Scholarship table
I've been trying to stay upbeat about Koby, a good defender who helped us greatly on offense in a few games. But when he struggles, he really struggles ... and last night was tough to watch.
I would take the Rick SLU program right now.
Last night may not have been Koby's best performance. But he still played a big role in beating Georgetown by 21 points.Only two players -- seniors Markus Howard and Sacar Anim -- spent more time on the court. This despite the fact that Koby didn't score a single point, and only took 3 shots in all.To me, that suggests Wojo values Koby for more than just scoring.• Excellent on-ball defense• 2nd on the team in rebounds per game (5.2 rpg)• 3rd on the team in defensive rebounding (17.0 DR% per KenPom)• 1st on the team in assists per game (3.3 apg)• 2nd on the team in assist rate (21.4 ARate)• 2nd on the team in free throw rate (55.5 FTRate)The comparison to Joseph Chartouny isn't worth discussing. Yes, I'd like to see Koby shoot more consistently and cut down on the turnovers. But even on an off night offensively, Koby is still one of the most important contributors to this team.
I appreciate all of this about Koby. Totally agree about comparisons with Cartoony - ridiculous. In addition to the positives you list above, I feel totally confident with Koby at the FT line when we're trying to protect a lead. However, as the PG, he needs to take care of the ball better. Period. He does not have natural PG skills and probably shouldn't play the position -- I mean, what kind of PG drives into the middle of the lane and then abruptly stops, seemingly with absolutely no plan (and does this over and over again)? Unfortunately, he has proven to be a not very good shooter, so he's not ideal off the ball, either. So it's an interesting conundrum for Wojo. Koby is one of our best defenders and has the other attributes you mentioned, but his negatives are glaring when Markus is being defended well and the others aren't hitting open shots.
Also consider: What if Koby's fiery outbursts on the court turn out to be a positive for this team instead of a negative? It seems clear he's a player who holds himself and his teammates to high standards. His visible frustration shows that he expects better. Can he harness that emotion to help Marquette elevate its play?
Koby has done a heck of a job on defense. He's not shooting well and he's had one bad game in the PG role. Moving him off the ball is good as a change up for a few minutes but he's the PG, and he's got the size and strength and skill to do it just fine. Over-reacting after one bad game is not a good idea.