Player profiles

This is more to help me organize my own thoughts & opinions on each player. I work closely with these guys on a daily basis, so there may be bias here and there, but I try not to let it influence me too much.


S#1 - Gilfix:
Senior
Based on my recorded stats for the season, Gilfix is not the guy you send in to put a ton of points on the board. However, as I've said before, to boil down the game of basketball to just points on a scoreboard is incredibly ignorant. Gilfix doesn't score points because he doesn't shoot all that often; his main concern is gaining possession of the ball and passing it off to those who can shoot. From what I've witnessed, he's incredibly intuitive when it comes to calling plays, which is a valuable skill. He's also a great team player and has a lot of spirit. Gilfix is always looking to lift up other players on and off the court - not something you'll see in the scorebook, but something that has a tremendous effect on the team as a whole.

A#2 - McDuffie:
Senior
At mid-season, McDuffie was nearly the top scorer for our team, behind only Kollanda. He was also #1 in successful 3-pters, with 9 for the half-season. McDuffie definitely spends a lot of time on the court - usually, he's in for most of each quarter, barring an injury or fouling out. McDuffie is good at getting the team excited before and during games - in addition to being an aggressive player: he had the third most fouls for this season at the mid-point.

S#3 - Malik:
Senior
Malik has hardly gotten any play time this season, which is unfortunate - the few games he has played in, he has shown promising qualities, and it's possible that with fine tuning he could become a valuable asset to this team. He's smart about his shooting and trusts the plays the coach calls, something every player on this team could benefit from. It's unfortunate that he's on the shorter side - I believe this is a big reason why his play time is limited.

A#4 - Gutierrez:
Senior
Three-pointers are definitely Gutierrez's strong point, and his free throw abilities aren't bad. In several games this season, he's had a 100% success rate in this area, and he hardly misses a 3pt-field-goal. Gutierrez is also an aggressive player, but is able to maintain this without letting his emotions get the best of him on the court. While he's had his fair share of fouls, it's uncommon for him to be ejected from a game due to fouls. In addition to his strong playing ability, Gutierrez is a natural leader both on and off the court - which is a valuable skill in any situation. Number-wise, at the mid-season, Gutierrez had the 3rd most 3-pters scored, 2nd most successful FTs, 2nd highest FT success percentage - and 2nd most fouls.

A#10 - Tsarnas:
Junior
Tsarnas is another player who isn't put in the game very often - but again, I feel that given time and attention, he could prove to have some serious skill. Tsarnas is quiet, reserved - you wouldn't expect him to be a strong player - but he comes onto the court with intensity no matter what the score is, and he's fast as all hell. It's also obvious he wants this - he has the dedication.

T#12 - Porter:
Senior
Another great shooter, Porter may not be the fastest getting down the court, but he's the guy you pass the ball to if you want to put points on the board. His height is an asset to him when it comes to shooting. As of mid-season, Porter was the only player with a 100% FT success rate - but it should be taken into consideration he'd only attempted one free throw all season.

A#21 - Miller:
Junior
Miller had the 3rd most successful FTs at the mid-point for this season. Miller is a talented player - no clear outrageous strengths or weaknesses, his skills are balanced, which makes him a great player to keep in all game. He hardly ever fouls, and has yet to foul out of a game. His skill set is constant and reliable - which I feel is part of why he is constantly on the court. The only disappointing thing is that he doesn't exhibit any clear leadership qualities or encouragement to other players - but that's not to say he's detrimental towards them; he's just quiet.

A#22 - Crutchfield:
Junior
Another player who doesn't get a lot of playtime, partially due to his weak knee, Crutchfield is surprisingly quick, all things considered. He's not a top scorer, but he's not bad when it comes to free throws - and he hardly ever fouls. However, this could partially be because he's somewhat passive - I don't know him well enough to know if that's a character trait or due to injury.

T#23 - Yassa:
Junior
Yassa is one of the most promising players on this team. At the mid-season, he had the 3rd most points scored and the 2nd most 3-pt field goals. Yassa is another player who has the ability to be aggressive on the court without letting emotion overcome him. His leadership abilities are evident in the way he behaves before, during, and after games - during practices - on and off the court. He motivates other players to go hard regardless of the score or the circumstances, and he doesn't often get discouraged - he plays with intensity from start to finish, every time. If he has the opportunity to take a shot, you can trust him to take it - if it's a smart shot. While he's not shy about shooting, he's also a team player, and is quick to pass off the ball if it makes sense. He won't hesitate to take a foul if it's necessary, and in general looks to do what's best for the team. The only thing that could lead to his downfall as a player is, ironically, his natural talent - too often, players get cocky and screw themselves over. I don't see that happening to Yassa, but stranger things have happened.

T#24 - Kern:
Senior
Kern gets a fair amount of play time, but given a little more attention and practice, he could seriously become a weapon. His height could be a huge asset to his abilities, along with his confidence - if he can find a way to bring that to the court. In practices, and outside of the game, he has an incredible confidence, and has a way of bringing positivity to the team. However, in-game, he hesitates to take shots, pass, etc. - it's like he doubts himself. If he can get past that, his game may improve tremendously.

T#34 - Pavliga:
Junior
Pavliga is fairly new to this team, so I can't fairly offer my opinion on his skills - I've hardly been able to see him play, and I don't know him well. From what I can see, he seems to have some natural talent, which is a great start. His height doesn't hurt, either. He's also fast, and he does well no matter what 4 other players are on the court with him. As of mid-season, he was the only player who hadn't fouled once (other than Malik.) However, his pride could hurt him - when another player makes a mistake or takes an action he doesn't like, he is quick to correct & quick to anger. If he were able to instead offer encouragement in a different manner, the team could benefit greatly.
Edit - As of the second half of the season, Pavliga has greatly improved upon this last point, and has serious potential to do very well his senior year.

T#35 - Kollanda:
Sophomore
Another player who shows a lot of promise, Kollanda plays nearly all game, every game, and is almost always a starting player. As of the mid-point in the season, Kollanda had the 3rd highest FT success rate, the most points scored, the most successful FTs - and the most fouls - of anyone on the team. His height serves him well, in addition to his dedication and natural talent. He tends to be pretty go-with-the-flow, but is able to make quick decisions when it counts. 3-pters are one of his strengths, but his real gift is his ability to miss almost no free throws. He fouls quite a bit, but has yet to foul out of a game.


Overall, each of these players brings something to the table, whether it's on or off the court. For the most part, I'm happy with their performance so far this season. The only thing I'm disappointed with is their doubt in themselves & in their team. They talk like they believe they'll win out loud, but in one-on-one conversation, they don't have a ton of faith in themselves individually or as a unit. This team could do great things - they have the skill, they just need to get out of their own heads.

Game 1 MVPs

(See Game 1 Stats post)

If I base everything solely on numbers, it's easy to determine an MVP. If we're going by points, Yassa has the other players beat by a long shot at 20 points, with the exception of Kollanda at 17 points. Percentage-wise, Yassa scored over a third of the total team points for this game.

Going by shot attempts/successes yields a less accurate result, as traditionally our team does not record missed shots unless they're free throws. Based only on free throw successes/misses, both McDuffie and Kollanda have a 100% success rate, with McDuffie making 2 of 2 attempted shots and Kollanda making 7 of 7. Contrarily, Yassa shot twice and missed both, yielding a 0% success rate.

Another thing to consider is the amount of fouls each player yielded. Sometimes fouling is necessary, but a player who is constantly fouling can be a hassle and danger to the team's performance. You can be the most talented guy out there, but the rules are the same for everyone: 5 fouls and you're out for the game. 

McDuffie is the only player who fouled out of this game at 5 personal fouls. He scored a total of 9 points for the team, with 3 coming from a 3pt field goal and 2 from free throws (and, again, McDuffie had a 100% FT success rate.) Yassa wasn't far from fouling out at 4 PFs.

This game took place at the end of November 2017, so I'd have to go back and look at footage to determine if the excessive fouling was either unavoidable or unnecessary - but let's assume:

Assuming the fouls were unavoidable, it was worth it to keep Yassa in the game even at the risk of having him foul out: the points he brought in for the team made an enormous difference. Can the same be said of McDuffie? He played in the first, third, and fourth quarters, so it's not like he fouled out in the first half - was it worth it to keep him right up until he was finally forced out of the game?

Assuming the fouls were unnecessary, I personally feel like McDuffie could've had less playing time throughout the first and third quarters and yielded the same amount of points (or close to it) without being forced from the game - in other words, taking him out periodically may have lessened his chances at fouling. Generally speaking, he's a talented player in most aspects of the game, and it would've been useful to keep him in till the very end. That being said, Yassa is also a tremendously talented player who was in for roughly the same amount of time as McDuffie, and he managed not to foul out despite playing for most of the game.

With all of that in mind, it's important to consider other aspects of these players, not just their ability to put points on the board. Obviously, that's an important factor, but there have been plenty of players throughout history who have been a huge asset to their teams even if they aren't top scorers. 

For simplicity's sake, let's just say it's down to Yassa, McDuffie, and Kollanda for top performer overall. Based solely on points, Yassa is the clear winner. Going only on successful shots vs failed shots, Kollanda comes out on top. Just looking at numbers, McDuffie appears to be the most aggressive player, given his fouls. 

However, McDuffie does tend to get a little hotheaded at times, and sometimes has difficulty accepting if/when he's made a mistake on the court. The same can be said for Kollanda in some cases. Yassa is generally even-tempered, and as a blanket rule, he's a reliable 3-point shooter.

I'd have to say that for this game, it'd come down to Kollanda or Yassa. They're similar in their style, reliability, and ability to score, and both players can maintain a clear head. The only thing that's pushing me in the direction of Yassa is his ability to lead and how clearly that shone through in this game. 

Game 1 Stats - All Players

Name	Number	Total Points	Field Goals	Free throws attempted	Free throws made	Fouls	Qtrs Played
Gilfix	1	0	0	0	0	0	2, 3, 4
McDuffie	2	9	1	2	2	5	1, 3, 4
Malik	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gutierrez	4	2	0	0	0	2	1, 2, 4
Tsarnas	10	0	0	0	0	1	1, 4
Porter	12	0	0	0	0	2	1, 2, 4
Miller	21	7	1	3	2	2	1, 2, 3, 4
Crutchfield	22	0	0	0	0	0	1, 2, 3, 4
Yassa	23	20	2	2	0	4	1, 3, 4
Kern	24	0	0	0	0	3	1, 2, 3
Pavliga	34	0	0	0	0	0	2, 3
Kollanda	35	17	0	7	7	3	1, 2, 3, 4

Introduction

I don't want this to be a personal blog, so I'll keep it simple.

I manage a varsity basketball team called the Minutemen. I record the stats for each player & for the team as a whole at every game, and I often use the numbers to draw my own conclusions about team & player performance/value. 

Usually, it all stays in my head, or in a notebook. I thought it'd be fun to upload it here. 

Basically, what I want to do is post the statistics of specific players after every game and use those (in conjunction with other qualities) to analyze the players' performance and usefulness/value. 

This is really more for my own analytical brain's entertainment, but I'd love some outside opinions, so feel free to add to my posts with your own thoughts on my conclusions.