DCCC Storm Down Belmont Abbey Crusaders JV

It was nice to get back home to Brinkley Gym last night. We have been on the road for the past two of the last three games and suffered losses in each of those game. Last night we played our sixth game. I'm sure most fans were nervous seeing three of our best players not even dressed out (Phillip Williams - tonsil infection; Justin Glover - knee injury; Kimani Hunt - ankle sprain), but the coaches and player knew everyone had to elevate their level of play. Once the game tipped off, the Storm was off and running. Last season's leading scorer Roderick Geter got hot early, making five out of seven threes in the first half. His shooting helped the Storm build a considerable lead that they never relinquished. The Storm built up a lead of 30 points by the second half. Eric Potts played exceptional on both ends of the courts. He finished with a double-double (11 points, 14 rebounds). Our bench provided excellent energy both on the sideline and when they entered the game. Everyone on the team got to play in last night's victory! The final score: Storm 94, Crusaders 75.

Leading Scorers: Roderick Geter (24), AJ Finney (12), Bryan Roberts (12), Eric Potts (11)
Leading Rebounders: Eric Potts (14), Zack Williams (6), Bryan Roberts (5)
Assist Leader: Derrick Mayo (7), AJ Finney (6)

Final thoughts: We still need to continue improving on many aspects of the game. We need to continue working on crisp passing, taking care of the basketball, free throw shooting and other various fundamentals. We will continue to work diligently on and improve these aspects of the game.

The Storm is now 3-3. We head to Tidewater Community College this weekend to play in a tournament. We will be playing Tidewater CC and CCBC - Dundalk. Until then...

GO STORM!!

Time To Play Catch Up

Since my last post, the Storm has played four games. We played some REALLY good competition in those games. In those games we went 1-3. We were in all of these games, but a few mental mistakes cost us a couple of victories. Some highlights and thoughts on each.

DCCC v. Louisburg College JV
Final Score: 94 - 67 (W)

The Storm had a lead of eight at half with only one lead change coming in the first minutes of the game. We still need to take better care of the basketball; 24 turnovers just won't cut it if we want to compete for a championship!

Leading Scorers: Kimani Hunt (16), Justin Glover (15), Zack Williams (12), Eric Potts (12), Tim Simpson (10)
Leading Rebounders: Zack Williams (7), Eric Potts (6), Tim Simpson (5)
Assist Leaders: Phillip Williams (6), Rico Geter (5)

DCCC at Pitt CC

This game was truly a heart breaker. I'll go ahead and fast forward to the end. We were down by one with 6.6 seconds on the clock. We fouled Pitt's worst free throw shooter. Coach Ridge called a time out, drew up a play he wanted the players to run after grabbing the rebound. Pitt missed the lay up, the Storm players did a poor job blocking out and another Pitt player rebounded the miss. We had to foul again. Pitt hit the first free throw and missed the second. Pitt did not put anyone else on the lane, but one of Pitt's most aggressive players came flying into the lane and grabbed the rebound. We had to foul him. He knocked down both free throws. The Storm lost 74-70. What a tough loss! We really need to focus on our mental toughness in must-win situations. Overall though, I'm really proud of our guys. We competed against a well coached Division II JUCO.

*Game report to come

DCCC at GTCC

*Game report to come

DCCC at UNC JV

I have to say it was a dream come true getting to coach at the Dean Dome. It is a place where some of the greatest basketball players and coaches have played and coach. Our team competed very hard. We weren't very crisp in the first half, but were able to go into half down eight points. We competed in the second half very well. Our guys left everything on the floor. We were the toughest team UNC JV had played to date. We led by one with about five minutes to go, alternated the lead several times, but in the end lost by 11. Turnovers and missed layups killed us in this game. We had 28 turnovers for the game (only 12 assist) and several missed layups down the stretch. Unfortunately, one of our best players, Justin Glover, injured his knee in the second half of the game. We're hoping for a good report though! On a positive note though, I feel this game was the first one our guys truly began to buy into what the coaches preach every day at practice. If we keep up our efforts we may be able to do some really special things!

Final Score: Storm 69, UNC JV Tar Heels 81
Overall Record: 2-3

Leading Scorers: Justin Glover (18), Roderick Geter (15), AJ Finney (11), Eric Potts (11)
Leading Rebounders: Justin Glover (8), Eric Potts (7), Zack Williams (5)

GO STORM!

DCCC v. Wytheville CC

The DCCC Storm defeated Wytheville CC (WCC) in its season opener on Sunday, November 1. The final score was 90-82. Our men were excited to get the season underway. For a select few (Phillip Williams, Eric Potts and Rico Geter), it was the beginning of their sophomore season; for the rest of the team, it was the beginning of their college careers. Our guys used the crowd's energy and their excitement to jump out to an early lead in the first half (21-9). The first game jitters and mistakes caught up with us as WCC stayed poised and chipped away at the deficit until WCC took a 34-30 lead, which they took into the half. After Coach Ridge delivered a very pointed halftime speech, our guys went out in the second half and played tougher. WCC was excited to be in the game and continued to play well, but in the end, the Storm was victorious. The team won with a final score of 90-82. Rico Geter was our team's leading scorer finishing with 19. Zack Williams (17), Justin Glover (15) and Phillip Williams (13) also contributed major point contributions to our team's victory. Also, I wanted to congratulate Kimani for his efforts on the boards! He finished with 10! Keep up the great effort guys!

GO STORM!!

I've Been Gone for a While...

Let me apologize folks. I have been busy the past few months. I completed my internship for the Philadelphia 76ers. I learned a bit about sabremetric analysis in basketball and what pro scouts look for when scouting college talent. Now I'm serving as an assistant coach to Coach Matt Ridge for the Davidson County Community College Storm (http://www.davidsonccc.edu/athletics/mensbasketball.htm). I will be blogging about our season to keep everyone updated on our successes! Go Storm!

Overvalued Stock?

Everyone this year has seemingly fallen in love with Hasheem Thabeet. He is the 7'3" center who plays for UConn. I'll be the first to admit he has potential and he makes his living on the defensive end of the floor, but is Thabeet the dominant player everyone claims? I do not think so. Honestly, I think he is a bit soft, especially if a strong player is willing to take the ball at Thabeet. He MUST improve his lateral quickness to be effective at the next level. In college, all Thabeet did was sit in the lane and wait to block the opposing team's shots or grab a rebound after a missed shot. You can not sit in the defensive lane in the NBA or the officials will call defensive three seconds. Currently, I do not think he has the ability to rotate quick enough on defense. In the games where Thabeet was forced to rotate and not play stationary in the defensive paint, he drew several fouls.

I want to take a look at Thabeet's rebounding numbers. I have heard people claim he is a dominant rebounder (he should be if he stands 7'3" tall), but does he rebound against the best competition, or are his numbers padded?

Going through this years rebounding totals, Thabeet had good rebounding games against:
Western Carolina (17)
Miami (14)
Bryant (12)
Delaware St (17)
Buffalo (18)
Fairfield (11)
West Virgina (13)*
Seton Hall (17)
Notre Dame (11)*
Providence (11)
Louisville (11)***
Michigan (12)
Syracuse (16)***
Seton Hall (20)
Marquette (15)
Notre Dame (11)*
Pitt (13)***
Syracuse (14)***
UT Chat (13)
Purdue (15)*
Mizzou (13)*

Just looking at the games he posted double figures in, I do not see a lot of great competition. I will say this, the Big East did produce some of the best teams in college basketball this year, but he post his best rebounding games against lesser competition or against teams who are perimeter based teams. He did post impressive numbers against Pitt, Louisville, West Virginia, Syracuse (but they are more perimeter based), and Notre Dame (but they don't really have a guy big enough other than Zeller; Harangody is strong, but a bit undersized). I will not discount Purdue or Mizzou because once teams get into tournament play, everyone elevates their game.

My point is everyone claims his defensive abilities, which I will not doubt. He can change shots whether he blocks them or not. I feel his rebounding numbers are elevated due to the competition he has posted his best rebounding games against. Teams can get him out of the game by getting him in foul trouble (Pitt, Gonzaga, Villanova, Texas A&M), although he did post double figures in games where he did foul out, and playing a transition game (he just does not run the floor extremely well). Let's face it, he's 7'3" and all he has to do is put his arms in the air and he'd be close to 10' tall. He is coming out in a weak draft class. I bet he will go in the top 5, but in a year where the talent pool is better, I think he would be a top 10 pick at best, if not a late lottery pick.

I know most people won't agree with me because they love his size and what he can do on the defensive end of the floor, but he needs to improve his lateral quickness, he needs to get bigger, and he needs to refine his offensive game (he can not make a shot outside of five feet from the basket) if he wants to be dominant. I know he's only played for a couple of years so these things can come around, but how much can he improve? Will he ever be the offesive threat coaches may see and expect? Can he be more than a cherry picker on the defensive end and become a truly dominant defensive big? In college he has been a man among boys because of how tall he is. What happens when he goes up against players the same size as he is? Only time will tell, but I would bet that he will only become another average big man.

Terrence Williams

Terrence Williams, #1 SG/SF, Louisville
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 220 lbs

Strengths:
- Versatility
- Passing
- Athleticism
- Rebounding
- Conditioning
- Transition play
- Competition
- Improved three point shooting
- Executes offensively
- Court vision
- NBA body
- Size/Wingspan
- Toughness
- Stat sheet filler

Weaknesses:
- Creating own shot
- Getting to free throw line
- Pull up jumper
- Control issues
- Shooting off of the dribble
- Using off hand

Summary:
Terrence Williams is an exciting player to watch. His versatility at the wings position allows him to fill up a stat sheet like very few other college players. This season he averaged 12 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. On top of that, he improved his ability to take care of the ball by posting an A/T ratio of 2.15 (5 assists, 2.3 turnovers per game)! Williams has the athleticism and the build to be in the NBA.

Williams is a phenomenal play maker, especially for the wing. He possess great court vision which allows him to find open teammates with crisp passes. He has a great wingspan and is very explosive. He uses these tools to go up and grab rebounds or block shots, especially against taller and bigger players. His physical being helps him execute offensively, but he does have one glaring problem that he must address at the next level: his scoring abilities. First, let me say that Williams has improved his three point shooting percentages, as well as his overall field goal percentages. He has done this by improving his shooting mechanics and shot selection. Williams does not create his own shot well. Although he has improved his ability to take care of the basketball, Williams is not strong at dribbling with his off (left) hand. If he penetrates into the lane (sometimes he is out of control when he does), Williams would rather take a floater or pass the ball to a teammate instead of taking an extra step or two towards the basket. He may have adapted to this style of play because he is not very efficient at scoring around the basket, especially after contact. If he does get to the free throw line, he MUST work on converting (his percentages from the charity strip have fallen from 61.2% his freshman year to 58.1% his senior year). Also, his pull-up jumper or shooting off the dribble need some polishing.

Williams has the potential to be a beast on the defensive end. As mentioned before, he is a rebounding machine for a wing (8.6 total rebounds per game, with an average of 7.2 rebounds coming from the defensive end). His wingspan and length allow him to get his hand into passing lanes for steals. Sometimes Williams becomes a bit lackadaisical on the defensive end, but his athleticism, lateral quickness, and explosiveness allows him to quickly recover. He is not afraid to go up and challenge a player, especially those bigger than him. This mentality will serve him well as he may be asked by his coach to guard multiple positions on any given night.

Overall, Williams plays best in transition rather than in a half-court set, but he has the tools to be a player in the NBA for many, many years. He must continue to work on his shot, ability to get to the basket, control issues, and ability to dribble with his off hand if he wants to be more than a role player at the next level.

Projection: mid-first rounder (15-20)

Best fit:
- Oklahoma City: the Thunder is a young team. Getting a player with Williams' skills to grow with this team may be beneficial. The Thunder is building its team around a team concept, and getting a player like Williams who seemingly prefers to find his teammates for open shots could be a great idea. On top of that, he could be another defensive stopper the team could be looking for, especially off the bench.
- Phoenix and New York: Williams' is most effective in transition because of his freakish athleticism. If he works on taking the ball to the basket, I could see him fitting in well with either team. Especially on Phoenix, he could have the opportunity to learn from Grant Hill and develop into his game into Hill's mold.

Wayne Ellington

Wayne Ellington, #22 SG, North Carolina
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 200 lbs

Strengths:
- Pure scorer
- Mid-range jumper
- Ability to catch and shoot
- Cross over and step back jumper
- Three point shooting
- Footwork
- Takes care of the ball
- Competition

Weaknesses:
- Slower release
- Tendency to fad during game
- Athleticism
- Undersized at the NBA level
- Explosiveness
- Driving to basket
- Defensive consistency

Summary:
Wayne "The Rainman" Ellington can shoot the lights out of a building. Nobody has played the two-guard position better than him the past two months. After Carolina's magical run to the 2009 National Championship, and Ellington being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, it's hard not to fathom that Ellington has done nothing but improve his draft stock.

I could spend hours discussing his abilities on the offensive floor, but his offensive abilities have been well documented. Just to highlight his strengths on this end of the floor, he has phenomenal range (he'll be able to shoot the NBA three pointer), he has a sweet mid-range game that he rarely misses from, the ability to cross over against his defender and knock down a step back jumper, he runs well off of staggered screens, and he catches and shoots the ball with high efficiency. During the NCAA Tournament he shot over 50% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc. He has improved his ability to take care of the basketball (posting an A/T ratio of 1.63 this season) while playing against top-tier competition. He also demonstrates nice footwork on both ends of the floor.

There are some areas of Ellington's game that improved from his sophomore to junior seasons, especially during the NCAA Tournament, but still needs to be worked on. Ellington has a tendency to fad during games. He lacks that killer instinct that makes him a threat as long as he's on the court. If he develops this mentality, you better watch out because he has the ability to score six or more points in less than 30 seconds. His overall athleticism and size are not ideal either at the next level. Ellington is listed at 6'4", but when I saw him walking around at Carolina, he definitely didn't look it. He is not very athletic, and he won't wow you with his explosiveness. He is not an exceptional slasher, rather he focuses his game is centered around finesse. This aspect of his game can be seen because he rarely takes the ball straight to the hoop, rather pulling up for a jump shot. If he does take the ball to the basket, you notice Ellington tries to avoid contact. He does not like to get hit while he is shooting, which is evident when he shoots because he tends to fad away on his jump shots. This is also confirmed by his inability to get to the free throw line in games (averaging just shy of three free throw attempts per game). As I mentioned before, he lacks that killer instinct when it comes to taking over a game; he would need to focus on getting to the line more often in games to develop this area of his offensive game.

On the defensive end of the floor, Ellington leaves little to be desired. He has the tools (decent lateral quickness and footwork) to be a good defender at the next level, and he has shown that he can buckle down on this end of the court, especially in the clutch. His defensive effort during the National Championship game was solid and matched the level of his teammates. Throughout the season though, Ellington did not put forth all his effort on this end of the floor. He has taken long strides in this area of his game, but still has room to grow and improve. If he could maintain the level of defensive intensity he demonstrated during the championship game, he would be less of a liability.

Projection: late first round to early second round

Best fit:
- Los Angeles Lakers: I have mentioned that Ellington lacks the mentality to take over a game if necessary. He has all the tools to be a very good offensive player. Playing him behind Kobe Bryant could be the best thing for Ellington. Kobe would challenge Ellington to be a better player both offensively and defensively. Plus, when Kobe needs a breather, Ellington could step in without the Lakers loosing too much offensive production.
- Detroit: one of the offensive tools that Ellington possess is the ability to run off of screens and catch and shoot the basketball. Rip Hamilton does this currently with the Pistons, and I believe Ellington could do the same off the bench. Learning under Hamilton could be another great option for Ellington because Hamilton puts forth his effort on both ends of the court to make himself and his teammates better. The only problem I see here is that the Pistons have some uncertainty with its front court and may address these issues with its first round pick.
- Philadelphia: since the 76ers traded Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz several seasons ago, the team has lacked a player who could consistently spread the floor. Shooting from behind the arc is one thing that Ellington is good at. He would compliment the playing style of the 76ers and provide a much needed threat from the mid-range back to the three point line.