Zona vs. the Utes: Completely confusing Grades

I had to take a few hours after the game to let everything digest. Talk about a frustrating game to watch. Why can’t our Cats bring that energy they finished with, at the beginning of the game? Are they only allowed to play hard for 10 minutes a game? SO FRUSTRATING. We were so close to throwing away any chance of making the NCAA tournament. There is no way we could lose to Utah and still get an invite. That being said we fought hard like we have all year, and ended up with an important win.

One reason I had to take some time after the game is simply because the stats made NO SENSE WHAT SO EVER. Seriously if you looked at only our stats you would have assumed we won easily. They don’t reflect the fact we had like 3 points in the first 8 minutes of the game. They don’t reflect how stagnant we looked on offense for 30 minutes. Yet they are some of our better stat lines we have had in a while. COMPLETELY FRUSTRATING AND CONFUSING.

That being said, I’ll show you exactly what I mean in the team stats section.

• We shot 42.9% from the field today. That actually is a pretty consistent number for this team. My goal is always to get above 45%, but you can’t always get what you want. However, we allowed Utah to shoot 50% from the field. Just a shocker.
• we also went 11-24 from 3 point land for a percentage of 45.8%. Lets first thank Brendon for that number. Yet once again for the team that has the best 3 point defense in the league we allowed Utah to shoot 9-18, that’s 50%. Just crazy.
• Our FT% was a decent 77.3% I can live with that. Once again though Utah shot a blistering 85.7%. However, our 22 attempts to their 7 is a huge disparity.
• Both teams tied in rebounding at 26 for the game.
• We had 10 steals today. Great active hands.
• 5 Blocks. Anyone want to come up with a good nickname for Angelo Chol yet?
• Only 8 turnovers for the game. Anything under 10 to me is a good number.

Like I said the team numbers look good, but then you realize Utah’s were pretty good also. Come join me after the jump for some individual grades. (hint: no ones getting any A’s today after that start)

Solomon Hill: GRADE B Not much to say about Solomon. He had his usual everywhere game, but his work on the offensive boards is really starting to become evident. Grabbing 4 offensive boards will always help your team greatly. He gets a lot of easy baskets by doing so.

Jesse Perry: GRADE C+ Jesse had a good all around stat line of 8 point 1 block 5 assists and 7 rebounds. However, having 3 turnovers and only shooting 2-8 makes it difficult to give him a better grade.

Brendon Lavender: GRADE B- This was a hard grade for me to give. He gets lots of accolades for saving us in the second half. His assault of 3 pointers (going 4-5) really saved us in the second half. However, I have one question for Mr. Lavender. Anytime a team plays zone against our team, WHY AREN’T YOU SHOOTING MORE THEN 5 SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He showed in the second half he is a zone KILLER. Yet he waits till the second half to start jacking up shots? Its not like anyone was making anything the first half. I personally would rather Brendon throwing up 3 pointers then our other players. Man up Brendon we will need you down the stretch, and don’t lose confidence.

Nick Johnson: GRADE B+ Nick started pretty slow, but had ice in his veins late. He lead the team with 18 points today shooting 5-11. It was great to see that he still has his confidence even after the slump he has been in lately. Great stuff today Nick, way to finish the game.

Josiah Turner: GRADE B- Josiah gets in the B range today because he finally did something I have been asking for. 7 Assists. Thank you Josiah. However, he took 0 shots today. I know it’s a point guards job to distribute, but when your that talented you probably shouldn’t go an entire game with no field goal attempts.

Kyle Fogg: GRADE B- I wanted to give Kyle a C today for his 5-14 shooting. He is too good of a shooter to shoot that bad. However, 6 steals is plenty to bump a player up a grade. 6 steal? I didn’t even realize he had that many till I just checked. Wow.

Angelo Chol: GRADE C- Angelo finally showed signs of his old play, which isn’t a good thing. But lets be honest we didn’t all expect him to be a stud every game all of a sudden. I mean he’s no Jeremy Lin right? But getting 2 blocks is always useful.

Over we got the win, and that’s what matters. And since I’m wrapping this up I’m just going to go on a tangent. Jeremy Freaking Lin, I’ll admit I got some Linsanity. If you haven’t seen this guy play yet, he is the reason I love sports. Just loves to play, and a great basketball IQ. Do yourself a favor and watch him play, you won’t regret it.

As always please feel free to let me know what you think, what you agree with, and what you think im an idiot for saying.