[Cracked Sidewalks] Marquette Gold

[brewcity77]

Evaluating the options for 2024 improvement got me down a Marquette Gold rabbit hole. I dig into the in-season improvement of Ben Gold last year and look at why he's primed for a breakout season in 2023-24.

https://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2023/07/marquette-gold.html

[Shooter McGavin]

I agree with you on Gold (after one season it would have taken hold, a color as a nickname is nothing that strange) and Gold (he is primed to take a big leap this year).

[jfp61]

Ben Gold was on the court for 499 possessions. A small sample size.

241 with Sean Jones and 258 of them without Sean Jones. (245 w and 201w/o when you filter out garbage time.)

In the possessions with Sean, Marquette's adj. offensive rating was 100.8 and their adj. defensive rating was 107.9. (-7.1 NET).

Without Sean, Marquette's adj. offensive rating was 129.8 and their adj. defensive rating was 100.0. (+29.8 is higher than Marquette's season long net difference)

There will be more possession where Ben Gold is on the court without Sean Jones this year.

https://hoop-explorer.com/OnOffAnalyzer?autoOffQuery=false&baseQuery=%20%22Gold%2C%20Ben%22%20&calcRapm=true&gender=Men&maxRank=400&minRank=0&offQuery=%22Gold%2C%20Ben%22%20AND%20%22Jones%2C%20Sean%22%20&onQuery=%22Gold%2C%20Ben%22%20AND%20NOT%20%22Jones%2C%20Sean%22%20&showGrades=rank%3ACombo&team=Marquette&year=2022%2F23&;

[PointWarrior]

Ben Gold was on the court for 499 possessions. A small sample size.

241 with Sean Jones and 258 of them without Sean Jones. (245 w and 201w/o when you filter out garbage time.)

In the possessions with Sean, Marquette's adj. offensive rating was 100.8 and their adj. defensive rating was 107.9. (-7.1 NET).

Without Sean, Marquette's adj. offensive rating was 129.8 and their adj. defensive rating was 100.0. (+29.8 is higher than Marquette's season long net difference)

There will be more possession where Ben Gold is on the court without Sean Jones this year.

https://hoop-explorer.com/OnOffAnalyzer?autoOffQuery=false&baseQuery=%20%22Gold%2C%20Ben%22%20&calcRapm=true&gender=Men&maxRank=400&minRank=0&offQuery=%22Gold%2C%20Ben%22%20AND%20%22Jones%2C%20Sean%22%20&onQuery=%22Gold%2C%20Ben%22%20AND%20NOT%20%22Jones%2C%20Sean%22%20&showGrades=rank%3ACombo&team=Marquette&year=2022%2F23&

Do the analytics point to Sean Jones playing less?

[jfp61]

Do the analytics point to Sean Jones playing less?

I didn't say anything about Jones playing less.

I said, there will be more possessions where Ben Gold is on the court without Sean Jones this year.

It's common sense.

Marquette lost one player from its rotation. And 3 scholarship players who played minutes.

OMax, Wrightsil and Itejere. They were the 3/4 taller players on the team.

I think the 6'10"-6'11" guy might gain more minutes than the 5'10" guard.

[brewcity77]

Do the analytics point to Sean Jones playing less?

Not necessarily less, but as jfp points out, Gold will likely play the 4/5 and O-Max took 29.1 minutes with him at those positions. Jones will likely play the 1/2, and those minutes went to Kolek, Stevie, Kam, and Chase, all of whom are back (and with Norman and Lowery the competition is likely even more difficult).

[DoctorV]

I didn't say anything about Jones playing less.

I said, there will be more possessions where Ben Gold is on the court without Sean Jones this year.

It's common sense.

Marquette lost one player from its rotation. And 3 scholarship players who played minutes.

OMax, Wrightsil and Itejere. They were the 3/4 taller players on the team.

I think the 6'10"-6'11" guy might gain more minutes than the 5'10" guard.

So there should also be more possessions where Sean Jones is on the court without Ben too.

Will this help his stats improve?

[jfp61]

So there should also be more possessions where Sean Jones is on the court without Ben too.

Will this help his stats improve?

Maybe.

It could be the case. Stats seem to indicate that. With Jones and without Gold adj. off efficiency was 112.3 and  adj. def was 97.1. (+15.2) with 434 possessions. Not as good as the team average, but better than Jones+Gold was last year.

Part of this though is just being more competent with 1 freshman on the floor instead of 2. Also being a freshman point guard is difficult.

I am just helping the case for the Gold breakout that i think could be coming, and that next years team kinda needs.

[DoctorV]

I hear ya. A Big Ben breakout would be great and very helpful.

However, imagine a Sean Jones, Stevie Mitchell, and/or Tre Norman breakout...

That, I think, would be even more massive for this seasons team.

A steady and elite 3 guard lineup of TyKo, Kam, Stevie, Chase, Sean, Tre cycling thru with a healthy Oso at the 5 would pretty much do it.
Sprinkle in anyone at the 4 and voila. Jop, Ben, Zaide, Al etc.

Im probably in the minority with this but I actually think Ben's biggest and most important role this season will be backing up Oso at the 5. Can't have Oso getting worn down early and often, he will need his rest for a late season push, and in this moment I just can't see Amadou contributing outside of the cupcakes.
So, Ben becomes the de facto 5 whenever Oso needs a break.

Also, from the limited footage I've seen Zaide is a man, a dude if you will, and he might demand some time at the 4.
He was considered a wing coming in but I think he's building the body and skill set of an undersized 4, which might become a necessity given lineup construction for this season. If Jop performs to his capabilities and Zaide gets 8-10mpg that leaves 15-20mpg for Ben at the 4/5 combined.
If Jop struggles or Oso can't play for xyz reasons Shakas hand becomes forced.

[Goose]

While I disappointed that Omax's spot was not filled, I am becoming more optimistic about the upcoming season. Basically, I am confident because every guy on the roster can get minutes. This is going to be a very deep roster and I am hoping for more action from the defense this season.