition, he is an outstanding playmaker and he is superb at breaking down halfcourt defenses and delivering scoring passes. He has had a direct hand in 43 percent of the team’s made baskets. Wright showed his complete value in outdueling Wichita’s respected Fred VanVleet in the team’s December meeting, with the 5-11 guard held to just 5-of-19 from the floor."
Melo Trimble: If you look at the All-Americans from last season, such as UConn’s Shabazz Napier, Louisville’s Russ Smith, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick, one thing they had in common was understanding how to get fouled. They also were seniors.
Trimble shot 14 free throws in his fourth college game, and he’s had double figures in that category five times. And he converts just under 89 percent of his foul shots. More than four of every 10 of Trimble’s points come from the line."
So the two things I pull from that are things we're not getting enough of right now, that we did get from recently graduate players. 1) Guys who get into the lane that then deliver scoring passes, or passes that give teammates a really good look. 2) Guys that find a way to get fouled, and get to the line and make some.
Of the two of those, I'd like to think that getting to the line is something that's "teachable", and it drives me nuts when I see a guy in the paint pass out of a one on one match-up instead of drawing fouls. I'm really interested to hear the thoughts of those more versed in coaching & recruiting share their thoughts on these in terms of developing teams to make that extra pass and learn how to get to the line. I feel like when Ohio had DJ, Nick, Walt, and Reggie, Ricardo, those guys were pretty darn good at doing this.