If you don’t subscribe to Ken Pomeroy’s site you should. Here’s a few interesting things I found while skipping through team profiles today.
LIU Brooklyn working the NEC refs — LIU has cast a spell on the NEC referees. The Blackbirds were good at drawing fouls and getting to the line in non-conference play, but Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere have taken it to a different level since conference play began. Boyd is 10th in the nation in fouls drawn per 40 minutes and Olasewere is 12th. Even C.J. Garner is in the Top 500 nationally at 4.8 fouls drawn per game.
The craziest thing though? The Blackbirds also have three players Jason Brickman (2nd), Michael Culpo (28th) and Brandon Thompson (220th) that rank in the top 220 in the nation for the fewest fouls drawn per 40 minutes. In conference play LIU ranks first in both offensive (47.4%) and defensive (17.8%) free throw rate. That’s impressive.
Speaking of free throws, Stony Brook’s Tommy Brenton ranks sixth in the nation in free throw rate.
Jalen Cannon — 115.0 Offensive Rating, 18.4 OR% (3rd nationally), 21.7 DR% — Cannon has gotten more and more playing time as the season has gone on and it’s paid off. The injury to Akeem Johnson gave him even more playing time and Cannon took advantage of it by capturing the NEC’s Rookie of the Week. Not the biggest guy at 6’6″, Cannon uses his athleticism and effort to get on the boards.
Rhamel Brown — 16.1 Blk% (2nd nationally), 12.3 OR%, 19.0 DR% — Brown is also listed at 6’6″, but he also plays with great energy and enthusiasm. When Manhattan plays well Brown plays well. He’s excellent with the basketball and when the Jaspers get offense from him they become an even more effective team. (See the upset over Iona.) Because of Brown’s statistical profile his comparisons usually come up with guys a lot taller than him like former Tulsa center Jerome Jordan and Detroit center Eli Holman.
Mike Glover — The Iona forward ranks seventh in the country with a 67.7% effective field goal percentage. What’s funny is that is entirely due to his 67.7% shooting on two-point attempts. Yup, Glover hasn’t attempted a three all season, but it’s served him well. The other guys in the top 10 to not attempt a three yet? Missouri’s center Ricardo Ratliffe and North Dakota State’s Marshall Bjorklund. Those two guys rank No. 1 and No. 2.
Scott Machado — He ranks third in the nation in assist rate at 45.1%. The two guys higher? Penn State’s Tim Frazier and Utah’s Josh Watkins. Where’s North Carolina’s Kendall Marshall, who is often compared to Machado as the best point guard in the nation? Seventh.
NYC Buckets Archive 