Originally, I was going to put this in the AJ thread in response to Hornpharmd's statistical analysis of AJ's shooting in our losses, but I didn't want it to get buried on the 3rd page and thought it deserved its own thread because of all the criticism AJ has taken on here over his career. I think Hornpharmd's analysis is flawed if he's attempting to use it to blame AJ for our losses because he's "too streaky."
Let's look at another great shooter, Jodie Meeks of Kentucky. I think everyone would agree that he's one of the leading candidates for national player of the year (although I understand that Griffin should and will win it).
Meeks is averaging 25.1 ppg, and shooting 46.8% from the field this year, and 43% from 3-point range. However, here are his shooting stats from UK's 9 losses:
13-27 (3-11 on 3-pointers), 5-20 (3-9), 4-17 (2-12), 8-19 (3-9), 4-15 (3-10), 5-11 (2-5), 6-15 (1-4), 6-21 (4-11), and 6-11 (4-6).
In their 9 losses, Meeks shot 36.5% from the field and 32.5% from the 3-point line, both way under his season averages. So, do you think UK fans feel Meeks is the reason they lost those games, and that UK would be better off without him because he's "too streaky"? Do you think knowledgable UK fans will be "thrilled" when the Jodie Meeks era is over?
Teams rarely win when their leading scorer has an off night, unless multiple other players step up and fill the void. You can't expect players to have great shooting nights every game. I used Meeks for the comparison because teams defend him the same way they defend AJ--he gets doubled off of every screen, and every defender knows where he is at all times. I also find it interesting that they are very similar in another stat that SLX used to criticize AJ last year, assists per shot attempt. Meeks has 44 assists and 457 field goal attempts this season (.0962 assists/fga), while AJ has 38 assists and 392 fga's (.0969 assists/fga). Also, let's not forget, Meeks is playing with Patrick Patterson, one of the best post players in the SEC. So, is Jodie Meeks the "most selfish player" to ever play at UK?
AJ is about to finish his career as the 4th leading scorer all-time at UT, and probably in the top 5 in the history of the Big 12 in career scoring. He's also first in UT history in minutes played and games played, which means he's played on some great teams during his 4 years here.
As many of y'all know, I feel much of the criticism AJ has received on this board, especially from one specific poster, has been unwarranted. I hope this post shows the other side of the coin.
Let's look at another great shooter, Jodie Meeks of Kentucky. I think everyone would agree that he's one of the leading candidates for national player of the year (although I understand that Griffin should and will win it).
Meeks is averaging 25.1 ppg, and shooting 46.8% from the field this year, and 43% from 3-point range. However, here are his shooting stats from UK's 9 losses:
13-27 (3-11 on 3-pointers), 5-20 (3-9), 4-17 (2-12), 8-19 (3-9), 4-15 (3-10), 5-11 (2-5), 6-15 (1-4), 6-21 (4-11), and 6-11 (4-6).
In their 9 losses, Meeks shot 36.5% from the field and 32.5% from the 3-point line, both way under his season averages. So, do you think UK fans feel Meeks is the reason they lost those games, and that UK would be better off without him because he's "too streaky"? Do you think knowledgable UK fans will be "thrilled" when the Jodie Meeks era is over?
Teams rarely win when their leading scorer has an off night, unless multiple other players step up and fill the void. You can't expect players to have great shooting nights every game. I used Meeks for the comparison because teams defend him the same way they defend AJ--he gets doubled off of every screen, and every defender knows where he is at all times. I also find it interesting that they are very similar in another stat that SLX used to criticize AJ last year, assists per shot attempt. Meeks has 44 assists and 457 field goal attempts this season (.0962 assists/fga), while AJ has 38 assists and 392 fga's (.0969 assists/fga). Also, let's not forget, Meeks is playing with Patrick Patterson, one of the best post players in the SEC. So, is Jodie Meeks the "most selfish player" to ever play at UK?
AJ is about to finish his career as the 4th leading scorer all-time at UT, and probably in the top 5 in the history of the Big 12 in career scoring. He's also first in UT history in minutes played and games played, which means he's played on some great teams during his 4 years here.
As many of y'all know, I feel much of the criticism AJ has received on this board, especially from one specific poster, has been unwarranted. I hope this post shows the other side of the coin.
