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Ranking the Big Ten Bigs

Norm Peterson

By Norm Peterson
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Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

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The range of finishing percents is 41 to 79. The mean is 65. I found a standard deviation calculator on-line and it says the standard deviation is 9.7 and, if I understand how this works, that puts Yvan roughly 2 1/2 standard deviations from the mean. He is > 1 standard deviation worse than the next worst finisher.

 

Not saying this to call Yvan out, although it sort of does that. But it's something we all can see and have seen, and it's something he really REALLY has to work on.

 

He got pulled at the end of the Iowa game because Kevin was finishing plays and getting buckets that Yvan was getting stuffed on. Yvan absolutely MUST become a better weapon on the offensive end.

hhcmatt

hhcmatt

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10 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

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This one isn't quite as discouraging as it seems because Post-Up PPG isn't fairly meaningful to a team that isn't looking to post up. The rare times we are posting up he's at least converting at a decent rate. His Finishing (shooting%) is low because when he does shoot outside the paint, he's very bad (17.4% on 2pt jumpers).  Between that number and his FT numbers he very much looks like a guy who struggles to score more than 3 feet away from the basket.

Once again I think he looks a lot like a healthy Leslee Smith without the ups and let me expand on that.

Leslee his freshman year at SMU was fairly below average as well but played significant minutes on that team.

His junior year at Nebraska he puts up serviceable numbers after spending the previous year at a Juco.  He's rebounding, protecting the rim, and converting at a decent clip as the 4th-5th scoring option on the team.

His senior year numbers are those of a guy gutting it out after returning from an ACL tear.

 

image.png

 

If Yvan stays healthy doesn't it seem like he can replicate the value of Smith as a reliable defender of other post players and someone who can finish at 50-55% from the floor?  He seems like he won't have a very high ceiling but he also seems like he won't have a very low floor. A year in the weight room might help a bit with those ups he seems to be lacking.

 

Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

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@hhcmatt it's not the post-up PPG that I was concerned about. It's his overall (it looks to me like it's an overall) finish percentage that I found worrisome.

 

Also, from the "how Yvan scores" chart, it looks to me like he's actually MOST effective when he posts up.

Edited by Norm Peterson
Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

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22 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

This one isn't quite as discouraging as it seems because Post-Up PPG isn't fairly meaningful to a team that isn't looking to post up. The rare times we are posting up he's at least converting at a decent rate. His Finishing (shooting%) is low because when he does shoot outside the paint, he's very bad (17.4% on 2pt jumpers).  Between that number and his FT numbers he very much looks like a guy who struggles to score more than 3 feet away from the basket.

Once again I think he looks a lot like a healthy Leslee Smith without the ups and let me expand on that.

Leslee his freshman year at SMU was fairly below average as well but played significant minutes on that team.

His junior year at Nebraska he puts up serviceable numbers after spending the previous year at a Juco.  He's rebounding, protecting the rim, and converting at a decent clip as the 4th-5th scoring option on the team.

His senior year numbers are those of a guy gutting it out after returning from an ACL tear.

 

image.png

 

If Yvan stays healthy doesn't it seem like he can replicate the value of Smith as a reliable defender of other post players and someone who can finish at 50-55% from the floor?  He seems like he won't have a very high ceiling but he also seems like he won't have a very low floor. A year in the weight room might help a bit with those ups he seems to be lacking.

 

 

I'm going to argue with you here and say that if you look at the "how Yvan scores" chart from that tweet I posted, Yvan is best when he posts up.

 

But he's gawdawful on putbacks, basket cuts, and as the roll man. Those are shots not converted within 3 feet of the basket.

 

Review the Iowa highlights vid I posted. Kevin is getting those dishes from Cam Mack and throwing them down. Yvan is getting stuffed at the rim.

 

Leslee Smith could finish. Yvan is not finishing. He needs to learn how. And I think a big part of it is that he needs to attack the rim with gusto. Use his shoulders to create space to get the shot off. And make quick decisions down low.

hhcmatt

hhcmatt

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10 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

I'm going to argue with you here and say that if you look at the "how Yvan scores" chart from that tweet I posted, Yvan is best when he posts up.

 

But he's gawdawful on putbacks, basket cuts, and as the roll man. Those are shots not converted within 3 feet of the basket.

 

Review the Iowa highlights vid I posted. Kevin is getting those dishes from Cam Mack and throwing them down. Yvan is getting stuffed at the rim.

 

Leslee Smith could finish. Yvan is not finishing. He needs to learn how. And I think a big part of it is that he needs to attack the rim with gusto. Use his shoulders to create space to get the shot off. And make quick decisions down low.

 

Junior year at Nebraska Leslee could finish.  What will junior year Yvan look like?  My man, you have a thread called "Maybe I should put this on the recruiting page" where you detailed how young the guy is and how much he has the potential to develop.

Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

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59 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

Junior year at Nebraska Leslee could finish.  What will junior year Yvan look like?  My man, you have a thread called "Maybe I should put this on the recruiting page" where you detailed how young the guy is and how much he has the potential to develop.

 

I totally agree he's young. I'm just pointing out an area where I think he needs to improve the most. And it's finishing around the rim.

 

Depending on what he works on and how the coaches work with him, he could significantly improve his finishing numbers literally overnight. Yet this season. A lot of it is technique issues. 

 

Again, just look at the difference between the way Kevin Cross was finishing against Iowa and the way Yvan was getting stuffed. Go up strong like Kevin and he's going to start flushing some of those dishes.

Art Vandalay

Art Vandalay

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Kevin finishes better because he is a much quicker and agile player. He is also 2 years older than Yvan. Hopefully Yvan works on his body and agility, he will learn. On the other end Yvan is much better on Def and rebounding ( I think he’s improved a lot here since Nov). Different players Cross will end up on the wing and Yvan will continue inside.

Edited by Art Vandalay
khoock

khoock

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On 1/11/2020 at 9:06 AM, Blackshirt83 said:

I'm not sure where he is now (probably about the same) but going into the Iowa game Yvan was in the bottom 20 players nationally in efficiency.

To be fair, I dont know many current JR/SR in high school that would fair much better. And the ones that would, wont be coming to Nebraska any time soon and will also only be in college for a year.

 

The lumps he is taking this year will do wonders for him the next three years.

Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

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3 hours ago, khoock said:

To be fair, I dont know many current JR/SR in high school that would fair much better. And the ones that would, wont be coming to Nebraska any time soon and will also only be in college for a year.

 

The lumps he is taking this year will do wonders for him the next three years.

 

Yeah. There's a big difference -- some people forget or don't understand -- between where a guy is now and where he could be down the line.  Yvan could be a HS senior right now. Heck, there are probably plenty of HS juniors roughly his age. And if he was a HS junior or senior right now, he'd probably be getting tons of recruiting attention from traditional powers.

 

But, as a college freshman, you can see a lot more of where his growth needs to come from and where he needs to develop. And pointing it out doesn't nullify any of that about how good he'd look if he was a senior in HS somewhere.

basketballjones

basketballjones

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My only concern about YO is if he stays around. Was having a conversation with two of my highly successful and intelligent friends this weekend, and it’s so disappointing to me how easily it has become for smart people to lose sight of the fact that it is entirely possible for basketball players to get better. 
 

YO can’t finish right now. That’s why he can’t play as much and why his numbers are so bad. That’s a skill. That’s a thing you can learn how to do and get better at. We once lived in a world where you could expect people to stay around to their junior years and eventually watch them flourish. Can Hoiberg and co keep guys like Cross and YO around? That’s my biggest question with these two. These guys are great pieces on a really good team as juniors and seniors. 

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