Importance of assists

[skianth16]

From Matt V's note posted yesterday, he noted that our 12 assists in Saturday's game were a likely factor in our loss. Full quote:

"Tidbits: Marquette had just 12 assists, including only three in the second half, and dropped to 3-11 when recording 15 assists or fewer. The Golden Eagles are 1-9 when handing out 14 or fewer helpers. ..."

What's crazy about the 1-9 stat is that we only average 16.5 per game. Even crazier is that we're a top 25 APG team in NCAA D-I basketball right now. For us to win, we need to be one of the best team in the nation at distributing the ball. I guess I'm just surprised at how slim the margin for error seems and how much of an impact a couple of assists seems to have with this team.

For some of the more serious statistics aficionados on the board, are there any other stats that seem to have this kind of significant impact for us?

[Herman Cain]

JJJ leading the team in assists. He is the only guy actively looking to make passes.

I understand why Markus doesn't pass, in that he is more likely to make his shot than the next guy. However , the rest have no excuse for not moving the ball.

[g0lden3agle]

JJJ leading the team in assists. He is the only guy actively looking to make passes.

I understand why Markus doesn't pass, in that he is more likely to make his shot than the next guy. However , the rest have no excuse for not moving the ball.

Howard and Rowsey both have higher assist rates and Rowsey has a significantly lower TO rate compared to JJJ.

[brewcity77]

JJJ leading the team in assists. He is the only guy actively looking to make passes.

This is beyond stupid. JJ is FIFTH on the team in assist rate in conference play. He's behind Rowsey, Howard, Reinhardt, and Duane.

[Herman Cain]

I go by old fashioned regular assists not new fangled jury rigged stats.

[g0lden3agle]

I go by old fashioned regular assists not new fangled jury rigged stats.

I bet you only judge a pitcher by his win loss record and a batter by how many RBI he has, too.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I go by old fashioned regular assists not new fangled jury rigged stats.

Did you walk out of the theatre in disgust during moneyball? 

[brewcity77]

I go by old fashioned regular assists not new fangled jury rigged stats.

Okay, so you can't understand the basic math that JJ is the fifth most likely player to make an assist, that's your problem. Maybe this is easier for you. He is averaging 2.1 APG in Big East games after averaging 3.2 in non-conference. So with your old fashioned regular assists, he's down 33% since the start of conference play. He's also averaging 1.6 APG in Marquette's last 7 games, so as the season goes on, his ability to assist has progressively gotten worse.

Is that "regular" enough for you?

[Daniel]

Bottom line is when we share the ball, we win.  When we play hero ball we lose.  Seems like a simple and doable goal. Share the ball.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

More assists generally doesn't mean a team is better. It's an indication of play style. This stat tells me that Marquette is better in catch and shoot situations then when players create for themselves. This is why I think the hero ball is frustrating. It's not that they're trying to create offense, it's that it goes against our offensive system.

[tower912]

Wojo keeps harping on keeping the ball moving and letting it find the best shot.    It is one of those things you hear over and over in those huddles that so many dismiss.    When the team is moving and the ball is moving, MU gets open looks.   When people stop moving and our guys try to play hero ball, MU misses.    It isn't that difficult a concept from the outside looking in.   

[Jay Bee]

Bad stat.

Assists are usually an indication of play stall and not highly correlated to a good offense.

Obviously "X per game" is a bad stat, but this one is bad even if you talk about assist rates.

Marquette scored 1.27ppp at Creighton. Our assist rate was 38.9%. blah.

MU is a team that scores a high percentage of their points via 3FGM.. more than most teams in the country. The nature of 3-point shooting is that there are high assist rates. (80%+ of our made treys were assisted).

So, in general, when we don't make a lot of threes, we have a lower assist rate than we otherwise would. It also generally means our offense will perform worse than if we had made a lot of threes.. works hand in hand..

Non-issue.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

We got good shots against prov in the last 7 minutes they just didnt fall.  2-3 of them fall n we have 17-18 assists n everyone is happy

[4everwarriors]

I look at da entirety of Kate Upton, not just her pretty face, hey?

[bilsu]

JJJ leading the team in assists. He is the only guy actively looking to make passes.

I understand why Markus doesn't pass, in that he is more likely to make his shot than the next guy. However , the rest have no excuse for not moving the ball.

The only thing he is actively doing is trying to bail himself out a bad drive. He has gotten some nice assists doing this, but he oftens ends up with a turnover. He is perhaps the most exciting player on the team, but I do not understand why anyone thinks he is a really good player. I will not be sad to see JJJ or Reinhardt go.

[Herman Cain]

Okay, so you can't understand the basic math that JJ is the fifth most likely player to make an assist, that's your problem. Maybe this is easier for you. He is averaging 2.1 APG in Big East games after averaging 3.2 in non-conference. So with your old fashioned regular assists, he's down 33% since the start of conference play. He's also averaging 1.6 APG in Marquette's last 7 games, so as the season goes on, his ability to assist has progressively gotten worse.

Is that "regular" enough for you?

Coach put him on probation after the Wisconsin game, he has not been the same player since then.

[forgetful]

Coach put him on probation after the Wisconsin game, he has not been the same player since then.

Was he on probation when he put up 20 against Georgetown or 18 against Creighton...or was he on probation when he was worse than absent against Pitt?

JJJ is just an inconsistent player that hasn't learned from past mistakes.  JJJ's play has nothing to do with Wojo, it has everything to do with JJJ.

[Clam Crowder]

Twitter Tracker the last few days leads me to believe there's a real rift between JJJ and Wojo....Not sure how deep it goes, where it comes from, and if other players have the same rift.

[brewcity77]

Coach put him on probation after the Wisconsin game, he has not been the same player since then.

You'll make up any BS to excuse the stupid things you say, won't you? Just suck it up and admit that in this regard you are wrong.

Your whole argument was based on statistics, I disproved it with advanced statistics, disproved it with basic statistics, and you still can't accept when you're wrong.

[GGGG]

Twitter Tracker the last few days leads me to believe there's a real rift between JJJ and Wojo....Not sure how deep it goes, where it comes from, and if other players have the same rift.

Probably shouldn't be reading too much into tweets from a 22 year old.

And really if there is a rift between JJJ and Wojo, it really doesn't matter much any longer.

[skianth16]

Probably shouldn't be reading too much into tweets from a 22 year old.

And really if there is a rift between JJJ and Wojo, it really doesn't matter much any longer.

Doesn't it make more sense that a 22 year old is going to say what he's really thinking/feeling when compared to a more polished, seasoned professional? I think following these guys on social media offers more clues into what's going on than any press conference ever will.

And I think a rift between Wojo and our former leading scorer is important. Sure, I can see JJ being a guy that might not want to fall in line with rules from time to time, but I also think that a part of a coach's job is to get guys to buy in to his program. That has been a consistent point of contention with Wojo, though, and it seems like there are a handful of guys who are totally sold on him as a coach.

[Tower913]

Wojo keeps harping on keeping the ball moving and letting it find the best shot.    It is one of those things you hear over and over in those huddles that so many dismiss.    When the team is moving and the ball is moving, MU gets open looks.   When people stop moving and our guys try to play hero ball, MU misses.    It isn't that difficult a concept from the outside looking in.

I agree.  The team play has really disappeared over the last 10 games.  Lots of one-on-one play, and early in shot clock shots, with little ball movement.

[GGGG]

Doesn't it make more sense that a 22 year old is going to say what he's really thinking/feeling when compared to a more polished, seasoned professional? I think following these guys on social media offers more clues into what's going on than any press conference ever will.

And I think a rift between Wojo and our former leading scorer is important. Sure, I can see JJ being a guy that might not want to fall in line with rules from time to time, but I also think that a part of a coach's job is to get guys to buy in to his program. That has been a consistent point of contention with Wojo, though, and it seems like there are a handful of guys who are totally sold on him as a coach.

Here is what he said:

Jajuan Johnson‏ @chosenJAUN  15h15 hours ago
Lets do it for the culture

AND

Jajuan Johnson‏ @chosenJAUN  15h15 hours ago
A lot of problems that can't be fix with a conversation


So what the hell do these even mean? Are these about basketball?  If so, HOW are they about basketball? 

If you want to read stuff into that go right ahead.  But I hope you understand that you might be completely off base.

[skianth16]

So what the hell do these even mean? Are these about basketball?  If so, HOW are they about basketball? 

If you want to read stuff into that go right ahead.  But I hope you understand that you might be completely off base.

Sure, they're cryptic, and assuming they're about basketball could be completely wrong in this case. But in general, I'm still going to trust what the kid says over the PR message from the coach. Coaches know how to handle the stress and the challenges and how to keep things close to the vest; the kids tend to be more honest when they're frustrated.

Given the recent benching and his declining play, I don't think it's out of line to assume that he's talking about basketball here, though. Especially the culture comment. That does seem to be about Wojo trying to get guys to buy in .

[GGGG]

Sure, they're cryptic, and assuming they're about basketball could be completely wrong in this case. But in general, I'm still going to trust what the kid says over the PR message from the coach. Coaches know how to handle the stress and the challenges and how to keep things close to the vest; the kids tend to be more honest when they're frustrated.

Given the recent benching and his declining play, I don't think it's out of line to assume that he's talking about basketball here, though. Especially the culture comment. That does seem to be about Wojo trying to get guys to buy in .

So if they are admittedly cryptic and assuming they are about basketball might be completely wrong, why would anyone make assumptions about them at all?  Sure they *may* mean what you imply in the second paragraph.  Or it may imply something completely different.  So what use is it?