I started researching this post with the
intent of proving a hypothesis: #kubball has changed precipitously, for the
better, since their January 20th players-only meeting and the
infamous January 22nd meeting between Coach Self and 4/5 of his then
starting five (Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden, Jr., Frank Mason III and Devonte’
Graham). I expected the statistics to
bear out my supposition: that the team
was shooting better, scoring better, and creating better (rebounds, turnovers,
assists, FT%, etc.) In fact, the
statistics did bear those things out.
But, as it turns out, when you look more closely, what they actually
show is this. The team isn’t necessarily
doing anything better; Perry Ellis is.
Since the 2 meetings, The Jayhawks’
FG% has improved from 44.4% to 50.4%.
That number is even more impressive when you couple it with the fact
that, in the 10 games after those meetings, the team is actually making 2 less
FG’s per game. They are just taking 8
less shots. So they are not only
shooting at a better percentage, the team is choosing much better shots to
take. This is compounded by the fact
that Frank, Devonte’ and Wayne are actually shooting at a lower percentage than
they did in the first 6 games of the conference season, prior to the 2
meetings. The lone driver of the 12th
straight conference title run is actually Perry Ellis. Perry missed 50 shots in the 6 conference
games prior to the meetings (and road losses at WVU and Ok State). In the 10 games since (including the non-conference
game vs. UK), Perry has only missed 46.
He’s improved his FG% from 44% prior (mirroring the team’s overall FG%),
to a mind-blowing 58% after. To
reiterate: In the last 10 games, Perry
Ellis is making 6 out of every 10 shots that he takes. Amazing.
Another factor in the successful
turnaround to the 12th straight conference title run has been the
team’s propensity for 3PG, what coach has previously termed: “Fool’s
Gold”. At 42.3%, Kansas’ Three-Point
Field Goal Percentage ranks 4th in NCAA Division I basketball. Most Jayhawks’ fans would attribute the
turnaround, following the team meetings, to Self s embrace of the long ball,
and the team’s improved propensity for making it rain. That, however, at the team level, is not
really true. Since the team meetings, KU
is shooting 39% from 3PG, and taking (and making) 1 less 3PG per game. To further clarify the data: since the team meetings, Devonte’ is shooting
9% worse from downtown, (although
he’s shot a lot more often). Wayne
Selden is shooting 10% worse from the three since the team meetings. Svi and BG have made a positive impact from
three-point land as of late, but the real driver is once again Perry. He is 11 of 22 from 3PG in the 10 games since
Coach Self pulled in his Fantastic 4.
He’s made 6 more 3’s in the last 10 games than he did in the first 6, on
only 10 additional attempts. That’s no
fool’s gold, my friends.
Thus,
the statistics led me to this conclusion: since KU’s players-only meeting and
Coach's meeting with his Fantastic 4, in league play, @PElliz has played like
the Big 12 POY and carried the team to #12Big12. It’s as simple as that.
What’s
fascinating about that to me is that very few people are cheerleading for
him. Yes, Bruce Weber noted, after
Perry’s heroic and legendary performance in The Dillon’s Sunflower Showdown,
that the best player on the best team in the conference should be the POY. But, that’s really more of a semantic
argument. The player in that assertion
is anonymous. To his credit, after the
January 23rd game, Coach Shaka Smart of #HookEm said, "I don't
know why he doesn't get more attention nationally." It is a great question. I think that I know the answer.
I recently read the audio version
of @susancain “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop
Talking” (https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/quiet-power-introverts-in/id493666327). In it, Dr. Cain analyzes introversion as a
personality trait. She posits the power
of introverts as leaders. For her
argument I would suggest that there can be no better case study in the realm of
intercollegiate athletic competition than 2015-16 Perry Ellis. In the best conference in college basketball,
Perry has compiled a season where he is Top 10 statistically in scoring, field
goal percentage, and rebounds, and 13th in free throw
percentage. He is the definition of an
elite player. Yet he gets very little
national publicity. Why? In a world built around alpha males at every
level, Perry is quiet. However unnatural
it may be for Perry to be a team leader in an environment demanding of chest
bumpers, and floor slappers, he’s done it.
He is the best player on the best team in the best conference. His school is soon to be #1 in the polls, and,
if the winning streak continues, the #1 overall seed in the post-season
tournament. The job that Coach Self has
done to foster this introvert, and, in fact, what the young man has done to
himself, will largely be overlooked after April of 2016. It truly should not be.
Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.
