Shields best true frosh since _______________

[jayschool]

I know this goes way back, but Shavon shows Jerry Fort-like potential.  Long ways to go, though......

Yep.

[lang]

I think both Strick and Jamel had their frosh big games of 28 points vs Missouri ?   Am I remembering the point total and opponents correct ?   Tyron's 30 was against Oregon ?

 

Btw, Shavon is the rich man's Ryan Anderson

[Cheap Seat Perspective]

My first thought was Ryan Anderson. Shavon is playing really well, and I believe he has a lot more potential than Ryan. But right now I can't say he is better than Anderson as a freshman, or even Joe McCray, because McCray and Anderson did it for a whole year. Like I said Shavon has more potential than them 2 but, it's only been 2 games. Not saying he won't end up having a better freshman season than the other 2 I mentioned, just taking a wait and see approach until the end of the year. But my goodness these last 2 games have been a pretty exciting glimpse of what the future can be with the development of Shavon and even David Rivers throughout the year! 

[MandRHusker]

here are a few stats to compare each player during their freshman season. Numbers are field goal %, 3 pt %, rebounds & points

 

 

12-13 31 Shields, Shavon....   .500  .294    4.9       7.9

06-07 44 Anderson, Ryan.....  .470  .432    4.6     10.1

04-05 02 McCray, Joe           .398 .356    5.0       15.5

05-06 31 White, Jamel.......     .361  .355     3.0      8.7

95-96 Tyronn Lue                   .453   .328    3.0       8.5

[nustudent]

I think some people are remembering McCray for his sophomore year and not his freshmen year.

 

 

Right now...I think you have to give it to Joe.  Again...key words are right now.   If Shields keeps up what he's been doing over the last couple weeks for the rest of the year....he'll have a real strong argument.

[boomer1]

here are a few stats to compare each player during their freshman season. Numbers are field goal %, 3 pt %, rebounds & points

 

 

12-13 31 Shields, Shavon....   .500  .294    4.9       7.9

06-07 44 Anderson, Ryan.....  .470  .432    4.6     10.1

04-05 02 McCray, Joe           .398 .356    5.0       15.5

05-06 31 White, Jamel.......     .361  .355     3.0      8.7

95-96 Tyronn Lue                   .453   .328    3.0       8.5

Wow, I forgot just how good Joe was that season.  He had a lot of potential...

[Cookie Belcher]

McCray is so incredibly overrated.  All he did was volume shoot, a lot of guys could get his numbers if they jacked up that many shots.

[Cookie Belcher]

here are a few stats to compare each player during their freshman season. Numbers are field goal %, 3 pt %, rebounds & points

 

 

12-13 31 Shields, Shavon....   .500  .294    4.9       7.9

06-07 44 Anderson, Ryan.....  .470  .432    4.6     10.1

04-05 02 McCray, Joe           .398 .356    5.0       15.5

05-06 31 White, Jamel.......     .361  .355     3.0      8.7

95-96 Tyronn Lue                   .453   .328    3.0       8.5

Wow, I forgot just how good Joe was that season.  He had a lot of potential...

I guess I am missing the "good" part.  Nothing about shooting less than 40% is good.

[Handy Johnson]

Don't underestimate how good Joe McCray was. Think back to the game he had in Lawrence............... I believe he averaged 15+ his only year on campus.

[Huskerpapa]

I guess Joe ended up at Delta State, if I knew this, I had forgotten that bit of information...

 
 

 

05 Joe McCray

Position: G
Height: 6-5
Weight: 220
Class: Senior
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
High School: Dillard
Previous School: University of Nebraska

2008-2009: Shined in his first season at Delta State, averaging 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest over 22 games…Connected on 39 percent (54-of-137) of his three-point attempts…Led the team by shooting 84 percent (42-of-50) from the free-throw line…Reached double-figures in 16 of his 22 games, including his final seven of the season…Scored a DSU career best 29 points in the Statesmen’s 85-79 overtime win over Arkansas Tech (1/24/09), which was the highest output by any Delta State player last season…Eclipsed 20 points in four games…grabbed a season-high eight rebounds at Harding (1/29/09)…Was named the Gulf South Conference’s West Division Player of the Week on Jan. 28, 2009.

NEBRASKA: Breakout freshman campaign at the University of Nebraska under head coach Doc Sadler…Averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in his first season…Only Cornhusker to make at least 100 field goals (143) that season…Led the team in steals with 32…Holds Nebraska freshman records for scoring average, (15.5), 3-pointers made (80), consecutive double-digit scoring games (9) and 20-plus point scoring games (10)…Set a Big 12 & Nebraska record with 80 three-pointers on the year...Named Big 12 Freshman of the Year…Averaged 10.2 points as sophomore.

PREP: Attended Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute for in 2003-4 under head coach Chris Chaney…Averaged 16.2 points a game while shooting 88.4 percent from the free throw line…Played at Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. from 2001-03…Led them to back-to-back state titles in 6A as a junior and senior….Was highly recruited as wide receiver in football by several programs including Connecticut, Alabama, Michigan State and Miami.

PERSONAL: Joseph McCray…Born September 27, 1984…Son of Iphigenia Canady...Has two siblings, sister Tanya and brother Troy…Majoring in Interdisciplinary studies.

 

 

[MandRHusker]

here are a few stats to compare each player during their freshman season. Numbers are field goal %, 3 pt %, rebounds & points

 

 

12-13 31 Shields, Shavon....   .500  .294    4.9       7.9

06-07 44 Anderson, Ryan.....  .470  .432    4.6     10.1

04-05 02 McCray, Joe           .398 .356    5.0       15.5

05-06 31 White, Jamel.......     .361  .355     3.0      8.7

95-96 Tyronn Lue                   .453   .328    3.0       8.5

Wow, I forgot just how good Joe was that season.  He had a lot of potential...

I guess I am missing the "good" part.  Nothing about shooting less than 40% is good.

Yep, Joe shot a lot to net those 15 points!

[Norm Peterson]

I think one of the reasons people are so jazzed about Shavon isn't simply that he dropped 29 on the road at PSU or that he had 18 at home against PU.  It's because, of all these other freshmen mentioned, Shavon has about the most upside of any of them.  He has more untapped potential than any of them.  Joe McCray was a one-trick pony.  He could shoot the perimter J.  But he wasn't a real threat to drive.  Ryan could do a lot of things but he wasn't terribly athletic.

 

Shavon perhaps doesn't have quite the basketball IQ of a Ryan Anderson, but he's not far behind.  And he just has so much "want to."  He has a great attitude, which puts him light years ahead of Joe McCray.  And he's a far better athlete than Ryan Anderson.  

 

He might not have produced the numbers at this point, but when you forecast out over his career, there probably aren't too many people who think that he doesn't posess higher upside than just about any freshman we've had since Aleks Maric.  And, other than Aleks, possibly as high of upside as anyone since Venson Hamilton or Tyron Lue.  I think that's what people are looking at.  And that certainly puts him in a special category.

[MandRHusker]

I think one of the reasons people are so jazzed about Shavon isn't simply that he dropped 29 on the road at PSU or that he had 18 at home against PU.  It's because, of all these other freshmen mentioned, Shavon has about the most upside of any of them.  He has more untapped potential than any of them.  Joe McCray was a one-trick pony.  He could shoot the perimter J.  But he wasn't a real threat to drive.  Ryan could do a lot of things but he wasn't terribly athletic.

 

Shavon perhaps doesn't have quite the basketball IQ of a Ryan Anderson, but he's not far behind.  And he just has so much "want to."  He has a great attitude, which puts him light years ahead of Joe McCray.  And he's a far better athlete than Ryan Anderson.  

 

He might not have produced the numbers at this point, but when you forecast out over his career, there probably aren't too many people who think that he doesn't posess higher upside than just about any freshman we've had since Aleks Maric.  And, other than Aleks, possibly as high of upside as anyone since Venson Hamilton or Tyron Lue.  I think that's what people are looking at.  And that certainly puts him in a special category.

I agree Norm. And I wouldn't be surprised if his numbers aren't special before the end of the year. He may not match Joe, but he may end up close with a much higher shooting %!

[Huskerpapa]

Looking at his Dad, how many of you think that Shavon is done growing?  He doesn't have hair on his legs yet

[Swan88]

Looking at his Dad, how many of you think that Shavon is done growing?  He doesn't have hair on his legs yet

 

You may be onto something, CWG.  Autobiographical information from Will Shields at Huskers.com includes the following:

"There were five Division I seniors on my high school football team. I wasn't one of those blue-chip, star-studded guys. I was someone who needed development and knew it."  Will obviously developed dramatically after high school.

Dramatic development upon reaching college may well be in Shavon's genes.

[49r]

https://twitter.com/FakeCoachMiles/status/292718016276336640

[AuroranHusker]

As far as impact as a first-year player, I'd suggest Shavon Shields could be favorably compared with Cookie Belcher, who was a pretty good performer right out of the gate as a true freshman.  Hope Shields continues to improve, much like Cookie did as a Cornhusker.

 

Cookie Belcher's Freshman Stats

Season G-GS Min. FG-FGA Pct. 3FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. Reb-Avg A Blk Stl Pts-Avg

1996-97 33-33 999 117-256 .457 30-76 .395 41-83 .494 126-3.8 68 20 87 305-9.2

[trickey]

Since I was amazed that nobody mentioned Eric P or Erick S, I went to the Media guide and found the "by class" leaders that may help your memory of who is out there to compare. I would take Dave Hoppen ...but we all know we need a big and that is an unfair comparison to a guard/sf. Therefore, Eric, Erick, Tyronn and Cookie are my picks for comparison...but there are other good options below.The fact that you are comparing to any of these players is compliment enough...until SS does it consistently...and high praise.

 

Points Scored (since 1970) Freshman
1. Dave Hoppen (1983)................................................445
2. Joe McCray (2005)...................................................432
3. Jerry Fort (1973)......................................................376
4. Eric Piatkowski (1991)..............................................372
5. Jake Muhleisen (2002).............................................328
6. Cookie Belcher (1997).............................................305
7. Tyronn Lue (1996)....................................................296
8. Jorge Brian Diaz (2010)............................................291
9. Jamel White (2006)...................................................287
10. Ryan Anderson (2007)...........................................283

Scoring Average (since 1970) Freshman
1. Joe McCray (2005)..................................................15.5
2. Jerry Fort (1973).....................................................14.5
3. Dave Hoppen (1983)...............................................13.9
4. Jake Muhleisen (2002)............................................11.7
5. Eric Piatkowski (1991).............................................10.9
6. Ryan Anderson (2007)............................................10.1
7. Andre Smith (1978)..................................................9.3
8. Cookie Belcher (1997)..............................................9.2
9. Ron Taylor (1974)....................................................8.83
10. Jorge Brian Diaz (2010)...........................................8.82

Field Goals Made (since 1970) Freshman
1. Dave Hoppen (1983)................................................163
2. Jerry Fort (1973)......................................................151
3. Joe McCray (2005)...................................................143
4. Jorge Brian Diaz (2010)............................................133
5. Cookie Belcher (1997).............................................117
6. Jake Muhleisen (2002).............................................115
7. Tyronn Lue (1996)....................................................105
Andre Smith (1978).......................................................105
9. Ryan Anderson (2007).............................................103
10. Larry Florence (1997)..............................................92

3-pointers Made (since 1987) Freshman
1. Joe McCray (2005).....................................................80
2. Ryan Anderson (2007)...............................................48
3. Jamel White (2006).....................................................44
Eric Piatkowski (1991).....................................................44
5. Eshaunte Jones (2010)...............................................40
6. Cary Cochran (1999)..................................................39
7. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...............................................35
8. Erick Strickland (1993)...............................................32
9. Cookie Belcher (1997)...............................................30
10. Marcus Walker (2006)...............................................26
Beau Reid (1988)............................................................26

 

Rebounds (since 1969) Freshman
1. Aleks Maric (2005)...................................................169
2. John Turek (2002)....................................................162
3. Venson Hamilton (1996)..........................................161
Dave Hoppen (1983)...................................................161
5. Andre Smith (1978).................................................144
6. Joe McCray (2005)...................................................140
7. Jorge Brian Diaz (2010)............................................133
8. Ryan Anderson (2007).............................................129
9. Cookie Belcher (1997).............................................126
10. Eric Piatkowski (1991)..............................................125

Assists (since 1974) Freshman
1. Tyronn Lue (1996)...................................................144
2. Cookie Miller (2008)................................................109
3. Jake Muhleisen (2002).............................................105
4. Jaron Boone (1993)...................................................87
5. Brian Carr (1984).......................................................78
6. Marcus Walker (2006)...............................................74
7. Cookie Belcher (1997)...............................................68
Eric Piatkowski (1991)....................................................68
9. Charles Richardson Jr. (2004)....................................66
Erick Strickland (1993)....................................................66

Steals (since 1978) Freshman
1. Cookie Belcher (1997)...............................................87
2. Cookie Miller (2008)..................................................57
3. Tyronn Lue (1996)......................................................50
4. Erick Strickland (1993)...............................................47
5. Joe McCray (2005).....................................................32
Clifford Scales (1988).....................................................32
7. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...............................................28
8. Jaron Boone (1993)...................................................26
9. Brandon Richardson (2009).......................................25
Ryan Anderson (2007)...................................................25

Blocked Shots (since 1978) Freshman
1. Jorge Brian Diaz (2010)..............................................41
2. John Turek (2002)......................................................39
Venson Hamilton (1996)..................................................39
4. Cookie Belcher (1997)...............................................20
Rich King (1988).............................................................20
6. Brant Harriman (1988)................................................19
Dave Hoppen (1983)......................................................19
8. Toney McCray (2009).................................................18
Eric Piatkowski (1991)....................................................18
10. Aleks Maric (2005)....................................................16

[AuroranHusker]

By the way, Eric Piatkowski redshirted his 1st year in Lincoln...it's really hard to compare a true FROSH like Shavon Shields to Pike with a year of maturing. I'd love to see Shields step his game up to be on par with the Polish Rifle, though!

[uneblinstu]

Currently sitting at 110 points and 68 rebs.

[Norm Peterson]

So, how tall is Shavon really?

 

I think he's listed at 6'6" but he's seriously only a couple inches shorted than Brandon Ubel and Brandon is supposed to be a legit 6'10".  He's got to be at least, really, 6'7".  He's perhaps not explosive enough to be a top shelf 3, but if he was 6'8" and added some weight and strength, he could be a really top notch 4.

[Norm Peterson]

Not only is Shavon a true freshman, but he missed the first however many games and had to play catch up.  When he steps in for his 1st game, a) he's still slowed by the elbow; and he's still behind where everyone else is in terms of conditioning and experience.  His 1st game was everyone else's, what, 5th or 6th?  Or 7th?  Whatever it was, when he finally does get in a game, he's competing for minutes against guys who are way ahead of him in minutes on the season.  It took him probably 10 games before he was close to caught up.  And look what he's done from that point.  The last 4 games, he's been pretty special.

[uneblinstu]

So, how tall is Shavon really?

 

I think he's listed at 6'6" but he's seriously only a couple inches shorted than Brandon Ubel and Brandon is supposed to be a legit 6'10".  He's got to be at least, really, 6'7".  He's perhaps not explosive enough to be a top shelf 3, but if he was 6'8" and added some weight and strength, he could be a really top notch 4.

You know whose measurables those are similar too?  Their games are similar too...

[Norm Peterson]

Did you know ...

 

People are citing stats for players during their freshman seasons and that's all well and good but you're including stats from the cupcake part of the schedule when Nebraska is winning more games and scoring more points.  Oftentimes, a player's stats will drop during conference play.

 

So, Shavon is averaging 7.9 ppg on the season, BUT ...

 

He's averaging 11.5 ppg during conference games (against mostly those RPI top 100 teams we've been playing).

 

He's also shooting .531 from the floor and .500 from beyond the arc in conference games.  

 

He's also been grabbing 7.2 boards per game during conference play.

 

So ... comparing his 7.9 ppg to Joe McCray's 15.5 ppg freshman season isn't necessarily apples to apples.

[Fullbacksympathy]

I really didn't start the thread based on stats, though I get the logic.

 

I just think the dude looks like the best I've seen since Lue.

 

Lue was ALL athletic though.

 

I think Shavon has an IQ through the roof.  Smart on offense, defense, and tough.