WUG 2009 -- USA Downs Isreal, Takes Bronze

Starting Gate to Finish Line
The first quarter was the most competitive, featuring 2 ties and 4 lead changes before USA team managed a 2 point to close out the quarter. The USA did not yield that lead through the end of the game. The Isrealis did outscore the USA, 28-27, in the third quarter, but that only shaved the USA's lead to +6. Coach Bo Ryan and several players spoke of how the Isrealis pushed Team USA throughout the second half, closing the lead several times in the last three quarters. Three of Oliver's four factors (and a few other stats)

On...	Eff	eFG	PPWS	OReb	DReb	TReb	TOR%	AST%	BLK%	STL%
Offense	118.4	50.7	1.12	37.5	70.0	107.5	13.0	35.5	6.0	7.8
Defense	104.1	48.5	1.03	30.0	62.5	92.5	15.6	41.9	10.4	6.5
Pace	76.9

The pace, 76.9, was close to the average for the USA team during the World University Games, and lower than their pace during the warmup tournament. The team's defensive efficiency (104.1) was among the weaker efforts for the team, but the offensive-defensive differential (+14.3) was one of the team's best for the medal round, surpassed only by the quarter final game versus Bulgaria (a very uncompetitive +36.8). The team controlled the boards, posting a very good 37.5% offensive rebounding effort, while holding the Isrealis to 30% offensive rebounding. The team also took care of the ball, limiting turnovers to only 13% of their possessions, the best effort since their game with Greece (11.3%, 2nd preliminary round). The USA may have blocked a few more shots (the highest percentage since the Finland game), but had fewer steals than their opponent for only the second time since arriving in Serbia. Here is the individual possession-based stats for the players

Player	%PT	eFG%	PPWS	Shot%	Ast%	OReb	DReb
Anderson, James	22.5	50.0	1.02	26.5	0.0	0.0	11.1
Battle, Talor	42.5	57.1	1.36	24.6	7.6	0.0	0.0
Booker, Trevor	40.0	40.0	1.02	18.7	16.1	0.0	12.5
Brackins, Craig	35.0	33.3	0.72	25.6	0.0	22.0	7.1
Butler, Da'Sean	45.0	100.0	1.94	13.3	0.0	0.0	11.1
Fisher, Corey	57.5	27.8	0.56	23.4	5.6	3.3	8.7
Hayward, Lazar	55.0	59.1	1.13	29.9	0.0	14.0	22.7
Hummel, Robbie	47.5	28.6	0.63	22.0	20.4	4.0	10.5
Pondexter, Quincy	17.5	NA	NA	0.0	18.4	0.0	0.0
Thompson, Deon	32.5	40.0	1.03	23.0	0.0	11.8	30.8
Turner, Evan	60.0	83.3	1.67	14.9	16.1	3.2	8.3
Varnado, Jarvis	45.0	66.7	1.46	10.0	0.0	8.5	38.9

Quincy Pondexter's NA for eFG5 and PPWS indicate that because he took no FGAs (Shot% is 0%), there could be no numeric representation for his effective field goal percentage nor his points per weighted shot. Representing those stats as zero would be misleading (suggesting he attempted to score, but did not convert).

Coach Ryan returned to the more familiar line-up for his starters -- Fisher, Hayward and Turner -- for this last game in Belgrade (starters are highlighted in green). Starting Varnado over Thompson may seem puzzling (Thompson did get very little PT in this game), but Varnado single-handedly dominated the defensive boards -- he out rebounded the Isreali squad (relative to the time) on missed Isreali shots. The offense was carried by Hayward, Anderson (when he was in), Craig Brackins (Iowa State) and Penn State's Talor Battle. Anderson, Battle and Hayward converted efficiently, and were largely responsible for the strong offensive showing. Brackins may have had a poor night shooting, but he did grab an unusually large proportion of team USA's missed shots. Villanova's Corey Fisher scored 5 points on 2-9 (1-6, 1-3) shooting. Fish dished an assist, grabbed 3 rebounds, had 2 thefts to go with 3 turnovers and 2 personal fouls.

Additional Links
The AP wire story posted at USA Basketball.
The box score in .pdf format.
Some additional post game quotes. "...I do this for the players. It's done out of passion and that drive to want to make people better. We are better right now than when we came. Not just the basketball, but we are better as people. ..."
Bo Ryan, Wisconsin Head Coach

WUG 2009 -- USA Over Bulgaria 96-66

They Never Looked Back...
Team USA jumped out to a 13-5 lead after the 5:00 minutes and increased the lead through every 5 minute interval through the 25:00 minute mark. Only in the last 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter were the Bulgarians able to cut into the USA lead...by 5 points. The player stats...

On...	Eff	eFG	PPWS	OReb	DReb	TReb	TOR%	AST%	BLK%	STL%
Offense	117.7	54.7	1.12	40.0	74.0	114.0	15.9	66.7	2.6	6.1
Defense	80.9	36.8	0.80	26.0	60.0	86.0	15.9	14.8	7.9	9.8
Pace	81.6

The USA squad turned in an outstanding performance at both ends of the court. Their offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) was well above 100, while they kept the Bulgarians at 80.9, well below the 100 threshold. The Bulgarians concentrated on 2FGAs, taking over 3/4 of their attempts from inside the arc. Converting below 45% of their attempts, coupled with rebounding little more than 1/4 of their rebounds (26%) meant their offense was largely stymied. Converting their 3s at an 11% rate did not break them, but it certainly did not keep them in the game. Probably the biggest change in the USA's offensive approach was the team's assist rate, above 50% for the 1st time since the game with Greece, and the only the second time since arriving in Belgrade.

Individual player statistics...

Player	%PT	eFG	PPWS	Shot%	Ast%	OReb	DReb
Anderson, James	38.8	56.3	1.12	27.5	15.6	8.9	10.3
Battle, Talor	52.5	110.0	2.20	12.7	17.3	3.3	3.8
Booker, Trevor	45.0	50.0	1.02	11.9	13.5	0.0	22.2
Brackins, Craig	42.5	42.9	0.86	22.0	7.1	0.0	18.8
Butler, Da'Sean	32.5	100.0	2.00	24.6	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fisher, Corey	47.5	60.0	1.20	14.0	31.9	0.0	8.4
Hayward, Lazar	43.8	75.0	1.50	24.4	13.9	11.8	18.3
Hummel, Robbie	50.0	25.0	0.59	26.7	24.2	10.3	28.0
Pondexter, Quincy	52.5	50.0	1.17	27.9	11.5	9.9	3.8
Thompson, Deon	40.0	33.3	0.64	20.0	0.0	8.6	20.0
Turner, Evan	40.0	33.3	1.03	10.0	7.6	0.0	20.0
Varnado, Jarvis	15.0	0.0	0.34	17.8	0.0	46.0	40.0

Robbie Hummel had a terrible shooting day, but on balance his contributions were positive. Of interest in addition to Hummel and Fisher's high assist rates, is the double digit assist rates of 5 other players. Butler and Pondexter were the offensive guns for this game.

Additional Links
The AP wire story posted at Penn State (focus is understandably on Penn State's pg, Talor Battle).
The box score in .pdf format.

What's Next
The Americans will meet the Russians in the semi-final round round, 5:30 Belgrade time (11:30 am EDT). The Russians squad defeated the Lithuanian team on Thursday (7/9), 82-73.

WUG 2009 -- Player Stats Through 2 Rounds

Offensive Efficiency Stats
Not much analysis, just a data dump for now.

Player	%Min	ORtg	%Poss	%Shot	eFG%	PPWS	FTR%	FTM%
Anderson	31.3	132.8	23.5	29.6	58.0	1.14	20.0	8.0
Battle	50.0	131.2	21.6	21.5	72.4	1.36	31.0	10.3
Booker	38.1	116.7	18.4	15.5	62.5	1.30	56.3	37.5
Brackins	48.1	129.1	17.8	18.5	64.6	1.31	25.0	16.7
Butler	43.1	132.7	17.6	20.6	62.5	1.24	16.7	8.3
Fisher	50.0	92.3	24.6	18.5	50.0	1.12	64.0	44.0
Hayward	36.3	115.2	22.6	26.6	44.2	1.01	30.8	26.9
Hummel	45.0	98.4	17.8	19.8	50.0	1.00	8.3	4.2
Pondexter	50.6	126.9	18.2	17.6	50.0	1.15	75.0	54.2
Thompson	43.8	130.9	23.7	26.2	61.3	1.23	29.0	16.1
Turner	38.8	70.6	15.0	12.4	46.2	0.97	7.7	7.7
Varnado	25.0	151.3	19.2	13.3	88.9	1.76	100.0	77.8

Talor Battle had two great outings against the Greeks and Serbs. Fisher is still looking for consistency from beyond the arc. Both are penetrating a good deal, which explains their high (for point guards) Free Throw Rates (FTR%).

Rebounding, Assists, Turnovers, etc.
A quick look some of the defensive stats (and assists, turnovers...). For offensive rebounding (OR%) 10.0 or above is very good. For defensive rebounding (DR%) >19.0 (or so) is very good.

Player	%Min	OR%	DR%	%Ast	%TOv	%Blk	%Stl
Anderson, James	31.3	14.0	10.7	11.0	4.1	0.0	4.0
Battle, Talor	50.0	1.5	8.9	12.4	22.2	0.0	4.4
Booker, Trevor	38.1	9.6	18.9	1.8	25.7	1.9	5.1
Brackins, Craig	48.1	12.1	20.8	5.7	17.6	0.8	1.8
Butler, Da'Sean	43.1	15.2	16.7	9.6	7.9	0.0	5.4
Fisher, Corey	50.0	5.8	6.7	6.9	31.7	0.0	7.7
Hayward, Lazar	36.3	14.1	21.5	5.7	7.3	2.0	1.4
Hummel, Robbie	45.0	6.5	18.5	12.3	18.8	1.6	7.1
Pondexter, Quincy	50.6	5.8	13.2	9.5	6.5	0.7	1.7
Thompson, Deon	43.8	5.0	19.0	4.7	17.4	3.4	2.7
Turner, Evan	38.8	7.5	21.5	23.1	25.9	1.9	10.5
Varnado, Jarvis	25.0	2.9	13.3	0.0	31.3	4.4	0.0

Surprisingly Evan Turner (Ohio State) appears to be the best at setting up his teammates. Battle, second on the team for assist rates, is (like Fisher) a bit lighter than I would expect from a team where the traditional point guard serves as the playmaker. Whether from a different interpretation on assists or a team characteristic where guards pass into the low post and the #4/#5 scores or passes out to the wing, it is difficult to tell without a play-by-play. But relatively high assist rates from Robbie Hummel (low post) and wings James Anderson, Quincy Pondexter, Evan Turner and Da'Sean Butler suggest the wings and (at least one low post player) are actively looking for teammates when they don't have a good shot.

WUG 2009 -- USA Over Serbia 68-66

Toe-to-Toe
With Serbia's 98-82 win over the USA squad in the Serbia International Invitiational last week this match was going to be a war. The players looked to this game for redemption from a dismal defensive effort (and a lost temper or two). Team USA was motivated. Let's hope, should these two squads meet for a third time in a late medal round (both advanced, the game result only dictated who each would meet in the quarter final round), the USA will stay motivated. A quick look at Oliver's four factors (with a side glance at the 1st USA-Serbia tilt) suggests that while the Americans still don't have the Serb's number, they made significant progress from their first effort...

On...	Eff	eFG	PPWS	OReb	DReb	TReb	TOR%	AST%	BLK%	STL%
Offense	91.5	46.9	0.95	26.2	69.2	95.4	17.5	18.5	4.5	6.7
Defense	88.8	38.6	0.87	30.8	73.8	104.6	14.8	37.5	6.1	6.7
Pace	74.3

For starters they slowed the pace and took a more deliberate approach to the offense, reducing their possessions by 8, 74 down from 82 (over 10% reduction) from their 1st game. The Americans also shut down the Serb's shooting. Serbia's PPWS was < 1.00 for the 1st time in the tournament (including the Invitational last week). The Serbs failed to convert shots efficiently nor did they get to the line (enough) to offset their lack of production from the court. If the Americans did not control the boards, they certainly did a better job under both baskets. Squad USA may not have been able to get 1/3 of their misses (about what is expected for offensive rebounding rates), they improved (modestly) over their 1st game effort against Serbia (25%). The big improvement came under the Serb's basket. In the 1st game the Serbs grabbed nearly 41.7% of their missed shots. The Americans slashed that rate by over 10% in the 2nd game, a big swing.

A look at the players stats:

Player	%PT	eFG	PPWS	Shot%	Ast%	OReb	DReb
Anderson, James	22.5	0.0	0.00	20.5	16.5	8.2	11.4
Battle, Talor	55.0	70.8	1.32	33.6	6.7	3.4	0.0
Booker, Trevor	50.0	33.3	0.83	9.2	0.0	0.0	30.8
Brackins, Craig	47.5	43.8	0.88	25.9	7.8	0.0	21.6
Butler, Da'Sean	55.0	50.0	1.02	28.0	0.0	10.1	9.3
Fisher, Corey	47.5	35.7	0.91	22.7	0.0	3.9	5.4
Hayward, Lazar	22.5	33.3	0.67	20.5	0.0	0.0	11.4
Hummel, Robbie	52.5	40.0	0.80	14.7	0.0	3.5	19.5
Pondexter, Quincy	62.5	40.0	0.80	12.3	5.9	5.9	12.3
Thompson, Deon	40.0	50.0	1.00	23.1	0.0	4.6	25.6
Turner, Evan	35.0	50.0	1.00	8.8	10.6	0.0	7.3
Varnado, Jarvis	10.0	100.0	1.38	15.4	0.0	18.5	0.0

Starters are highlighted in green. Coach Ryan sprung a surprise by sitting Butler, Fisher and Thompson and giving the nod to James Anderson (Oklahoma State), Talor Battle (Penn State) and Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi St). Varnado was effective under the offensive boards, but ran into foul trouble early (Raduljica is the 7-0 center who gave the Americans fits in their exhibition game). Trevor Booker (Clemson) and Deon Thompson split the remaining time at the #5; both did outstanding work on the defensive boards (though as seen earlier the Serbs pulled down more boards). Purdue's Robbie Hummel also turned in an outstanding effort on the defensive boards. Talor Battle had a breakout night, converting 7 of 12 FGAs (3-6, 4-6) to post an eFG% of 70.8, both efficient and prolific. He drew a good deal of attention from the Serbs, taking 5 fouls from the Serbs (who tried to apply full court pressure on the Americans). Battle's 1.32 PPWS set the pace for the USA squad.

What's Next
The USA squad secured the top spot in Group I with the win over Serbia. Both the Americans and Serbs will advance to the medal round (the Finns and Greeks will compete for spots #9 through #16), and after taking Wednesday off face their quarter final opponents on Thursday. Team USA will face the 2nd place finishers in Group L, the Bulgarians, while the Serbs draw the Group L winner, Turkey. Bulgaria was beaten by Turkey 69-60. The tip off is set for 8:00pm Belgrade time (3:00pm EDT).

Additional Links
The AP wire story posted at USA Basketball.
The box score in .pdf format.
Some additional post game quotes. "...Everybody has their night, and tonight wasn't my night - tonight was a team night. We won the game. It was a close game..."
Corey Fisher, Villanova

WUG 2009 -- USA Over Finland

Blow Out
The USA dominated the scoring, defense and boards on both ends of the floor, as they doubled the point production of the Fins, 87-40. This performance should not be confused with a cure to the problem areas exposed by the Serbs and Canadians. The USA squad is simply better than anything the Fins can put on the court. Their next Group H opponent, South Korea, will most likely produce a similar result. Oliver's Four Factors (table below) confirms the USA excelled in every facet of the game...

On...	Eff	eFG	PPWS	OReb	DReb	TReb	TOR%	AST%	BLK%	STL%
Offense	123.0	57.9	1.19	44.4	73.1	117.5	17.0	46.9	10.9	12.7
Defense	56.6	26.6	0.55	26.9	55.6	82.5	19.8	53.3	3.1	8.5
Pace	70.7

Even as the team turned in a defensive performance similar to (but much better than) the one versus the Russian squad they blew up offensively, posting the most efficient point production (123.0, or 123 points per 100 possessions) of their four efforts to date -- the next closest was 99.9 in their losing effort versus the Serbs. The pace (70.7 -- about 71 possessions per team for the game) was the lowest possession game yet. While it may be the most deliberate game yet played by the USA squad, it is still higher than most D1 games. Only James Anderson (Ok State) and Deon Thompson, who hails from North Carolina, might feel comfortable playing at 70+ possessions per game, virtually all of the players (and Coach Bo Ryan) are used to a more deliberate offense.

The player breakdown shows marked improvement by virtually every member of the squad.

Player	%PT	eFG	PPWS	Shot%	Ast%	OReb	DReb
Anderson, James	22.5	83.3	1.61	21.2	27.8	17.8	8.5
Battle, Talor	40.0	137.5	2.24	15.9	15.6	0.0	14.4
Booker, Trevor	40.0	50.0	1.22	15.9	7.8	15.0	4.8
Brackins, Craig	47.5	78.6	1.52	23.4	6.6	12.6	24.3
Butler, Da'Sean	35.0	100.0	2.00	13.6	0.0	0.0	22.0
Fisher, Corey	57.5	62.5	1.22	22.1	5.4	7.0	6.7
Hayward, Lazar	47.5	16.7	0.43	20.1	13.2	4.2	28.3
Hummel, Robbie	45.0	62.5	1.25	28.2	13.9	0.0	12.8
Pondexter, Quincy	45.0	28.6	0.76	24.7	6.9	8.9	8.5
Thompson, Deon	50.0	42.9	0.91	22.2	6.3	8.0	19.2
Turner, Evan	52.5	25.0	0.50	12.1	11.9	3.8	14.7
Varnado, Jarvis	17.5	50.0	1.38	18.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

The starters are again highlighted in green. The staff stayed with the basic three (Butler, Fisher and Thompson) they have started in the three previous games. To the trio, Evan Turner got his second consecutive start (the staff rewarded his rebounding in the Russian game?) and again turned in a strong rebounding performance (1-4-5). Trevor Booker, a front court starter in the Serb-USA exhibition game also drew his second start. Especially efficient offensive efforts from Talor Battle (Penn State), Craig Brackins (Iowa State), Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia), Corey Fisher (Villanova) and Deon Thompson (North Carolina). Butler and Fisher are developing some much needed offensive consistency, converting well from the court and at the line. Fisher turned in a good performance, though his rebounds (he picked up both offensive and defensive rebounds) and assists were tempered with 3 turnovers.

Additional Links
AP wire story posted on USA Basketball.
The official box score (pdf format).
Additional post game quotes from the coaches and selected players (Corey Fisher's quotes included).

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: The NIT Finals

by Ray Floriani

NEW YORK CITY -- Penn State earned their first NIT championship with a 69-63 victory over Baylor. Before the game decided to do a tempo free look at the two teams performances in the four NIT games leading to the championship.

			Opponents
	Poss.	PPP	PPP	TOR%
Baylor	64	1.21	1.04	19
Penn State	64	1.16	1.00	14

Offensive efficiency was the key to both. Defense? Not great by any stretch. Baylor’s perimeter skills and their extended zone which can disrupt passing lanes no doubt accounted for the opponent’s 19% To rate.

At the half Baylor had a 29-25 lead. Baylor’s first half eFG percentage was 52 to Penn State’s 41. The thing that helped the Lions only go into the break with a 4 point (29-25) deficit was rebounding and getting to loose balls. Penn State’s OREB pct was 39% in comparison to 14% for the Bears.

At the half

	Poss.	PPP	TOR%
Baylor	27	1.07	11
Penn State	26	0.96	12

The first few minutes of the second half saw the Lions come out strong. With 16 minutes to go it was 32 all. The game stayed even until midway through the final half. Penn State’s Danny Morrissey then buried consecutive Treys and Jeff Brooks added another. Suddenly the lead was nine. Baylor made a few runs but could never get the deficit under two possessions.

After hitting those threes to get the lead, the Lions went right back into the paint and utilized their inside strength. In the final minutes it was a case of hitting from the charity stripe to seal the verdict. The final numbers:

	Poss.	PPP	TOR%	OR%	eFG%
Baylor	63	1.00	19	25	52
Penn State	62	1.11	19	36	52

Penn State shot better in the second half. The Lions attempted 28 free throws to Baylor’s six. Drew spoke but did not complain about the free throw disparity. Simply it was a case of perimeter vs. paint. Baylor attempted 52% of their shots beyond the arc (to Penn State’s 45). The more significant number was offensive rebounding percentage. Especially in the first half the Lions extended possessions with their board work. Baylor also was in the fouling mode, to stop the clock and get the ball back, the final minutes.

Cornley led the Lions with 18 points 7 boards and earned MVP honors. LaceDarius Dunn paced Baylor with 18. Talor Battle also earned all tournament and had a solid 12 point 7 assist night for the full 40 minutes. He defended Curtis Jerrells of Baylor well holding him to 14 points on 5 of 16 shooting.

"This team was as committed as any team I’ve ever had...We were disappointed a few weeks ago by not being invited to the other tournament but our kids put that behind us right away and our goal was to win this thing." -- Penn State coach Ed DeChellis

"At the time I had no idea how big that shot would be." -- Talor Battle whose last second trey forced overtime in the first round win over George Mason.

"I think it’s remarkable. Coming in and their first year winning four games...Then being able to walk away being the all-time winningest group of seniors to set foot on Baylor’s campus. They have really raised the bar for the program." -- Coach Scott Drew on his seniors.