World University Games 2011 -- New Century Exhibition Game

USA 88 New Century 61
Near the end of a tug-of-war first quarter that saw each team grab leads complements of runs, New Century engineered a 13-0 run that secured the lead as the time wound down. Team USA was on the short end of a 23-17 score. Vanderbilt's rising senior guard John Jenkins hit three treys that fueled a 14-0 Team USA run which put the USA on top with a stunning 22-7 second quarter. The Americans took a 39-30 lead into the intermission and never looked back. "I think more or less, it was about not getting discouraged. We went through a couple of stretches in the first half when we shot poorly. John (Jenkins) got going in the first half to push the lead to nine at the half. We just tried to be positive with our guys, and it wasn't as much about adjustments. We stayed positive and stayed with it..." offered Coach Matt Painter, when asked about half-time adjustments.

Jenkins logged a game-high 24 points on a scintillating 8-12 (8-10, 0-2) effort from the court, yielding an eye-popping 100.0 eFG%. Jenkins was the only American to post double-digit points, though three teammates, UC Santa Barbara's Orlando Johnson, Yale's forward Greg Mangano and Minnesota's Trevor Mbakwe recorded nine points apiece. Horace Wormely (Vanguard University in the NAIA) paced New Century with 13 points. Two other New Century players, Qui Biao and Gavin Edwards (Connecticut) notched 10 points apiece. Kentucky wing Darius Miller grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. The possession-based breakdown...

						FTA
Team	Pace	Eff.	eFG%	TOV	OR%	FGA	Ast%	PPWS
Team USA	73.2	1.20	54.7	15.0	40.0	33.8	56.7	1.11
New Century		0.83	37.3	16.4	24.4	40.7	25.0	0.87

73 possessions is towards the high-end for a Division 1 program, but a little low for a professional (NBA-level) team, but the stat that jumps out is the defense. Team USA held New Century to a paltry 0.87 points per possession (ppp) through a combination of strong shot defense (New Century converted 20-59 from the field, hitting 4-21 from three point range), turnovers (New Century committed 12 turnovers, losing 16.4% of their possessions and defensive board domination, limiting New Century to nabbing 24.4% of their missed field goal attempts. New Century could not convert from the field, and when they missed they did not get a second chance. The score by quarters...

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Game
Team USA	17	22	23	26	88
New Century	23	7	12	19	61

"...We simply wore them down..." -- Matt Painter
Though Scoop Jardine, Marcus Denmon, Draymond Green, JaMychal Green and Tim Abromaitis started for Team USA they only combined for 40.5% of the playing time. Coach Painter used all 12 members of the squad, allocating exactly 17 minutes (Abromaitis excepted) to every player in the rotation. Or to put Jenkins' production into context, the Vanderbilt forward scored 24 points in 17 minutes of play. "...We have a lot of guys, and we tried to stay fresh..." -- Matt Painter.

Other observations about the game....
1. Jenkins took a Jordan-like 41.5% of the shots while he was in the game. Denmon, a 6-2 guard out of Missouri was the second option on offense, unfortunately he was less effective, scoring three points on 1-8 (1-4, 0-4) shooting from the field. The trio composed of guards Ashton Gibbs and Orlando Johnson and forward Greg Mangano formed an more effective "third option" on offense, taking 20.8% of the shots when they were playing. Johnson and Mangano scored nine points apiece while Gibbs scored six points on 3-6 (0-1, 3-5) shooting.
2. Kentucky guard Darius Miller scored seven points on 2-4 (0-2, 2-2) shooting from the field and 3-6 from the line, which translates into a 50.0% eFG% and 1.02 points per weighted shot (PPWS).
3. Team USA owned the glass, outrebounding New Century 47-34. They grabbed 40.0% of their misses, and 75.6% of New Century's misses. Mbakwe led the way with a 23.5% rebounding rate on the offensive boards. Johnson (17.6%) and
4. The NBA lockout has benefited a number of foreign professional leagues, as NBA professionals look to overseas play (and contracts) to pay the bills until the league and player's union hammer out an agreement. New Century is a franchise in the CBA League, one of two professional leagues operating in Mainland China, and they appear to have three Americans under contract (or at least on their roster) for the exhibition game. Gavin Edwards, a 2010 graduate of UConn who spent part of last season in the NBDL's Springfield franchise (along with Villanova's Scottie Reynolds), along with Horace Wormley, a 5-7 point guard, who logged time with LA D-Fenders after a stint with Landshut in the German League. A 2011 Montana State graduate, 6-6 forward Danny Piepoli, apparently signed on with New Century in the last two months.

Next
Team USA returns to Shenzhen for the Opening Ceremonies of the World University Games. They meet Mexico 6:00 am (Eastern Time) on Saturday.

Further Reading
USA Basketball posted a game recap on their website.
They also posted the official box score.

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Revisiting the NIT

by Ray Floriani

NEW YORK CITY - The last time out we looked at the Duke-UCONN final. Now a look back on the earlier games in the Pre-Season NIT . Three games , each with different and interesting statistical insight.

Semifinals:  UConn 81     LSU 55
The first matchup in the Pre-Season NIT ‘final four’ turned out a one sided rout. UConn dictated a relentless pace. The Huskies finished with 69 possessions. UConn had 37 possessions at the half and the final total was under 70 only because, with the outcome decided in the last seven minutes, they began using more clock.

	Eff.
UConn	117
LSU	82

Among the four factors UConn enjoyed a 46-32 edge in offensive rebounding percentage rate. Interestingly, both teams had excellent turnover rates:

	TO%
UConn	17
LSU	18

A statistic that jumped off the sheet was UConn’s 13 blocked shot. The Huskies came into the game blocking 15% of their opponents’ attempts. On this night they rejected 21% of LSU’s 63 attempts. That rate was a major factor behind the Tigers’ 38% eFG PCT. Gavin Edwards led the way with 4 blocks while Stanley Robinson added 3. Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson of UConn shared scoring honors with 20 points each.

Duke 64     Arizona State 53
Arizona State did a good job dictating tempo in a 65 possession contest. In the end it was signature Duke defense that made the difference.

	Eff.
Duke	97
ASU	83

In a sign of things to come (in the championship) Duke enjoyed an offensive rebounding percentage edge of 35-28. Both teams were "over the limit" regarding turnover rates with Arizona State 23% and Duke checking in at 21%.

Ball movement, crisp cuts and open opportunities were reflected in the percentage of assisted field goals.

	Ast%
Duke	56
ASU	33

Kind of a surprise. Not on Duke’s end but for ASU. Under Herb Sendek the Sun Devils run a lot of variations of the Princeton offense so one would expect more passing, backdoor opportunities and a greater percentage of their field goals to be assisted. The fact there were few bodes well for the Duke D.

Jon Scheyer of Duke led all scorers with 16 points.

Consolation: Arizona State 71     LSU 52
A game that was simply a "tale of two halves". What the Dickens went on? Fresh off the UConn drubbing, LSU came out strong, enjoyed a nine point lead with five minutes remaining in the half and took a 7 point lead into intermission.

At the half:

	Score	Poss.	Eff.
LSU	34	26	131
ASU	27	26	104

The second half saw a meltdown of epic proportion for the Tigers. Once ASU took the lead the life seemed to be gone from LSU(5 second half field goals). They stood around at times on offense and failed to get good player and/or ball movement against the Sun Devil zone. The defense, virtually non- existent as ASU shot 15 of 22 (68%) the second half.

Second Half Totals :

	Score	Poss.	Eff.
LSU	18	31	58
ASU	44	30	147

As bad as LSU was, Arizona Sate was good. The game totals.

	Poss.	Eff.
LSU	57	91
ASU	57	125

ASU’s Derek Glasser led the way with 24 points. Not a bad trip to New York and start (5-1) for an Arizona state team that many worried could survive minus James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph. For LSU, they did play without point guard Bo Spencer who injured his ankle near the end of the UCONN game. Spencer though, is more a shoot first (2 of 14 from the floor VS UConn 2 assists 3 TO) type guard. Spencer’s absence hurt but doesn’t explain that twenty minute breakdown on offense, and more important, defense.

Preview 2009-10 -- Connecticut Huskies

Too Busy for the Details?
Blessed with a talented and veteran backcourt, Coach Calhoun's UConn program will be challenged to replace most of their front court in 2009-10 without stepping back too far from their Final Four standing in 2009. If Calhoun's "life experiment" with senior Stanley Robinson comes to fruition and classmate Gavin Edwards commuted exclusively between the weight room and gym as rumored, these two will provide the leadership and court presence necessary to carry the team (along with Walker and Dyson) while the entering freshmen come up to speed. They is much to learn, and quickly. Prognosis -- A 1st quartile finish.

3 Years At a Glance
Ah, the year not listed...compare the returning minutes from 2008 and 2009 with the Huskies' record from those years, and you will see solid progress at each step. Even though the minutes fell off very slightly last season the Huskies improved their standing. The season not listed is 2007. UConn returned about 32% of their minutes and won 6 Big East games. And did not go to a post season tournament (BET aside).

	Returning...
	2010	2009	2008
%Min	39.1	88.4	90.6
%Pts	36.9	89.9	91.6
%FGM	37.3	90.1	90.4
%3FGM	25.5	81.5	96.6
%OReb	41.2	91.2	90.3
%DReb	36.8	89.2	91.4
%TReb	38.1	89.8	91.0

Coach Jim Calhoun has to bring a sqaud whose returning minutes are the lowest since 2007 (that squad returned about 32% of the previous season's minutes). The difference (beyond the additional 9%) is that the 2010 squad's senior will contribute 64% of those returning minutes, about 3 times the percentage from 2007. The 2010 Huskie squad has seniors (and a junior or two) who can pass along the program's traditions and attitude. The very loaded freshmen class will not find themselves on the floor with sophomores who don't quite "get it".

	According to Pomeroy...
	2008-09		2007-08		2006-07
	#	Rank	#	Rank	#	Rank
Overall ORtg	116.6	15	117.3	17	104.3	126
Overall DRtg	84.8	3	92.3	41	85.8	7
Big East ORtg	108.6	1	110.8	1	91.3	16
Big East DRtg	92.7	2	102.0	7	93.3	1
Four Factors -- Overall
All Off. eFG%	51.3	81	50.6	139	46.3	284
All Off. TOv%	18.1	50	19.3	71	21.2	166
All Off. OReb%	39.9	11	38.9	17	41.2	6
All Off. FTA/FGA	46.4	6	48.1	4	45.5	15
All Def. eFG%	42.4	2	44.2	8	41.9	1
All Def. TOv%	16.2	336	16.9	332	21.6	139
All Def. OReb%	30.1	55	33.5	207	32.8	136
All Def. FTA/FGA	19.5	1	23.5	5	31.0	60
Four Factors -- Big East Only
BE Off. eFG%	49.9	8	51.5	4	50.6	6
BE Off. TOv%	18.0	6	18.9	7	19.7	9
BE Off. OReb%	39.2	2	37.3	2	42.2	1
BE Off. FTA/FGA	41.8	2	47.4	1	39.4	6
BE Def. eFG%	42.2	1	45.7	3	42.3	1
BE Def. TOv%	16.2	15	15.3	16	15.3	16
BE Def. OReb%	31.9	4	34.5	11	32.4	4
BE Def. FTA/FGA	18.5	1	23.8	2	21.4	1
Miscellaneous
All Gms Cons	21.0	206	20.4	165	27.1	328
All Gms Luck	+.018	98	-.009	166	-.117	332

The Huskies' recovery offensively powered their return to the conference elite in 2008 and 2009. The jump from #16 (2007) to #1 (2008 & 2009) coincided with their jump from a #12 (BET) seed in 2007 to a #4 seed in 2008 to a #2 seed in 2009. When the team dominated however, it was through their defense. Coach Calhoun built his defense from the low post out. If the turnover rate appears shockingly low, consider that UConn blocked/deflected or otherwise caused their opponents to flat out miss the bucket more than anyone else in conference play. And when their opponent missed, the Huskies were there to rebound. And UConn did not allow their opponents to bail out the possession at the free throw line. They just did not get there. Note the same measures show through in the overall slate as in Big East play. UConn was pretty much the same whether they played an OOC opponent or a Big East opponent.

	For the Record...
	2008-09			2007-08			2006-07
	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.
Overall	31	5	0.861	24	9	0.727	17	14	0.548
Big East	15	3	0.833	13	5	0.722	6	10	0.375
Post Season?	NCAA/Rnd 5			NCAA/Rnd 1			BET/Rnd 1

The year-over-year progress is clear and very obvious compared to the "progress" made by other teams when they returned high percentages of minutes and points. Given the experience level of UConn's returning minutes should preclude the program's falling back as severely as 2007.

The Huskies's Nucleus

On Offense
Player	Min%	ORtg	Poss%	Shot%	eFG%	PPWS	OReb%	FTR%
Walker	61.5	106.8	20.0	18.1	49.8	1.10	3.9	52.6
Dyson	47.7	106.2	24.5	25.5	45.5	1.02	4.9	45.5
Robinson	47.2	104.2	18.7	19.4	51.3	1.07	9.4	32.8
Edwards	28.6	120.9	15.4	13.3	63.8	1.34	12.3	58.8

Walker and Dyson will anchor the back court and wing. Note they both were efficient (but not super effiencient) with their offense, even as both participated as "Contributors" -- 2nd options -- on offense. The key to taking more offense efficiently will rest on their (collectively) ability to improve their accuracy -- each had an eFG% < 50.0, a sure sign they are missing shots. Pushing their eFG% over the 50.0 mark (preferably in the 55+ range) would boost UConn's offense. And help fans forget Hasheem Thabeet and AJ Price. There is room for growth for Robinson as well. He can have a strong positive impact on the team by garnering another 5+% of the possessions and shots without giving back much on his offensive rating. Edwards, a senior classmate of Dyson and Robinson, was very efficient in 2009, but the prospects that he will grow into a significantly larger role on offense is unlikely.

On Defense
Player	Min%	DR%	Ast%	TOv%	Stl%	Blk%
Kemba Walker	61.5	10.2	20.7	21.2	0.6	2.4
Jerome Dyson	47.7	9.5	20.5	16.5	1.0	3.6
Stanley Robinson	47.2	15.4	8.8	19.6	3.9	1.4
Gavin Edwards	28.6	14.5	5.1	20.5	5.8	1.8

Robinson and Edwards have never been more than average defensive rebounders. The Connecticut defense relies heavily on gathering a large percentage of the defensive rebounds, so both will have to improve, and the low post newcomers will have to contribute defensively immediately.

Significant Additions
Had everyone recruited to play in 2008-09 suited up, the Huskies would stand very well going into this season (they probably would have done better in Detroit last April). A day late, but just about everyone is in Storrs now. The assembled group, late comers and true freshmen, numbers 6. The immediate needs are in the front court, and this cohort has several answers. At the #5, Coach Calhoun will look to 7-1, 255 lbs Charles Okwandu, a JUCO from Lagos, Nigeria by way of Harkem College, PA. Okwandu arrived at Storrs last December, but could not clear his paperwork with the NCAA. "Big Chuck" took the semester to attend to academics and practice with the team. Summer reports suggest his biggest contributions will be on defense. True freshman Alex Oriakhi, at 6-8, out of The Tilton School (NH) will provide the team with another back-to-the-basket option. Another academic casualty in 2009, 6-10, 233 lbs #4 Ater Majok from Sidney, Australia, flirted with the NBA draft before deciding to fulfill his commitment to the Huskies. Majok will, when his eligibility begins after the fall semester, combine with Okwandu, Edwards and Oriakhi in the low post rotation. True freshman Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, a McDonald's All American 6-7, 210 lbs #3 will split time with Robinson on the wing. Two additional guards, 6-2 Darius Smith and 6-5 Jamaal Trice will no doubt get time in the early rotation to impress the staff. Coach Calhoun tends to reach 10 or more deep into his bench, especially in the OOC. Whether that will help or hinder the development of team play remains to be seen.

Explode If...
1. Coach Calhoun's gamble on Stanley Robinson pays off & Robinson grows into the leader Coach Calhoun believes he can be. And Ater Majok proves to be worth the wait.
2. Okwandu and Oriankhi do not need to contribute a lot of points, but they do need to block shots and rebound. The more they prove to be effective stoppers, the better Connecticut's defense can become.
3. Kemba Walker learns to stick the 3. Connecticut has considered the 3FGA an integral part of their offense, typically using it for about 30% of their FGAs. Last season, with shooting woes suffered by Price, Walker and Dyson, the Huskies leaned heavily on Adrien, Thabeet and penetration from the guards. Consequently their 3FGAs, as a percentage of all FGAs dropped to a low of 23.0. Shockingly low and very predictable. UConn would be more effective if the 3FGA percentage was higher.

Implode If...
1. Oriakhi and Okwandu are ok (or maybe downright bad), but in any event, not dominant low post players.
2. Dyson is forced to take on too much of the offensive responsibility. Dyson is accurate, but he cannot put the team on his back (offensively) night in and night out.
3. Kemba Walker struggles at the point. AJ is gone, and Donnell Beverly is not going to breakout next season. This one is on Walker, and if he struggles, the Huskies will sputter.

Crucial Stretches/Bellweather Games
Historically, Coach Calhoun has developed young teams by bringing mid/low majors into Storrs (and Hartford) for a series of confidence building home games. The strategy backfired in 2007 when the team collapsed in Big East play after running the table in November and December. A new team and a new approach this season as the Huskies committed (as a regional host) to the NIT Preseason Tip Off. Should UConn survive pool play they will advance to New York City to face (most likely) a championship bracket of Arizona State, Duke and LSU. The field, even in the regional pools, contains a "higher fiber" variety of mid/low major. The NIT, along with Connecticut's face-off with John Calipari's much hyped Kentucky Wildcats in the Big East-SEC Challenge (December 9 in Madision Square Garden) will provide a better early season barometer on the Huskies' progress. 13-0 against that slate of opponents would mean a bit more than their unbeaten run through their 2007 OOC, and would establish the Huskies' credentials for post season play.

UConn will open the Big East slate with a road trip to Cincinnati on 12/30, and play 9 games in January (7 versus conference rivals and 2 versus national rivals). The front end of their conference schedule sets up very nicely, to accommodate those two nationally televised games at Michigan and versus Texas perhaps? Other than road games at Cincinnati and Georgetown, The more challenging conference opponents (the Hall, Pitt & St. John's) travel to Storrs (or Hartford). Running the table in through that section of their schedule (10-0) would put UConn in the top 10 nationally (at the very least), but anything less than 7-3, especially if combined with losses in the OOC, would suggest that a return to elite DI status may take another year or two.