Oh Canada! Part 3: Player Summaries

I am posting the summary stats for each of the team members who saw minutes in Ottawa. The player stats (given the blog margins...) will be presented in three groups -- a general background (Games played, minutes), shooting (offense?) and a third table with rebounds (offensive, defensive and total), assists, turnovers, blocks, steals and personal fouls. Given the questions & discussions about the roles several players will have on this year's team, I was very curious to see how the minutes were allocated among the individual team members.

Player	Min	GP
Dwayne Anderson	52	4
Shane Clark	73	3
Jason Colenda	15	2
Dante Cunningham	79	3
Casiem Drummond	69	4
Corey Fisher	82	4
Malcolm Grant	81	4
Andy Ott	29	2
Antonio Pena	82	4
Reggie Redding	60	3
Scottie Reynolds	88	3
Corey Stokes	90	4

For those wondering about Scottie's minutes next season, know he logged an average of 29.3 minutes per game (mpg). He sat for the second game in the set (against the Queens Golden Gaels). The stats confirm what those fans who made the trip observed -- Fisher and Grant did log about the same number of minutes. Antonio Pena also logged minutes in the low 80s, no doubt the staff wanted to see these freshmen (redshirts and trues) as much as the average Villanova fan. The surprise is Corey Stokes. Honored by McDonalds as an HS All-American, invited to the U19 tryouts and generally recognized by the scouting services as the highest ranked HS baller in Villanova's entering class, nevertheless, most Nova fans had shown greater anticipation about Corey Fisher's debut as a Wildcat than Corey Stoke's. Stokes, despite what seemed to be first game jitters against Carleton (5 minutes, 2 fouls, no points on 0-2 shooting), put together three very nice efforts in the games that followed. And he in fact finished with the most minutes played out of the entire squad. He played practically the entire Queens game (38 minutes) and averaged about 28.3 mpg over the last 3 games -- almost as much as Scottie (see above). I was not surprised that Jason Colenda (the Wildcat's latest walk-on) logged only 15 minutes in two games, but I was surprised that Andy Ott, despite rumors of a few dings did see only 29 minutes in just two games. I understand the staff may have seen little need to risk further injury on an exhibition tour. Reggie pulled a solid 20 mpg for the 3 games in which he appeared. Like the other starters/significant returning players from last season, he was held out of the Queens University game to keep him fresh for the Ottawa game later that day. As for offense:

	Overall		3 Pt		2 Pt		Free Throw
Player	FM	FA	FM	FA	FM	FA	FM	FA	Pts
D Anderson	7	12	3	5	4	7	6	7	23
S Clark	7	17	1	5	6	12	4	6	19
J Colenda	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
D Cunningham	12	24	0	1	12	23	13	17	37
C Drummond	6	10	0	0	6	10	10	17	22
C Fisher	7	11	3	5	4	6	11	13	28
M Grant	13	20	4	8	9	12	2	2	32
A Ott	4	11	1	4	3	7	0	4	9
A Pena	13	23	0	2	13	21	0	2	26
R Redding	5	13	2	6	3	7	1	2	13
S Reynolds	20	27	13	16	7	11	11	14	64
C Stokes	13	29	13	27	0	2	2	2	41

That Scottie led all scorers is hardly shocking (though his average of 21.3 caught my eye). That the next two scorers were the freshman Stokes and Junior Dante Cunningham is a bit of a surprise. Cunningham appears to have picked up from his mid-season form, though he may have backslid a bit on his free throws. Stokes, a wing guard/forward who started slow, showed very good point production in the last three games. Malcolm Grant, the third guard brought in this year, showed a greater inclination to shoot than fellow freshman Fisher, and Grant also had a slightly higher accuracy (at least from inside the 3 point arc). Pena, Drummond and Clark's scoring numbers (all averaged about 5 - 7 ppg) suggest there may be more offense in the frontcourt than in prior seasons. If this tour is a predictor for next season, it appears that Scottie, working off the ball more than last season, will serve as a very effective first option on offense. Cunningham and Stokes (when they are available) will be effective 2^nd (inside) and 3^rd (outside) options. Grant, Fisher, Clark, Pena and Drum virtually guarantee that the Wildcats will have 4 - 5 realistic scoring options on the floor at any one time. As for the rebounding, steals, blocks, etc.:

Player	OR	DR	TR	Ast	TOv	PF	Blk	Stl
D Anderson	4	9	13	6	3	1	0	7
S Clark	4	11	15	2	5	6	1	2
J Colenda	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
D Cunningham	7	7	14	1	4	10	2	3
C Drummond	3	12	15	5	3	10	3	2
C Fisher	0	6	6	10	11	9	1	3
M Grant	1	3	4	8	4	7	0	3
A Ott	2	8	10	0	2	7	0	0
A Pena	4	9	13	1	9	9	1	6
R Redding	1	9	10	9	8	11	0	6
S Reynolds	0	10	10	10	6	6	0	7
C Stokes	1	10	11	4	6	5	0	1
Team	1	2	3		3

Frankly it is a bit disquieting that no one averaged a double-double against this competition. Given Cunningham's scoring he would have been the most likely candidate. But on average, he was outrebounded by both Shane Clark and (little used) Andy Ott. Overall rebounding stats were lower than I anticipated, Ott and Clark averaged about 5 rebounds per game while Cunningham had an even more anemic 4.7 average. The 'Cats have been effective at rebounding over the past 4 - 5 seasons, but the tour results suggest this may be an area that requite attention and additional work before the start of the season. A few other observations:

1. Dwayne Anderson had a very productive run with comparatively few minutes. Dwayne tied Scottie for most steals, though he did it in 3/5 the amount of time alloted for Scottie. Those steals were distributed across all 4 games (1-2-3-1), not concentrated against the relatively weaker Queens University squad. In addition to steals, he was 5^th for defensive rebounds, but showed a very good DR% (about 20%) for the amount of time he played. His distribution of 2 point to 3 point FGAs was fairly even, suggesting he is diversifying his game a bit more than last season. The question, given the amount of time he played, is whether this progress comes a bit late.
2. Andy Ott played very little, due at least initially, to a slight injury. Ott was one of the red shirted front court players that many have been anxious to see play this season. He was held out of 2 games and saw extensive time in only the Queens game. That the Queens game is the only one in which both he and walk-on Jason Colenda saw double digit minutes, Unless something happens in practice I suspect Ott will see only very occasional minutes this season.
3. Junior Frank Tschuisi was held out of all four games. He is rumored to have an injury.
4. Of all the 'Cats, Reggie Redding had the most uneven performance. His 5 assist, 3 steal, 2 rebound effort in the first game (against the Carleton Ravens) was marred by an 0-4 shooting night. He scored a single point on a 1-2 night at the line. He followed his 12 point (5-6; 2-2; 3-4) scoring outburst against the Ottawa GeeGees (which also included 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) with an 0-3 0 point, 1 assist and 2 turnover effort against the Carleton All-Stars, cut short when he fouled out in 19 minutes of play.