Inside/Outside According to Pomeroy

Ken Pomeroy introduced a stat which he called "Inside" as part of his Big 12 2006-07 Preview. The formula, =100*(FTA-3FGA)/FGA, quantifies the common elements of perimeter-oriented play on the collegiate level...

• A ratio of 3 point to 2 point FGAs.
• Lack of contact & resulting fouls. Offensive schemes which feature close in scoring via penetration or passing into the low post often result in a foul and FTA as the possession-ending action.

The larger the positive value the greater that player's tendency to play "inside", while the larger the negative number, the greater the tendency to play on the perimeter (the "outside"). Using playing time (about 32% minimum) as a filter, the ten "most inside" players were:

Player	Coll	MIN	FGA	3FGA	FTA	Inside
Hasheem Thabeet	Uconn	762	121	0	115	95
Hamady N'Diaye	RU	387	56	0	42	75
Adrian Hill	RU	726	169	1	120	70
Paul Harris	'Cuse	758	217	20	166	67
Darryl Watkins	'Cuse	961	180	0	116	64
Zach Hillesland	NDU	628	121	0	76	63
Kentrell Gransberry	USF	656	239	0	149	62
David Padgett	Lville	807	186	1	113	60
Dante Cunningham	Nova	879	189	1	113	59
Rob Kurz	NDU	868	226	49	179	58

Pomeroy had suggested that for regular players the range should be about +70...0...-70. Thabeet and N'Diaye fall outside of that range. Neither however, played a significant role their team's offense. N'Diaye's Poss% & Shot% were 15.2 and 11.1 respectively, suggesting his biggest contributions were on the defensive side of the ball. Thabeet's numbers, 15.0 & 11.0, respectively are strangely similar to N'Diaye's, and show that he is not a focal point for the Husky offense. Aside from the range the names and reputations are consistent with frontcourt players -- David Padgett, Darryl Watkins, Dante Cunningham and Kentrell Gransberry. Two elements did surprise me though. Rob Kurz, Zach Hillesland appeared among these 10, both are from Notre Dame, not a program with a big frontcourt reputation. Paul Harris and Rob Kurz are decidedly not center, bf-type players. But the formula suggests they are more "inside oriented" than I might have thought. I also noticed that Roy Hibbert, Luke Harangody, Aaron Gray & Terrence Roberts, players who were large contributors to their team's offenses are not in this list.

Player	Coll	MIN	FGA	3FGA	FTA	Inside
Andy Rautins	'Cuse	741	226	188	24	-73
Brian McKenzie	PC	421	104	78	12	-63
Avery Patterson	St.John's	904	308	220	42	-58
David Cubillan	MU	702	142	111	37	-52
Colin Falls	NDU	1027	314	250	102	-47
Dan Fitzgerald	MU	719	172	122	42	-47
Ronald Ramon	Pitt	884	209	164	68	-46
Frank Young	WVU	1130	415	263	77	-45
Alex Ruoff	WVU	1171	303	198	70	-42
Jamar Nutter	the Hall	911	352	218	71	-42

"Mr. Outside", Andy Rautins, also falls slightly outside of the range identified by Ken Pomeroy. Unlike N'Diaye & Thabeet however Rautins's numbers, 17.1 and 21.1, do represent more than an occasional contributor to the Orange offense. Finding two players from John Beilein's system (Alex Ruoff & Frank Young) is not surprising. Finding Providence's Brian McKenzie on the list is. McKenzie, a rising freshman is another unheralded backcourt find for HC Tim Welsh. David Cubillan and Dan Fitzgerald of Marquette provided the wing dimension in HC Tom Crean's offense. Fitzgerald played the #4 (Steve Novak's role for the Warriors over the past 4 seasons), appeared in all 33 games and started 11. Cubillan was an all-purpose backcourt backup who took additional minutes when Jerel McNeal broke his hand. If the list is to be trusted, both Andy Rautins (torn ACL) and Avery Patterson (transfer) will be missed this season. The Villanovans:

Player	MIN	FGA	3FGA	FTA	Inside
Bilal Benn	246	28	2	29	96
Dante Cunningham	879	189	1	113	59
Casiem Drummond	130	25	0	12	48
Will Sheridan	829	129	5	62	44
Curtis Sumpter	955	400	141	166	6
Scottie Reynolds	962	353	169	175	2
Reggie Redding	429	82	38	25	-16
Shane Clark	776	187	100	52	-26
Mike Nardi	961	305	187	76	-36
Dwayne Anderson	189	58	45	18	-47

The order of the players may be a little surprising, but as a classification, each player appears to be "typed" (Inside/Outside) properly. Bilal Benn's ranking is no doubt due to the distortion of marginal play.

Pomeroy credited "Inside" to Kevin Pelton a Sonics sportswriter and moderator for APBRmetrics. Pomeroy explained that he modified the stat by using field goal attempts in place of minutes played. After reviewing the Top 10 lists, I was curious to see the differences if I used Pelton's original formula.