The past year and half or so we have all been reading about and hearing about Maurice Acker.
Soooo.... what does everybody think so far?
He hasn't "wowed" me yet, but I think he has been very solid and I'm confident with him in the game. He probably the best back-up PG MU has had in the Crean era (you could argue Travis as a frosh., but that's not the point).
I checked his numbers, and they seem to be better than I thought. In fact his per/min numbers are even a little better than they were at Ball State (I'm sure Henry Sugar can provide more statistical insight than I ever could)
Now, obviously Acker is still limited by his size, and quite often he is playing against other teams benches, but I have to say that I think he is a really nice player, and could be a solid starter at some point.
Also, please do not turn this into a DJ is leaving so Acker will become the starter thread.
The only reason I mentioned that I thought Acker could become a starter is because a lot of people questioned whether he could compete on a Big East team, and I would say he is proving that he is very capable.
He has been a big plus this year and will continue to get better with experience and confidence. His negative are that he sometimes makes a "what were you thinking?" pass such as the one where he threw the ball at Trend's ankle while he was driving to the basket fully covered. Hopefully, these will go away. Sometimes, he is susceptible to getting abused defensively. This will be difficult to overcome and may limit him to a back up role for his career. I have high hopes for Tyshawn Taylor as our starter after DJ goes.
Overall, I've been pleased with his play. Sure he's made a few mistakes since we started conference play, but really, how different is playing at Ball State and then playing our non-conference schedule? The last couple games he's shown improvement. I believe he is also leading the team in 3 point shooting %.
Quote from: 2002mualum on January 14, 2008, 08:34:47 AM
(I'm sure Henry Sugar can provide more statistical insight than I ever could)
you rang?
Here's a moving average of Acker's Offensive and Defensive Ratings. Basically, it shows that he started off not as a winning player, because he was giving up more on defense than he was providing on offense. During cupcake season, he turned it around, but has started to regress during conference play. This is also a team trend.
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/roblowe14/Acker1.png)
Here's a view of Acker's Net Points / Game and Cumulative Net Points. Net points are a way of indicating if a player is an overall positive or negative contributor. Basically, in games three through 12 (Providence), Acker added more to the game than he gave up. This is a great quality for a backup PG. It shows the depth that we have on our team, because usually backups are not net-positive players. However, Acker's contributions have started to go down during conference play (although this is also a team trend).
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/roblowe14/Acker2.png)
Lest anyone confuse the contributions of Acker vs. James, here's a comparison of Cumulative points for both James and Acker. James is currently the most valuable member of the team with 67.5 cumulative net points, and McNeal is right behind at 64.2 cumulative net points. Acker's contributions are nice, but they aren't in the same ballpark.
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/roblowe14/AckervsJames.png)
My view? Acker started off slowly but has really done a nice job as the backup PG. It's too early to tell how well he'll do for the rest of the conference play.
HIs shot is somewhat peculiar
I really like Acker. He can hit a jumper, cause some problems with his quickness and change the pace of the game in spurts. He's a poor man's Cordell Henry.
I think he's the best transfer we've had since Robert Jackson.
Quote from: Henry Sugar on January 14, 2008, 09:57:28 AM
Quote from: 2002mualum on January 14, 2008, 08:34:47 AM
(I'm sure Henry Sugar can provide more statistical insight than I ever could)
you rang?
Here's a moving average of Acker's Offensive and Defensive Ratings. Basically, it shows that he started off not as a winning player, because he was giving up more on defense than he was providing on offense. During cupcake season, he turned it around, but has started to regress during conference play. This is also a team trend.
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/roblowe14/Acker1.png)
Here's a view of Acker's Net Points / Game and Cumulative Net Points. Net points are a way of indicating if a player is an overall positive or negative contributor. Basically, in games three through 12 (Providence), Acker added more to the game than he gave up. This is a great quality for a backup PG. It shows the depth that we have on our team, because usually backups are not net-positive players. However, Acker's contributions have started to go down during conference play (although this is also a team trend).
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/roblowe14/Acker2.png)
Lest anyone confuse the contributions of Acker vs. James, here's a comparison of Cumulative points for both James and Acker. James is currently the most valuable member of the team with 67.5 cumulative net points, and McNeal is right behind at 64.2 cumulative net points. Acker's contributions are nice, but they aren't in the same ballpark.
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/roblowe14/AckervsJames.png)
My view? Acker started off slowly but has really done a nice job as the backup PG. It's too early to tell how well he'll do for the rest of the conference play.
This is bad ass, Henry!
Obviously stats need to be paired with real life observation, but I think Acker's numbers are very solid for a back-up player and project well if he were given more minutes (not that he will get them this year, but in future seasons).
I agree that the cupcake schedule isn't the best way to judge him yet, but his numbers have been pretty good and we will see if he can keep the same averages through conference play.
Also, at the risk of turning this into a DJ thread... DJ is crazy good (the numbers prove it), and anybody who thought MU might be better without him is smoking some serious stuff.
Quote from: patso on January 14, 2008, 10:02:05 AM
HIs shot is somewhat peculiar
Seriously, he's invented basketball's equivalent to a knuckleball, theres almost no rotation. It's pretty accurate though, so I could care less.
The kid can play
He's probably our best perimiter shooter and he makes his teammates better when he's on the floor. His size seems minor on D because he's quick enough to guard any 1 or 2 and size doesn't seem to come into play too often. As much as I like Cubillan's intensity, I would much rather have Acker on the floor right now
Quote from: What-Would-Wade-Do on January 14, 2008, 12:45:50 PM
Quote from: patso on January 14, 2008, 10:02:05 AM
HIs shot is somewhat peculiar
Seriously, he's invented basketball's equivalent to a knuckleball, theres almost no rotation. It's pretty accurate though, so I could care less.
I think you mean you COULDN'T care less